EMPIRE EXHIBITION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18265, 26 December 1924, Page 7

EMPIRE EXHIBITION.

THE CLOSING CERExMONY.

LAST SCENES AT WEMBLEY.

(TBOK OV* OWII COMZSPOJTDMT.)

LONDON, November 4

For the thousands of people who wero making their first visit to the British Empire Exhibition on Saturday fhere ■was nothing in the various pavilions to indicate that it was the last day of the great show. There had been no slackening off on the part of the exhibitors and none on the part of the visitors, at least in the last week. People were making their first tour of the Exhibition, and thousands of others who had been many times previously were making a last effort to see many features they had not had an opportunity of seeing before. Pew, indeed, have found six months sufficient time in which to gain a proper knowledge of all the things they have felt they ought to study. White the great crowds roamed the ground? and pavilions on Saturday the huge staff tried to,forget closing time, and attempted to postpono "the end." But at 10 p.m. the routine of the six months gave way. Farewell parties, many of them fancy dress affairs, were held in all the cafes.

Out in the dreary grounds—the weather was very wet—bargain sales were being held. Dolls crowned with feathers which have cost many a man 10s were offered for sale at Cd. In a dripping corner of the Amusement Park a man had lost his voico in an attempt to sell Wembley rock at knock-down prices. When the last visitor had gone off across the wet, shining paths the farewells continued, and the old inhabitants of Wembley cried to each other: "Cheer up, perhaps we shall meet here next year!" Whether they Will or not has not been decided.

Mist-Enveloped Stadium. It might have been expected that the closing ceremony of the Exhibition would have lacked enthusiasm, that the public would have taken it as a mere formality. Bain fell heavily without cessation from late in the morning until night. The Stadium was so enveloped in mist that it was impossible to see clearly aeroßS the arena. Great waterspouts poured down in places from the roof. The trampled arena was a waste of mud, and water lay in sheets on the cinder track.

In spite of the depressing conditions 80,000 people made their way to the Stadium. The covered accommodation was almost fully oeeupied and thousands stood on the terraces, seemingly under an unbroken roof of umbrellas. It was a wonderful testimony to the indomitable Britisli spirit in trying circumstances, and an indication that the Exhibition, and what it stands for are things not to.be easily forgotten. There was no anti-elimax, although it would have been amply justified. Owing to the water-logged state of the ground and the tTack, the military parade' was curtailed. The massed bands of the Brigade of Guards with the massed drums and fifes, and the massed pipers filled in the time with a finely-selected, programme of stirring music. From the far side of the Stadium they could hardly be seen through the gloom and mist. Only the white gloved hands of the conductor were visible moving in time with the music. ••'

In the foreground, fronting the Royal box, stood the guard of honour—a'company of the Welsh Guards, their tunics hidden beneath long grey coats,,, the black border of their bearskins tipped with the white flicker of their bayonets. The pipers of the Scots and Irish Guards alone had marched around the arona, and such was the density of the mist that at one time all that could be seen of those two dozen men was the rhythmic movement of the Scotsmen's white spats.

Arrival of the Prince. Then at four o'clock the Prince of Wales, just back from his American tour, drove into the arona in a closed car. It was the signal for a great outburst of cheering, which continued all the time his car moved slowly round to the Boyal box. His Boyal Highness, who was received by the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Stevenson, and other members of the Board (including Sir James Allen"), inspected the Guard of Honour, and • then proceeded to the Royal box, where two microphones covered with blue silk, were installed. These were connected with the loud speakers in the arena.

The Prince was lost to the view of the 80,000 people, but thanks to the magic of modern science, his voice was heard in every part of the great arena. "The British Empire Exhibition," he said, "which brings its 1924 season to a close to-day, has achieved a, full measure of success in the task which it set out to accomplish. His Majesty the King, in opening the Exhibition, was gracious enough to express satisfaction with tho completeness and the vividness of the presentation of the life aad the activities ct our Commonwealth of Nations that was before him at Wembley Park. Hi 9 Majesty expressed the hope that it would bring the peoples of the Empire to a bettor knowledge as to how to meet their reciprocal wants and aspirations. That hopo has been well fulfilled. The splendid pictures ■which "the "self-governing Dominions, India, tho Crown Colonies, the Protectorates, and Mandated Territories have given of their social life and of their capacities for production, have shown to the people of our Home Country very clearly how great are the resources and how boundless are the potentialities of our territories.

