A GREAT RECORD

RAILWAYMEN IN THE WSR

HONOURS BOARD UNVEILED.

There were 7529 railwaymen released) for military service during the war. This is a great record; tout it is doubly creditable, in -view of the fact that there: came a time when the service could not spare more men and continue to fulfil its duty of maintaining essential transport services. Thus, many men who would have served were deprived of the opportunity of doing so. The men who laid down their lives for the cause of Empire numbered 446. The branches of the service to which these men belonged were :— Locomotive rnnning • 113 Locomotive workshops ... 80 Traffic 181 Maintenance 66 Head office 4 Stores 2 Yesterday afternoon the railway service fittingly Tecognised the sacrifice of. these men by unveiling a roll of honour, on which their names are inscribed. The roll is a marble tablet bearing a plain record of the names of the fallen. It; is impressive in its simplicity, for no decoration is wanted for such a record. The unveiling ceremony was perforjned by the Prime Minister (the Kt. Hon. W. F. Massey) in the presence of a largo gathering of men who had served;: at the front. In the speeches of the P^rime Minister and of. the Acting-Minister of Railways (the - Hon. D. H. • Gutlirie), emphasis was.laid upon the very honourable record of the service, as shown in a total enlistment of 7529 men. That these men performed valiant service, was shown in the record of 111 decorations won by them.

The decorations, and the branches of the service to which the decorated men belonged at the time of their enlistment were :—

Victoria Cross, 1, head office. 0.8.JE., 2 traffic, 1 maintenance. , . D.5.0., 2 traffic, 1 loco, branch. M.0., S traffic, 4 loco, branch, 2 stores, 1 maintenance. ,

Bar;to M.C., 1 loco, branch. ■D.C.M., 5 traffic, 5 loco, branch. M.M., 25 traffic, 29'10c0, branch, 9 maintenance, 1 stores. "

Bar to M.M., 2 traffic, 1 maintenance. M.S.M., 4 traffic, 2 loco, branch, 2 maintenance.-

Croix d« Chevalier of the. Legion of Honour (French), 1 loco, branch. Croix de Guerre (French), 1 traffic, 1 loco, branch.

Croix de Guerre (Belgian), 1 traffic 1 loco, branch.

Order, of Dani'o (Montenegrin), 1 traffic.

"The record is a splendid one,", said the Prime Minister "It is one of which ■we have every reason to be proud, and one which will go down in history. These men went to war and save their lives for you and for me. They gave : their lives on behalf of liberty and freedom, but they never came back to the country to which they belong, and to-day on our behalf their craves are scattered far and wide. .Ther have paid the price, and it. is for us to; see-that their lives were not given in vain." : "'