ANZAC SERVICE

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 12007, 27 April 1936, Page 3

ANZAC SERVICE

HELD IN TOWN HALL

TWENTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY

A LARGE GATHERING

On Saturday in the Town Hall the usual service was held in memory of those who fell during the Great War.

Twenty-one years have passed since the historic landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, but the memory is undying, and atlhough some of the poignancy has disappeared with the passing of time, the occasion is marked with all solemnity and reverence.

An even larger number than in previous years gathered this year and it was impossible for late-comers to obtain entrance to the hall. The parade left the school at 1.45 p.m. for the Town Hall, led by the Band under Bandmaster E. Patterson, Capt. P. G. Mclntosh acting as Marshal. Major Eustace, Major Bennett and Lieut. J. R. Bongard then led the units, the first of which was a small band of South African War Veterans. Then followed the Returned Men numbering about one hundred, a detachment of the N.Z. Mounted Rifles, the Territorials, High School Cadets under Captain Breward, tiie Fire Brigade under Superintendent Stewart, the St. John Ambulance Division, the Boy Scouts under Scoutmaster Carmichael, the Cubs under Cubmistress E. Rendell. The route taken was Cameron Road, Ist Avenue, Devonport Road, the Strand and Wharf Street, a halt being made at the Cenotaph which was at the corner of the Town Hall. Here several wreaths were placed in memory of the Fallen.

The parade then marched into the Town Hall which was already well filled. On the platform were MajorGeneral Sir George S. Richardson, K.8.E., C. 8., C.M.G., His Worship the Mayor, Mr L. R. Wilkinson, the Revs. O, S. O. Gibson, L.Th., J. W. Smyth, 8.A., G, P. Hunt, and Middlehrook, Captain Hay of the Salvation Army, Lieut. Bongard, President of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, and Mr M. W. Watt, President of the South African Veterans’ Association. The combined choir was under Mr Herbert Webb, and the Band, under Bandmaster Patterson, played the hymns. ,

After the singing of the National Anthem the Rev. O. S. O. Gibson led the service with a prayer. The hymn, “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” followed, after which a Scripture reading was given by the Rev. J. W. Smyth from II Corinthians, Chapter 5. His Worship the Mayor, in introducing Major-General Sir George Richardson, expressed the great pleasure it gave the ex-servicemen to have him give an address that day, especially so when Sir George had other demands for his service on Anzac Day.

Major-General Richardson thanked the Mayor for his welcome. He did not like speaking in public as a rule, but on Anzac Day he considered it a duty and he would address his remarks to the. public rather than to the soldiers. They knew the moaning of Anzac. His thoughts that morning, as he viewed the peaceful waters of the harbour, took him back to such a morning twentyone years ago, when'he gazed from a warship's deck on to the placid waters the morning before the historic landing on Gallipoli. A mighty armada had left Egypt under sealed orders. He graphically described the coastal approach and the nervous strain natural in landing troops on an enemy coast in barges and in the dark. The story of a dying soldier, whose anxiety was for his family and the inevitable question—- “ For What” and his last remark, “Thank God my children won’t have to go through this.” It was. this last remark that brought the speaker, to the-real meaning of war and its utter futility. It was to impress and inspire the younger generation just what these men had died for — 1 Peace, to make the.world safe so that there should not be a repetition of. tbe'sacrifice to satisfy greed. We can this Anzac Day remember one million British dead. At a llcmoni- ’ brance v X»ay celebration in the Albert Hall, London! one million- poppy petals were dropped flatteringly from the roof .to remind those present of those one "’million lives sacrificed. Anzac Day was not for the purpose of-'glorifying'wari It was for remembrance of those who died in the mud 'and horror, in the Great War. If they ceased- to observe if they unwittingly sowed the seed for another war." urged the proper Observance of the day. He had attended a celebration in Italy, where thousands of men and boys in black shirts paraded through the towns fully armed and where speeches were made extolling and glorifying war. There, every endeavour was-made to stir the people up in a warlike spirit, and today they have the result in that that country is involved in another war. The British peo-ples do not look upon Remembrance day in that spirit. It was Peace that was the endeavour of our people. As the years rolled on the memory grew more dim and it was to the new generation who knew not the horror of war that he appealed to to keep Anzac Day a sacred day of memory of those who had gone. In England the lead is taken by the King, in a pilgrimage on Armistice Day, as a tribute to the memory of those who had died. The speaker thanked the public for coming to the service to pay homage with the solaiers. The soldiers remembered those days with hundreds of shells whistling through the air—-It was Hell. He had been to Ypres salient, where 250,000 soldiers died on the field. On the Menin Gates are 58,000 names of those who died and were identified. Thousands were never found or identified. Destruction on the Flanders front was completeeven trees were stripped, splintered and finally blown from their roots. In that area now, in time of peace, the fields are green, but witness of the tragedy of the war is found in the many cemeteries throughout the land. He had the feeling of the spirit of those dead, as he passed among those gravestones, appealing by enquiring: “Are you going to per-

mit a recurrence?” The Great Pow,'ers signed a covenant to arbitrate in Case of a dispute. This was received by the peoples of the world with jubilation. Yet to-day, notwithstanding all that the Government had done the sacrifices seem to have been in vain. We are asked what can we do? His reply was that the next war will be the end of civilisation. However, we can and must support our leaders in the Old Country. The orily solution, as it appeared to him, was an, international co-operation in Christian principles. Major-General Richardson asked the children present at the service to stand and asked them to keep this day of remembrance, to play their part and carry on. He enjoined them to make it their solemn duty—and repeat:

They shall grow old as we are Age shall not weary them Nor the years condem At the going down o£ the sun And in the morning We will remember—we will remember.

A large number of children repeated the well known lines in the T.O.C. H. Service.

The Hymns, “Nameless Grave” and “The Land of Hope and Glory” were sung by the assembly, the “Last Post” and “Reveille” were sounded, by Mr F. Woods and after a prayer by the Rev. G. P. Hunt all joined in the hymn “Lest We Forget.” The benediction was pronounced by Capt. Hay of the Salvation Army. The parade reformed and marched to the Memorial Gates headed by the band and wreaths were placed thereon. General Richardson addressed the Returned soldiers and impressed on them the necessity of keeping together for their own future welfare.