"FOR VALOUR"

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 148, 19 December 1929, Page 19

"FOR VALOUR"

V.C.'S ENTERTAINED

MEMORABLE BANQUET

SHYNESS OF BRAVE MEN

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 14th November.

"There are those.of us on wnom the Sovereign has conferred the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, or the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire. . "To-nightl speak (if.l may call it so) of the Most Enviable Order of the Victoria Cross, .the mos.t |f demoeratic and at the same timemost exclusive of all order's of'ehivairy."'' :' ' -: '■' :■'■'■ ■' _These'wer.e the words ""of 'thV-Prihee W-.Jval.es to his- guests,-.-the '321 holders of the. Victoria Cross. . It was a memorable night for the."v;b.'s";fr6m all parts of the Empire--a night that'will never be forgotten.. It was even .still more memorable for that small sprinkling of men who were there 'merely -to record the.oiv.eni; for.the'world at large .and for posterity.; . For,them i.t was an embarrassment which they had'never felt before at any of the splendid "banquets,which are spread for those bearing, famous names and blest with fortune. ■ '-' •" • '•■■•••• ■'■■■ ■: ■■■.-./ir-ifi'.I.' :•. . This.rwas.. ;,,. gathering.^ofo; the- lionhearted, and . humble—a combination which reduces all men4 to their be'artfek 01~ manhood.' .It -engendered-simplic-ity. Simplicity was the keynote of the evening. But one felt that never before had one moved in at atmosphere so supercharged with spiritual power and selflessness. An impression, perhaps, but a strong one. It was as though one intruded upon the -beings ot another and higher plane. An impression, but a very real one. How was the Prince to address these men—men whose deeds of selflessness gave them a greater claim to immortality than proud names and fortunes? Nev.er has the Prince suited his words so admirably to his company. Simplicity was the keynote the Prince chose for his address. .

"I have spoken in my time," he said, "at a great number of public dinners, and I have proposed toasts on almost every subject under tho sun; and when I say, that to-night I speak with 'considerable embarrassment,' I moan that I feel probably as uncomfortable as you do, because it is not our national habit to invite men to dinner in order to tell them *ho\v brave they are. But I will assume that whatever 'small deed of arms,' as the knights of old used to call it, stands to the credit of each one of you, you committed—perpetrated it from motives of self-preservation, or because you happened to noitce that someone on the staff was watching: and admiring you! "I suggest this because every V.C. I have talked, to always dishes up some explanation of-this sort to account for his peculiar. conduct, whether by land or sea, by air or.underground." SHY AND MODEST MEN. .These are the bare facts of this remarkable occasion: Long before halfpast seven a great crowd of people had gathered outside the Houses of Parliamont. The holders of the V.C. arrived in taxi-cabs, , .-There':were no silk bats or evening dress.. ■ The.invitation card •had requested:lounge : suits and medals. As each man" alighted from his taxi-cab he had to run. the gauntlet of

an avenue of hero-worshippers. Women patted them on the back and cheered. Many of the men put their heads down aiicl ran for the door. Having got rid of their hats and ooats, the men stood about for haif an hour in tho hall outside the Upper Chamber. But there was not that heavy drone of eonversatione one generally hears before a public dinner. Many men stood alone, having no friends.to talk to at that moment, and too shy to open a conversation with a stranger. But there were parties who obviously had corns together. The brogue of the Scotsman could be heard or^that of the North Countryman; a little Irish could be heard, a great deal ot Cockney, and there were other groups of Canadians or Australians. Colonel Bernard Freyberg, by the way, was the only representative of New Zealand present. Seven others had dmed with Sir Charles Fergusson in Wellington, probably some hours before.

At 8 o'clock the guests passed in file through the House of Lords. Many had already found the red benches •there a suitable lounge. Most were amusea with the Woolsack but admired the Throne. They slowly filed through i C TOiuce' s cuamber j where the Prince of Wales, himself in a lounge suit, shook hands with everyone, and engaged many in a brief conversation. A DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLY. , It was a splendid sight that met the eyes of. the guests when they entered the Royal Gallery. One table occupied the whole length of the chamber at one- side under the great picture of the "Meeting of Wellington and Blu-c£er-"'At the- middle of this table sat the Prince. Lots had been drawn for all the other places, so the Prince had on his right Sergeant Burman, now a chauffeur, and on nis left Viscount Gort. For the rest generals and privates, colonels and sergeants, peers and miners, stockbrokers and porters, clergymen and sailors, men who had won their medals fifty years ago and those who had. won them in the last war, sat together just as the ballot ordained.

_ The Royal Gallery provided a fine setting. Opposite the gigantic mural painting of Wellington there is the "Death of Nelson." There are figures of the hero monarehs of centuries ago—Alfred, William the Conqueror, Hichard 111., Edward HI., and Henry V. There are the portraits of the Kings and Queens of later days. From the oak arches far above hung the flags of Great Britam and the Dominions. Prom the main table there branched a dozen other tables across the chamber. Beside the decorations of flowers there were sft crosses made entirely of Flanders poppies. The long side table had a dozen such, and each tributary table had four. Huge baskets of really luxurious fruit gave the "banquetting" touch to the scene.

