MEMORIAL GATES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 10380, 27 April 1925, Page 7

MEMORIAL GATES.

CEREMONY AT HAMPSTEAD. OFFICIALLY DECLARED OPEN. ROLL OF HONOUR UNVEILED. Anzac Day was .a fitting Lime for ' the opening of the Hampstead Memorial Gates and the unveiling of the Roil of Honour, adjacent to the Memorial Hall and swimming-bath. The sacredness and appropriateness of the day, when or at et'ul thoughts of the sacrifices of the fallen occupied the mind, made the ceremony most real, nnpies.sive, and one to remain in the mcnioiy of all who took part therein. Some 300 people, many of whom had lost loved ones in the light for national liberty, gathered to witness the unveiling of the tangible memorial, which embraced their sorrows, hopes and 1 The gates were opened, aiid the Roll of Honour unveiled, by the Rev. J. IWiseman, an ex-chaplain of the Can adian Expeditionary horces. lh ®“ turned Soldiers’ Association » as iepie sented. The singing was led b y the Ist Canterbury Mounted Rifles Band The service opened with the smgn g of the hymn, “0 God, Our Help in Ages Past,” after which an appropriate prayer was offered by the 1 Vealie The chairman of the Memorial Committed (Mi- E. H. Childs) addled a few words to the gathenng. man then gave a very inspiring adAfter the addresses wreaths were laid at the memorial gates by representatives of the County War ggrf Association, the Returned boWiers Association, and the Borough Council. The service concluded with the Na tional Anthem and the Benediction. Mr Childs expressed pleasure at the large gathering. The Committee, he said had already opened the Memorial Hall and swimming-bath, and had now completed the gates and memorial tablets. The Greatest Sacrifice. This was the tenth anniversary of Anzac Day said Mr Wiseman. On the history of the famous landing and on the bravery of the men who died, he did not propose to dwell at that time. He wanted the people to remember that the list of war deaths was an everincreasing one, for many who had come back from the fighting had died, and. were dying, because of war injuiies. These men, and those who had returned in fair health, had played ai noble part, for their willingness to sacrifice then lives for their country was as creditable to them as to the fallen. Men returned maimed and nerve-shattered. Was it not better, lie asked, to have been killed suddenly than to linger m pain for many years, perhaps for a lifetime? The fallen had paid a heavy penalty but those living and suffering from war injuries were paying a heavier one. There were nearly vOOQ permanently disabled soldiers in New Zealand, and 7,700 temporarily disabled. Of these 6000 were suffering from the effects of bodily wounds, 1000 had lost one or more limbs, 21 were totally blind, 1400 suffered from tuberculosis, 1,000 from nervous disorders, and 30 were in mental hospitals. Memorials were of little value unless they affected the people, continued Mr. Wiseman. Mere flag-waving was of no account without a. deep sense of the: soldiers’ xocrifices, and a. desire to emulate them in the great battle of life by “playing the game,” <uid being true to Christian teaching. The members of the Returned Soldiers’ Association had done, and were doing, a great deal to help their brothers, and it behoved all to assist in every way possible. “ I have" been struck with the progressiveness' of Hampstead during the years I have been in Ashburton, continued the minister. “It sets an example to the rest of the town. 1 say this not with any thought or; creating competition among areas of the town, but because it has been impressed upon my mind. The work put into this memorial will be_ repaid a million times by the grateful .thoughts it will re-awaken; and what is the labour put into this work compared with the sacrifices of the fallen and returned soldiers 1” The Roll of Honour.

The Memorial Gates are of iron, of simple yet imposing design, surmounted by an arch of concrete on which stands out in relief the words: “Hampstead Memorial Bath.” A low fence of concrete flanks the gates, sweeps out to the roadline, and continues to the hall on one side and to the bath area on the other. Its plain outline is relieved at intervals by ornamental shafts. Two marble tablets, one on either side of the gates, bear the inscription: “In memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-18.” Below the tablets is the 801 l ot Honour, containing the following names:— J. Allwood, L. F. Andrewes, T Armstrong, H. Beaumont, C. Bmgess, A. Childs, C. Collins, G. Crum, R. Dailey, E. Donn, J. Elliott G. Ferriman, H. Glendenmng, W. Huffam, E. Hyde, M. James, B. Johns, L. Kelley, W. Kohlies, G. Mayne, A. McKay, D. McKay, A. P. Mcßae J. Millar, D. C. Mills, G. Olsen, J. Poison, J. Porter, E. Rickman, L. J. Rowntree. S. Smith. D. Strange, M. Terris, W. Terris, C. E Thomas, L B. Thompson, E. Tyrrell-Baxter B. Crawford, O. McConachie, and J. J. Moriarty. . , Hampstead’s war memorial comprises tfo'» hall, swimming bath, and gates, the whole costing £2960. of which the crates absorbed £290. The committee and residents by various means raised £2790, and it is hoped that the balance of £l7O will be liquidated this year.