Revs. Peel, Gooderham and Beresford, D.S.O. 243 



spending an evening with their instructor and genial friend to 

 standing at the street corners with their hands in their pockets 

 hatching mischief. 



The influence of a kind and judicious friend during those 

 impressionable years when standing at the cross-roads with 

 life's finger-post pointing in different directions is incalculable 

 and may bear fruit for generations to come. At that age they 

 can be taught to dislike obscenity, vulgarity, and excess instead 

 of thinking it clever and manly. 



Splendid though he was as a soldier, yet it is for his work 

 amongst the rising generations that I shall always remember 

 him. 



As an employer of labour when in business, Beresford also 

 took interest in the lives and welfare of his men. In con- 

 sequence of the interest he took in their social matters he was 

 asked to offer himself as Councillor at Bermondsey. 



In 1902 he went to live at Westerham, in Kent, going by rail 

 daily to his work. Here again he interested himself in the 

 young men of the place and was founder of the Westerham 

 Cadet Corps, the first parish cadet corps in the country, and all 

 his spare time was devoted to them. 



It was uphill work at first. Some parents would not allow 

 their sons to join. They feared militarism, and disliked " new- 

 fangled notions," but they were counting without their chicks. 

 At first only about six joined, but they dribbled in by degrees, 

 bitten with the idea of being soldiers, and the parents had 

 to give in, and very glad before long that they had done so 

 when they saw the result of Beresford's efforts, their sons having 

 both physically and morally improved. 



The first drill was on Farley Common, and the different 

 tone of the boys was soon noticeable. They became smart, 

 good-mannered, and respectful, enjoying the training and looking 

 forward to the time spent with their instructor, who firmly 

 believed that the best possible training and moulding of their 

 characters would be a military one, which would impress upon 

 them the ideas of patriotism, the duty of self-denial, punctuality 

 and discipline, all of which help to build up fine character and 

 conduce to efficiency in every walk of life. He felt strongly 

 that all military training acted as a sort of national university. 



The cadets admired and respected their instructor ; many 



