Twenty-first birthdays are very rare events in the history of volunteer units. We have only 14 or 15 units all told in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, quite a number of them being pre-gent century creations, so that, with such a small family and infant mortality so high, a coming-of-age should be fitly celebrated.
The Customs Company's decision to -celebrate it on Saturday with a dinner and dance was happy one. It gave opportunity both for a few short speeches and for ladies to take part in an event to which they must have surely, if indirectly, contributed. Apart from the ladies, among the guests were the Commissioner of Customs, the Chairman of the Council, the Commandant, and a number of officers of other units of the Corps.
After dinner, which was served in the ballroom, Mr. Gordon Lowder, the Commissioner, said that it was 21 years ago, during the Boxer rising, in fact, that the Company was first formed. He was one of those who urged the then Commissioner to form a unit of Customs employees for the defence of the Settlement, and he was glad to say that it was born a strong and healthy baby in 1900 and, though its strength had failed at times, and it recently had even been near decease, to-day it promised exceedingly well and its future seemed assured. He then read a letter of greeting from the I.G., who recalled in it that he had once been a private in their Company.
Mr. A. Brooke-Smith, Chairman of the Council, and Col. Marr Johnson also spoke, the latter announcing that the Company would be glad to hear that Lieut. Mills, their O.C., had just been granted his Captain's commission.
Lieut. Mills, in his remarks, referred to the cosmopolitan personnel of the Company—no less than nine nationalities being represenfed—and also to the unusually high proportion of ex-service men in the unit, officers and men who could boast as many as 90 decorations among them.
Lieut. Leahy, who appeared to know his subject well, for a bachelor, made a brilliant speech in proposing the toast of ihe Ladies."
An enjoyable dance programme followed the dinner in the ballroom.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.