Beal Knowledge of Empire. "For tko first time they have had the means of coming to a real knowledge of the Empiro which has sprung from these islands. There are many gratifying indications of the direct benefits that 'will come from this knowledge, by a greater demand for the products of the Empire and by a better appreciation of the opportunities offering for successful careers in the Empiro overseas. The peoples of onr territories overseas, who, I am happy to state, have come in large numbers to visit tho Exhibition, for their part have gained from it not only a better knowledge of the problems which face the Empire in the Bocial organisation, the development, and the defenee of its lands. Whilst the Home Country to-day knows the Empire better than it has ever known it before, the peoples under our flag overseas, I dare to hope, havo come to a more sympathetic understanding of the Homo Country. "The Fellowship, which was established in connexion with the Exhibition, has done much to help its work of interImperial education and to provide that its lesson shall not be forgotten. In spite of the very unkind attitude of the English weather during the period of the Exhibition, attendances nave been attracted which constituted a record for exhibitions in this conntry. Some eighteen million people have passed through the turnstiles, and of these some five million were children, who have gained from it a vivid impression of the responsibilities which'

ivill como to them in tho future as citizens of tho Kmpirc.

"Though I have made many visits to tho Exhibition, I feci I have not been often enough to ; exhaußt all of its attractions, and although I fully appreciate tho difficulties to be Burmounted, I understand that negotiations with a view to considering tho re-open-ing of tho Exhibition are now taking place, and I hope they will be successful. Grateful thanks are duo to tho Executive Council, the Board of Management, and the various staffs responsible for the Exhibition as a miniature Empire, for their devoted work to secure the success of this great Imperial undertaking. For many of them this work has involved some personal sacrifice; they have the recompense of knowing that it has been of signal service to the Empire."

Unity and Goodwill. After this followed a minute or two of simple prayer by the Bishop of Willesden. In this were the words: "We pray Thee that this Exhibition—now to be closed —may be the means of advancing Thy Kingdom on earth and of promoting unity and goodwill amongst all men. Grant that we may more fully realise our responsibility for the trust committed to our charge in our Dominions, in India, and in our territories overseas."

"0 God our help in ages past," sung by the whole audienco and led by the massed bands, was most appropriate to the occasion. Next tho "Retreat" was sounded by massed buglers and beaten by massed drums and fifes. The mist lifted a little and the light improved for tho very pictorial ceremony of tho striking of the Union Jack and the Dominions' and Colonial flags, which till then had drooped on their poles all round the outer edgo of tho amphitheatre. "Auld Lang Syne" and tho National Anthem gave the Prince his farewell. As ho drove slowly round tho track ho was received with continuous chedrlng and tho waving of a thousand handkerchiefs and programmes. As ho passed out of tho Stadium tho pooplo sang "God Bless the Prince of Wales." With "Land of Hope and Glory," played by the massed bands and sung impressively by the people, a brief but cvor memorable ceremony was brought to a cloße. Closing Scones.

One would have thought on such n. day that once tho closing ceremony had been carried out tho people would promptly return to thoir homes. To a marked extont this was not tho case. From the Stadium tho visitors proceeded to mako last tours of tho palaces and pavilions. Late-comors joined the throng, and throughout the evening, practically up to closing time, tho moro popular eections woro erowdod. Tho Amusements Pari:, notwithstanding tho inclement weather, continued to be a source of attraction to tho end. Bar-gain-hunters had the timo of their lives. Some of the stalls which put up notices that goods wore to be sold at any price were quickly cleared.- The Dominions' Pavilions gave away thousands of pamphlets, and there was a great demand for posters. The programme for the final display of fireworks was tho most ambitious of the series at Wembley. It was carried out, in spite of the rain, so that the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 closed at any rate in a blaze of light and in a spirit characteristic of the race. i "Industrially aid commercially "Wembley has been a complete success," Bays the "Daily Telegraph" in a leading. article,; "politically, its richest harvest will be gathered when the children in whose eyes it has created wonderment, and whose imaginations it has awakened and stimulated, come to play their part as men and women. We have always, regarded this Exhibition, on its political ■ side, as one of those acts of faith which never fail to prove remunerative, in whatever currency you calculate their results. We are the moro convinced of the soundness of this view now that the long six months are over and winter closes in upon its deserted avenues. Wembley has richly justified itself. The name which till lately meant no more than that of a score of other London suburbs' now stands as a synonym throughout the world of British thoroughness, British invention. Britisli industry, British sport, and British organising skill and power at its highest and best."