IN MEMORIAM

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 37, 14 February 1938, Page 6

IN MEMORIAM

WINDOWS UNVEILED

LATE REV. W. BRAMWELL SCOTT

IMPRESSIVE SERVICE

' From 1917 until the end of the war the late Rev. W. Bramwell Scott, .Chaplain to the Forces, became known to New Zealand soldiers in the field, and during -the post-war years until his death \he was well known by his labours on behalf of (returned soldiers in various of New Zealand. His labours came to an end at Wellington while- he was minister at Trinity Methodist Church, and scores of returned soldiers who knewihim gathered at the church- last evening for the dedication of two windows to his memory.,, • One of the windows was presented to the church by returned soldiers in Wellington' and the surrounding districts, the other being a memoriai erected by members' of the Church's congregation. The first was unveiled by the Bishop of, Wellington (the Rt. Rev. H. St. Barbe Holland, M.A.), and the second by the president: of the Methodist Conference of New Zealand (the Rev. Fred Copeland).' •■' ■■■■.i.- ;>-■; , ■ -•

When the members of the church decided to honour the memory of their late minister by erecting a memorial window, a number of returned soldiers expressed a wish to be associated with the church in providing a memorial to their late padre. Several of these returned soldiers formed" themselves into a committee and called for voluntary contributions towards , a memorial that would be a tribute from former comrades. The response to this appeal was/so good that the committee was ~<able. to procure a beautiful stained-glass windowi and the Bishop of Wellington, as a former Chaplain to the Forces, agreed to perform' the dedication on behalf of the returned soldiers. DESIGNS OF WINDOWS. The window presented by returned soldiers was designed by a returned soldier and was constructed in Dunedin in a way that gave entire satisfaction to all connected vvith the erecting of the memorial. The window depicts a soldier in war kit standing at attention with reversed arms and the setting sun behind him. By a happy coincidence the soldier faces the other memorial window, and appears to look at the Cross which is its main feature.

Before 7 o'clock last night about one hundred returned soldiers had gathered at the church wearing their medals and decorations in honour of their former padre. Creed was forgotten, many churches being represented at the service, as they were at services held close to the battlefields in the war- years.

The service commenced with the singing of the National Anthem and the hymn, "O .God, Our Help in Ages past." The Rev. Walter Parker, minister? of the church, led in prayer, th,e responses being given by the congregation from the service sheets provided, and all joined in the recital of the Lord's Prayer. The lesson, read by'l Colonel Charles Walls, M.C. (Salva : ' tion" Army) from Psalm xxiii, and an anthem by the v choir and the hymn "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind,'.' concluded the first part of the cere* mony.

The minister of the church, who conducted the service, welcomed his Lordship the^ Bishop, the president of the Methodist Conference, and Colonel Walls on behalf of the members of the church and the returned soldiers. It was inspiring and 'moving, he said, that three representatives of three great churches should be present at the service. , '' > HIS LORDSHIP'S ADDRESS. His Lordship said that' before dedicating the window presented by the returned soldiers to the memory ■ of their late padre he wanted to say that it was with very real joy that he accepted the invitation of the returned soldiers to unveil the /window in memory of one of their best loved comrades—a man, from all the accounts he had read of his life, he should have loved to have: known. , The late padre seemed to have been one of those gallant gentlemen who had the interests of God and the King at heart; one who showed simple, humble loyalty to Christ, and on such as he the whole future of the Church depended.

His Lordship added that he was also grateful to be present in a sister church to the ,-one in which he served. He welcomed such, opportunities to join with ' others in their worship. "We are thinking above all tonight of the memory of he whom we are going t<S honour," the Bishop continued. He was trying to think—asa comrade of the Great War—of what the memory of such men meant to the average congregation of. today, he said. The younger generation found it • hard to understand why those, who served in the Great War liked to have the opportunity to those days .' of war and the men who gave their lives or. lived on to be . called later. The younger generation was apt to think that such meetings were used to glorify war, but the men who served loathed; detested,, and hated war, and would' do anything possible to bring all war to an end.,' The men who served found that when they .gathered together there was something that united them with a common bond.' He had often asked himself what that was, and he believed that it was the fact that service in the field brought out the highest things in human nature; because of the filth, beastliness, and horrors of war the soldiers began to see the real good in their fellow-men; the recklessness of self, the regardlessness of consequences, the all-enveloping desire to share, the willingness to work for the common good, and the extraordinary power 'to suffer and endure enabled men to see more of Christ. AN INSPIRATION. That was where the late Bramwell Scott got his inspiration, the Bishop said, and his memory was a challenge to all who knew him to live their lives on the plane he lived in. "Let this window unveiled by ;me bring you back to the highest you know; to the greatest inspiration of your life," he said. "The purpose of a window is to let light in,, and that window is to let light into this church. I trust that the ma;- you loved will continue to let light into your lives; the light of love, the light of our Lord, the light that is going to make the fruits of the spirit come to life." .

His Lordship concluded with an appeal' to the congregation to so consecrate their lives that they might m seme measure oring: the love of God to the heart of life in order'that the world might be saved from the horrors and beastliness of war.*'

After reciting the lines of Lawrence Binyon which began, "With proud thanksgiving." his Lordship dedicated the window and offered a brief prayer.

As the ■ window '■ was unveiled the lights OJ the church were put' out and the window-showed plainly against a light beyond it. : The hymn, "For All the Saints," was sung, and then the window erected by officials and members of the church

■ was unveiled by the president "of the Methodist Conference.

A FRIENDS EULOGY.

It was over thirty-six years ago that he had first met "Bram" Scott, Mr. Copeland said. ■ A friendship had commenced between them then, and it had lasted throughout the years and still lasted although "Bram" had gone a little ahead oi him. :

"What shall 1 say about him?" he asked. "He was elusive in a way; he was very human: like Peter Pan he never grew up. Ido not mean that .he did not develop, but he always retained a youthful spirit. He had a great love for *iis fellows. He was a reader but not a great student; he liked to keep in touch v. ith men and life. He did not live" in the past ' He had literary gifts and liked to put his thoughts on paper. He had few opportunities of securing a classical education, but he earned a good degree in the university of hard knocks, and because of that he had great sympathy for the underdog and the chap who was a trier. He had very little sympathy for the scrounger, ftut he did love his fellow men- and that was why he went into khaki. He .was not c firebrand, but he loved to serve. He was no diplomat; he did not understand the art of finesse. He was straightforward and would say, 'Come out in the open and take hard knocks if you must.' He gave hard knocks at times, but always without venom. He was as clear as the day;' as open as a book. He hated wrong; anything that would do his fellow n~en harm. He was in any fight that called for; volunteers who would give their all on behalf of their fellows." • THE SPRiNGS OF LIFE. The springs of Bramwell Scott's life were not founded in humanitarianism only, but in the love oi God, Mr. Copeland continued. He had served'to the fullness of his powers and had shown an ability to bring beauty to places were none,existed... He was always able to see the,possibility of restoring the man who had., broken dowi*. The windows erected, in the church would help to keep hib memory green, but that memory could best be commemorated by those who knew him seeking to live as tie had. lived;':and to serve as he had served." The world and New Zealand needed many .things, but New Zealand' needed more '• than anything else men, and women of character and principle; men who would stand'four square to every wind; men who would serve; tall men who would stand above the crowd and above self-seeking.' , , ■

The, lights were again dimmed as Mr. Copeland pronounced the words of dedication and unveiled the second window to reveal the figure of the soldier on the first looking at the Cross on the second.

The service concluded with a prayer b> Colonel Walls, the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and the Benediction pronounced by the Bishop.