THE TOC H SPIRIT

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 27, 1 August 1932, Page 5

THE TOC H SPIRIT

■•;'.• ..: ~~—■—♦■ ■ i SERVICE—SAGEIFICE THE CEREMONY OF LIGHT GOVERNOR-GENERAL • -':.-.: ' OFFICIATES ; , ; ': The annual service of thanksgiving ■ and remembrance of the Too H Wel- ;■ lington brancli was held in the Vivian ; street Baptist Church yesterday .after- : noon,vthe ceremony, of.light being con- .•; ducted by His Excellency the-Governor- % General (Lord Bledisloe). . . ;■ The ideal of Toe H—the perpetration v of the spirit of sacrifice of those who ;; died in the Great War—was the sub■f jeet of ah address by the Rev.L.: J. ■r Boulton Smith, based-on; the eleventh s chapter of Hebrews, defining-faith:—a ' ehapter which he urged all members : of Toe H to road carefully. In the men named in that chapter, he said, ' one recognised, the type of men who had been the best type of every couni try:—those who - had died for great t ideals, refusing to compromise faith, or i honour, and treasuring above all the " great ideals of faith' and righteousness. • The speaker emphasised. 33 the central ' thought of the chapter thev words: - "Without us not made perfect." Those who 'in Mother days strove; nobly and sacrificially for the good of mankind ; needed those of the present living generation to carry their splendid service t on to iita large and deserved fulfilment. ;, That, was the Toc;H spirit. We all admired heroes, and we were all potential heroes, he continued, but were we all ■ heroes in civil life?' In every realm of life and action the hero gave his'life .•fjwthe good of the many, aa ; was done ' yy the many of our brothers in i the. tvar. We could not let pur elder brothers down. "The voice .of our * brothers' blood," said the preacher, "calls to us not for vengeance—for heroes don't want vengeance—-but to remember the cause for which they died. That is the Toe H spirit." As ' Edmund Burke had said: "Life is a 'partnership for the living and the ' dead." We mnst Tecognise our part-... 1 nership responsibility for those .whc>; '■ had passed'on to where the spirits of ' men were made perfect. ORIGIN OF MOVEMENT. : Mr. Boulton Smith went on to Tefer to the origin of Toe H. Born, at the .-, seat of war, he said, it was. the emblem ;' of peace and goodwill. The' unique war- . time;fellowship, commenced in Franee by. the Key. "Tubby" Clayton, had now like a benevolent octopus reached ■• out all over the world with its message and its particular' kind of ser-, vice. On the : ground floor of . a house behind the lines men met; - socially, and ascended to^that sacred . i -upper ■, room where they learned to pray to their Maker. When the war, ended, Mr. Clayton struggled to make the brotherhood a permanent movement, and it had become a world crusade. It was a story full of humour and pathos. There were branches in all lands, and the patron was the Prince of Wales. ( Toe H welcomed members, but demanded that eacK member' should have a period of probation, for everyone 'who wore the badge must serve; Toe H desired to serve God—to give rather than to get; it desired to perpetuate the memory of those brave men and true who gave their lives during the war. We were here to dp what they would : have done if they had been spared. APPEAL FOB FUNDS. The need for funds with which to enable the Dominion, executive to extend the .movement was stressed by Mr. Boulton Smith, who said that a bequest or gift of, a few .hundred pounds to-day would make possible a very valuable work at a time ■when the ideals of unity and national ser- ' vice needed strengthening, and when the day camethat a padre-could be attached personally for Tpc H work throughout the Dominion a great' forward move would result. Next October aii experienced Toe H padre was to tour the Dominion, and it was hoped afterwards to launch an intensive follow-up 1 campaign. A sum of about £100 would , be needed. ; In conclusion, the pTeacher referred to.the! gallant officer to whom the lamp of the Wellington Toe H branch is dedicated—Captain W. H. D. Bell, the first member of Parliament to join the- N.Z.E.F. and to lay down his life in the Great war. He was a gifted ' man and a lover of his country, and one who, if he were alive tor-day, would . doubtless have held high office. He represented a great host of comrades "who ■ died for a worthy ideal, and died not in vain, if we who were living, were ,-true to our duty. The ghostly hands of I. those who 'j had made "the 'sacrifice Teached out to us to seal the-'partner- - ship. .'..-■■ The Ceremony of Light, conducted * T>y the Governor-General, was followed by the sounding of the Last Postl and ■ the Reveille by six senior cadets.- ---' Mr. Boulton ■ Smith was assisted inthe conducting of the service by the Rev. D. M. Hercus (Brooklyn Presbyterian Church), the Rev. W. E. Davies ■"' (Church, of England, Lower Hutt), and the Rev. Gordon Mackenzie (St. Paul's, '.Church of England).. The hymns were "Hymn of -Light," "Jerusalem," '"The Builders," and "0 Valiant Hearts." Offerings were received for : the'Toc H Dominion Extension, Fund. The service concluded with the Bener diction and the National Anthem. - The first donation was received at ( -the conclusion of the service yesterday .