REMEMBRANCE DAY

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25954, 7 November 1949, Page 6

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Memorial to Fallen Unveiled

SERVICE ATTENDED BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL

The erection of this memorial was a worthy gesture by such a small Dominion, the smallest in the Empire, said his Excellency the GovernorGeneral (Sir Bernard Frey berg V.C.) when unveiling the Memorial to the Fallen of the British Empire, in the Christchurch Cathedral yesterday afternoon, when Remembrance Day was commemorated. . The unveiling of this memorial was no mere formal ceremony, he said. He felt the loss personally with all those present. The sacrifice of youth was hard to bear but people must not become embittered or cynical. They died fighting, at the height of their power, for freedom and liberty. It was just four years since the last shot was fired, and it was hoped that in years to come, future generations of young New Zealand men and women would read these names and honour them. After the National Anthem, and the singing of a hymn, the High Commissioner for Australia (Mr A. R. Cutler, V.C.) read Yhe lesson and the commemoration ;was said by the Rev. H. F. Harding, D. 5.0.. M.B.E. The Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) was represented by the Minister of Education (Mr T. H. McCombs), and the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom (Mr C. R. Price) also attended. Among those present were:—Mr Justice Northcroft and Lady Northcroft, Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P., and Mrs Macfarlane, Mr J. Mathison, M.P., and Mrs Mathison, the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr E. H. Andrews), Captain R. Newman, R.N. (Navy), Brigadier C. B. Parkinson (Army), Wing Commander A. B. Greenaway (R.N.Z.A.F.), Sir Joseph Ward (chairman of Canterbury University College Council), the rector of Canterbury College (Dr, H. R. Hulme), and representatives of the Order of St. John, Red Cross, Returned Services’ Association, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, South African Veterans’ Association,' 1 Old Contemptibles, Australian Imperial Forces Association, Royal Empire Society, Victoria League, Navy League, Overseas League, .and Christchurch Rotary Club.

The memorial was dedicated by the Primate of New Zealand (Archbishop West-Watson) and by the Bishop of Aotearoa (the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett), who spoke in Maori. After an address by the Dean of Christchurch (the Very Rev. A. K. Warren), the choir sang as an anthem words by T. S. Eliot, set to music by Dr. V. E. Galway,- professor of music at Otago University. The words of the anthem are inscribed above the altar on the front of the refable of the memorial.

The large congregation filled the Cathedral, and many listened to the service outside by the aid of a loudspeaker system.