PARADE THROUGH STREETS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27642, 26 April 1955, Page 14

PARADE THROUGH STREETS

Fewer Than Usual In Procession

With the dwindling in the numbers *of thbse for whom the word Anzac S has a particular significance, Anzac Day parades in Christchurch have de-' creased in size. The number of men. and women who marched in the: parade to the civic service yesterday! : v. as small compared with parades of' r past years, and the armed services i were represented only by the Army. World War II veterans, apart from those organised in regimental associations, were more noticeable among the crowd watching the procession than among the marchers. Many prefer the dawn parade and the more personal suburban services in the morning as . opportunities of remembering their comrades.

The route of the parade from Cranmer square to the King Edward Barracks was fairly well lined, but noone had difficulty in seeing the procession.

Led by the band of the Third Armoured Regiment, bearers of wreaths from civic and service organisations headed the parade. Among the many beautiful floral tributes to the fallen of three wars was a striking floral map of Australia, with the States shown in different coloured flowers, a tribute from members of the AXF. Association. Former naval men carried a wreath in the form of a White -BnsignLieu tenant-Colonel J. R. Williams

commanded the parade, and officials of the Christchurch Returned Services' Association led the parties of returned men and women, for there was a small croup of nurses and former members of the women’s services. Survivors of New Zealand’s first overseas force carried their standard, that of the South African War Vet-

• eram’ Association, and there was a . small group of men who, with the E Australian Army 40 years ago, were , alongside the New Zealanders to make [ the nam* of Anzac immortal I Hie Old Contemptibles and the Im- . perial forces were well represented ' amnn*rt the men of World War 1. 1 Some <d the men were veterans of I both World Wars, and one, with an f impressive row of service medals, was still in uniform—a leading aircraftsman in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Members of the 20th Battalion and Armoured Regiment, and the Army j Service Corps, both of which have ac--1 tree- associations in Christchurch, t formed the bulk of the men from the f 2MN.ZXF. fThe Navy was represented by the R.N.Z.V.R. pipe band leading former naval men. Other brass, bugle and pipe bands i added colour to the parade and put a ' lift in the step of the marchers. j A colourful small group was the I Legion of Frontiersmen with their disI tinctive uniform and brightly shining ; epaulettes, buttons and medals. A contingent from the Ist Canterbury Regiment, led by the regimental bend, formed a khaki phalanx at the rear of the parade. The backmarkers were kept in step by drummers and buglers from the Christ- ; chureh West High School - Only once did the parade pause, at .the Bridge of Remembrance for the -placing of the RS.A. wreath.