If the men had been a little shy outside, the ice was soon broken when onco they were seated. Sailors yarned over old times with soldiers, airmen with those who had never flown. Men from overseas made- new friends with Londoners, or the men from the factories in the north. Practically every waiter wore medals, and there was more than one unofficial reunion between the men who were guests and those who waited on them.

Tire menu was a simple one, luxury perhaps being typified only in the des-. sert and the champagne. It was: Empire Soup. Sole. . Saddle of Southdown Lamb. Boast Surrey.Chicken and Salad. Cream of Flanders. "Dessert. C'hoico Wines,- Cigars, and Cigarettes. During the meal the Guards' Baud played lively music, and afterwards some of the favourite old war son^s. Tho Prince, beside his other duties,was n'sked to sigh menu cards, and during, tho meal and for a long time after-

wards lie signed score after score of them.

THE PRINCE'S SPEECH.

When ho rose to speak,' the Prince was greeted . with cheers which the raised and demonstrating hands of the large imposing toastmaster took very many minutes to subdue. Quiet was at last restored.

The Prince offered a welcome to his guests on behalf of the British Legion : —"from the young men who now- serve where you served"—and 'from your countless friends and kin here in the heart of that Empire." In the words quoted above he explained his embarrassment in speaking to such an assembly. He spoke of the most enviable Order of the Victoria Cross, the most democratic and at the same time most exclusive of all Orders of chivalry. "Demoreratic," the Prince proceeded, because it takes not the least heed of a man's rank or social status—exclusive because its simple insignia, of all the honours which a grateful country can bestow, gives- right of entry to what is generally considered the most select corps in the world. "It is recruited from that very limited circle of men who see what is needed to be done, and do it at once at their own peri], and, having done it, shut up—like the oyster. This is a wise provision of Nature, for if the men who did things talked half as much as the men who know how things ought to be done, life would not be worth living. "This is not a new discovery, -of course, but I began to realise it first perhaps in the Salient, a tract of country which, as many of you know, produced very little except discomfort and brave deeds. And the discomforts were talked about most.

"Gentlemen, you are the' holders of an honour which, it is true, can only be won in time of war, and there is no wise man to-day who, having learnt what war means, does not pray that it may never again come in his lifetime. But that fact only enhances the value of the Cross, for it is a certificate—a symbol—of the possession of those qualities which, though war called them forth, arc really the foundations of peace; the qualities of a cool head and an undaunted heart; a fearless disregard of self, all those qualities which are summed up on the brief legend engraved on the Cross itself. And if man thinks that 'Valour' is only called-for in fighting our enemies on the actual field of battle, he must, I think, have a very distorted view of the life we lead on this world of ours.

THOSE WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN.

"uentlenien, this is the first occasion on which, since the institution of the Victoria Cross seventy-two years ago, a whole generation of its holders are met together in one room, and I only regret that many have been prevented by distance and other causes from joining you to-night. "I need not say that I am proud to be of this company. Glad as I am to meet you, and to have the privilege of proposing this toast, there is' one thought that must .be in our minds— namely, that many of our contemporaries who might have been with us lost their lives in the very act of valour which won them the Cross, or have died since their award. May I, on behalf of all of us, express this message to the friends of these men—that we do not forget them, and that we honour their memory. "A last thought. You, our guests, have known of men who, but for the absence of any witness except the dead—or by the accident of wounds that hurry a man into hospital where he lies, lost to the records for months —would be of your select company and breaking bread with us to : night. And you know, too, how a good man's nerve may crack past recovery under the terrible strain, so that thosemen must live-on—exterri-ally sound, maybe—but with mind and spirit crippled and bewildered for the ,term of their natural lives. And they,

too, might have been "with us. - Let us remember them all. "Gentlemen, it is now my privilege to propose the health of our gueßts, the holders of the Victoria Cross. I shall never forget this gathering to-night, and I wish you all every possible success.1' ■ ■ OTHBE SPEECHES. Lord Jcllicoe, who ivas received with cheers when he rose to propose the toast of "The Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of the Boyal Family," said: "Some of us, I am sure feel great difficulties in being present at such a gathering as this. In my own ease I recall an incident in 1917 when two small boys were introduced to me and told by their mother to shake hands. The elder said at once: 'Are you a V.C.?' I had to confess that I was not. Both boys, then said: 'We only shake hands with V.C.'s." (Laughter.) Lord Jellicoe also read a stirring appeal from tiie V.C.'s to the nation on behalf of distressed ex-soldiers. Lieut.-Commander 11. Auten replied to the Prince's toast on behalf of the Naval V.C.'s, Sergeant C. E. Spackman on behalf of the Army, and Lieut.Colonel Bishop (the man who brought down fifty German aeroplanes) on behalf of the Air Force. • . ■