WHERE JELLICOE LIES

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 151, 23 December 1935, Page 7

WHERE JELLICOE LIES

CRYPT OF ST. PAUL'S

A MASS OF WREATHS

(From "The Post's" Representative) LONDON, November 30. \ Ever since the funeral of Earl Jellicoe visitors have been descending to the crypt of St. Paul's in their thousands each day. It is a vast stone chamber stretching the full length of the Cathedral.building. Everywhere on the floor are carved the memorial words ;to people who in their time were known and honoured. Many of them have long since been forgotten save by the' few. On the walls are memorial stones to men who served their country and in many cases gave their lives for it. Lord Jellicoe' was carried to his last resting-place on a small gun-carriage drawn by bluejackets. The Duke of Wellington was borne to the Cathedral on a funeral carriage, the like of which had probably never been seen in this country before, nor seen since. This elaborate vehicle stands in the crypt today. It is over 20ft in length, over 10ft in width, and it , towers up to a height of about 15ft to a platform on which the coffin of Wellington was placed on November 18, 1852, and drawn by a great number of shrouded horses. There are six wheels to this great vehicle. The body of the car is cased with solid bast bronze and the wheels as well, all elaborately decorated. It is 'recorded that the making of this garish, funeral car took only .18 days, but the workr ■ men were many.. At the far. end of the crypt is the black marble sarcophagus in wjiich was placed the^body of the Iron-Duke. . ( ,l .■ NEAR NELSON'S TOMB. Further to the west is a circle of alcoves. ': In the centre of the circle is : Nelson's Tomb-^a marble sarcophagus. Nelson's .body, is not buried 'in this, but in the concrete base beneath it. It rests directly, under the centre of the Cathedral dome. A line -dropped from the Golden Cross that . shines above; the dome, would fail.! directly upon the tomb,-: ■ ;' s ■;"■•_■ In the; alcoves of the circle' many distinguished soldiers and sailors, are commemorated.. Some of theni are buried beneath the stone flooring, but others are commemorated only. Thus one may'read'the names of, Captain Duff, of H.M:S. Mars', who died at Trafalgar; of John Cooke, who commanded the Bellerophon at Trafalgar and was killed/in the battle; Of'the Earl of Norttiesk; of Viscount Wolse-. ley; Sir, Heriry Wilson; Earl Roberts; and Sir , Evelyn ;y Wood. ' A - carved stone of ''■&■ nurse' and: wounded soldier is erected to the memory-of Florence Nightingale;.; 7. ■'.•'■■.■ ■'-■"/.■ '■^'■:^:-: In the alcove to -the south-^ast of Nelson's tomb where Earl Jellicoe Ues buried there are; ojher memorials, but no burial plots. ■The'Xmemorials, are to Admiral of the .Meet Henry/: B. Jackson, Captain "'Sir John Glover, Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Frederick.W. Richards, i Admiral Sir Edward '■Cotrington, Admiral. Lord Beresford,, and' to the brother of Lord Nelson and his family.; •,•■■■'• •• ..• ; ; '-~.■'". .■: .■■■.•;. "•..•'•■■• A REMARKABLE SPECTACLE. A;remarkableJ^sj{ectecle meets .the eye \ tod^y.f there: vis a;? smap^lid--: : "crpsSv^^r>ly' covered : witit.>esFlariders 'si, poppies: • made by the men of,the British Legion. This is Lady JelliQde's tribute to her late husband. : It Tiiarks the head of the grave where;jpie.. great ysailpr lies buried. ■Every; space in the, alcove' is covered withjwreaths^ most of them of red poppies, Vbut a few of beautiful natural flowers. A; ribbon bearing the Nazi swastika.is ■■■■ distinguishable among the;jgrpiipL ; •;.■• . ..-..'. .•■ .:.;. Two otherklcdvesbn the south:side of the circle are also massed with the read • wreaths, and then outside the circle and along each side of the crypt for forty, yards the crimson wreaths are laid. - : It is said there are many more than a. thousand such tributes, and they make a remarkable sight under the electric light in this hallowed spot. , -It was at Lord Jellicoe's express desire: that wreaths should "be made of Flanders poppies; Thus; even Jn the hour of his death, he remembered the men who in his later years fie served and loved so. well. , NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY. At the annual meeting of the New Zealand Society, Sir James Parr referred to the death of Lord Jellicoe, one of the vice-presidents. The High .Commissioner said he was sure all members of.the society.would mourn his loss not,only as a vice-president, but as a very warm friend. He had always been friendly towards New Zealand, but after his four years as Governor-General he regarded the Dominion with affection. He never spared himself in helping New Zealand, and he helped in a thousand ways. "I think we all loved the man," said Sir James. "He showed simplicity and kindness—qualities you find in all great men, but in Lord Jellicoe you found them in abundance." For- the last few months, Admiral It. H. Bacon, with the assistance of the late Earl Jellicoe, has been preparing his biography for publication by Messrs. Cassells. Admiral Bacon appeals to all who happen to have in their possession letters of interest, or whose memories have stored incidents in the life of that great man, to commuhicat'e with him at Braishfield, Hants. All documents will be returned at as early a date as possible. UNTIRING WORK FOR OTHERS.

In a broadcast tribute to Jellicoe, "Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey said:— "Only this evening Lady Jellicoe told me of a message she has received from the Maoris, which reads: 'We are mingling our tears with those of. the pakeha.' Lord Jellicoe as the Navy knew him was a singularly, attractive mixture of confidence and modesty. "Nothing was ever too much trouble. As an example, iri his later days, when overwhelmed with correspondence from all oVer the globe, he penned every letter with his own hand, and even stuck on the stamps. , .. "He was of all men I have known the most self-reliant. He was sup-' ported in all his work and in all his trials—and he had his trials—by his faith in his God and in his country. That the King realised Lord Jellicoe's character and the value of his services is proved by the Court Circular , issued from Buckingham Palace,' when his Majesty spoke of the profound sorrow with, which he had learned of his death. I firmly believe that this great man might have'lived on for many years had he not shown such untiring devotion to the cause of the ex-servicemen..

"He succeeded Lord Haig as President of the British Legion, and he remained in that position until his doctor intervened. During that period he travelled in third-class carriages all over the country in order to promote the interests of. the Legion, whose welfare was in his thoughts till the end. "Those of us who .served with John Rushworth Jellicoe, ashore or afloat, the Merchant Na,vy, all ex-servicemen and their dependants, New Zealanders, and, indeed r all who came in contact with him can surely say: 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant.'"