Gatherings of ex-service men and women in clubs, associations, or reunions are very much a feature of New Zealand life. The principal ex-service associations are represented on welfare bodies, such as the Patriotic and Canteen Fund Boards and pensions boards, and Governments have often consulted them or heeded their views. Their membership totals well over 100,000, mostly of men over 40 years old, and they speak with varying degrees of authority for more than a quarter of a million ex-service people and their dependants.