"STAND FAST!"

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 165, 26 April 1935, Page 3

"STAND FAST!"

CARRYING OUT ANZAC IDEALS. THE WORK BEGUN 20 YEARS AGO APPEAL TO RETURNED MEN. COLONEL J. HARGEST'S ADDRESS Addressing a crowded audience at the Majestic Theatre, Ashburton, yesterday afternoon, during the main Anzac Day service, Lieut.-Colonel J. Hargest, D. 5.0., M.C, V.D., M.P., of Invercargill, made an appeal to returned men to carry out the ideals of the men who , fought and d[ed flt GalUpoU M years ago, and urged his hearers to work unitedly in the interests of peace in ai greatly disturbed world. His address was listened to intently and at its conclusion the ' speaker was warmly applauded.

"There are few greater honours that can fall to a man than to be privileged to? address a gathering of his fellow citizens on this day and on this subject," said Colonel Hargest, "and I wish to assure you that I deeply appreciate tlie honour you have conferred on me.

"We are met here to commemorate the sacrifice made by those young men of Ashburton who laid down their lives in the war years, and in a wider sense the sacrifice of the 17,000 New Zealand soldiers who died for their country on the field of battle or as a result of it, and of the many thousands who have since passed away, their early passing undoubtedly the result of war service.

Old Yearnings Revived. "One realises that of those thousands not one died but left a gap in some life and broke some tie of kinship or friendship that can never be repaired in this life, and that here and in every part of the Dominion there will be parents, wives and children whose memories will be .very sad ones to-day. Old yearnings will be revived and those of us who were privileged to serve overseas and who have returned deeply sympathise with you. "To me it seems appropriate that this twentieth anniversary should follow Easter," the speaker said. "Easter has been called a time of triumph, the triumph of Jesus, the [Son of God, over the trials and tribulations of this world, oyer suffering, aifd over death itself, and it seems to mo that; the soldier, when giving up all the comforts of this life in the sea-vice of the Empire, aud cheerfully facing hardships, wounds and death without any hope of earthly reward, was worthy to follow in the steps of the Master. "After the first thrill of enlistment, the first battle, there inevitably came the full lealisatiou of what war meant, no glory, no glamour, only hardship, monotony, wounds and suffering, but it is to their credit that they carried on, that in the field of battle, in the billets, in London they upheld the honour of their country and returned with it untarnished, or died with it in their keeping.

Enemies Respected Them. "In every European or Asiatic country where they served! they won a high regard; their friends and allies loved them, their enemies lespectfed them. It is to tho credit of this Dominion,' too, that of all the belligerent countries who entered the war early, this was the only one that at the end still had its battalions full, still had every gun manned, and behind in the camps, on the sea and at home there were men waiting to come in and fill the gaps in the ranks. "As for their conduct, may I give one brief example ? A few months ago, in Sydney, I sat at a luncheon meeting of ex-servicemen and listened to the simple story of a man who, without preparation, told of his experiences in the historic naval attack on Zee- , brugge, when old ships of the fleet were used to block the entrance of the canals that were used as submarine bases. He was told that there would be 90 per cent, of casualties, but he still volunteered, and though all were given a chance to withdraw, none did. There came the night when the force crept across the North Sea and in the darkness the old ships were dashed past the defences, through a blast of every kind of hostile fire past the mole and into the canal entrance. Our friend was the chief engineer of the Intrepid, and as the men in the stokehold were not required he ordered them on deck, and in succession they went, all but one petty-officer, who refused to leave. He was told -it meant certain death to stay, but he stood by his officer, and when the ship grounded and the charge beneath the engineroom was exploded, the charge that should- have bjlown them and the engine room to pieces, by the grace of Providence blew out the bottom instead and took them with it; and in the darkness they were picked up in the water and made their way back to England. When he had finished his story I was thrilled to feel that he came from this province and that he received his sea training in Canterbury's harbour.

Their Story Unsung. "That man and his devotion to duty was typical of hundreds of your men, whose deeds passed unnoticed and their story: unsung. And after this lapse of years we all might ask, what has it availed ? "All of us thought that this would be the last war, that we would return to peaceful prosperity," Colonel Hargest continued, "but to-day the conditions in the world give rise to serious concern—nations impelled by fear and foverishlv arming, building up their forces. In Europe, Germany and Russia, are looking with fear at each other across Poland and busily building defences. "France, with the memory of two invasions in modern times, is spending large sums in armament. Italy, disap-

■ pointed with her share of new territory, is restlessly looting northwards and also threatens one of the oldest Christian nations, Abyssinia. In the East, Japan, with the pride born of recent successes, and in defiance of all the past waa- treaties, has torn some of China's provinces from her and threatens to take still more. But, amongst all this confusion, two nations still stand true to their ideals of peace, Britain and America, and they provide the hope for the world's future.

The speaker pointed out that in recent years our Empire had done much in the preservation of peace. To disarm suspicion she had guaranteed frontiers against aggression. In Egypt, and Iraq, where she had spent so much in blood and treasure, she had given the people their independence and set up kingdoms. In Palestine, she had founded a home for the Jews and to-day was on the point of granting self-government in India. "So there ia much to cheer us," he added. "We have had 17 years of peace—a few more and it shall become a habit to refer disputes to the League of Nations, rather than to resort to the force of arms. But it is essential that we shall maintain the might, the strength and the majesty of our Empire so that it could carry out its role of peace-maker and protector of the weaker peoples." Appeal: to Old Comrades.

Colonal Hargest made a special appeal to his old comrades to stand fast together and to carry! on the work that was only begun 20 years ago. He reminded them that they were veterans of manv battles and that they stood high in the esteem of their people. He referred to those battles, to the landing, the attack on Sari Bair, and 'to the evacuation, to the rid© of the mounted men across Sinai, past the Holy City and down into the dread valley of the Jordan. To the credit of those who served in France there were the Somme, Messines, Passchendaele and the last battles that led to victory, and the Rhine occupation. They had done well then, but there was more to do, and in the present emergence from the depression the country might well look to them for a lead and they must not fail. He reminded them of the message in that great poem, "In Flanders Fields," and said that their reply should be that which was expressed by an American soldier on the entrance of the United States of America into the war:

"Rest ye in peace ye Flanders tfead, The fight that ye so bravely led We've taken up, and we shall keep

True faith with. you who lie asleep, With each a cross to mark his head; And Poppies 'blowing overhead, Where each his own life's blood was shed, In Flanders Fields. "Feai- not that ye have died for nought The torch yie threw to us is caught, Ten million hands will hold it high And freedoms cause shall never die. We've learned the lesson that ye tatight On Flanders Fields."

"One last thought may we take from this meeting and from Anzac Daj," concluded the speaker, "the determination to serve, each in his own small way, to strive for peace and understanding among the nations; to maintain the greatness of our Empire so that she may he a shining example to the great nations and the protector of the weaker peoples of the world; and in our own country to breathe the spirit of comradeship, to support the fallen and help the weak. May these be the ideals we take from this and each succeeding Anzac Day."