LAST RESPECTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 147, 24 June 1939, Page 10

LAST RESPECTS

SIR THOMAS WILFORD

"SERVANT OF EMPIRE"

FUNERAL TRIBUTE

1 ' o Representatives of all sections of the community, including members of Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Court, leading professional and commercial men, and representatives of local bodies and. organisations with which the late Sir Thomas Wilford was identified assembled at St. James's Anglican Church, Lower Hutt, this morning to pay their last respects to. a man who was described by the Rev. H. E. K. Fry, in a panegyric, as a faithful and devoted servant of the Empire and one of New Zealand's prominent leaders. "The Apostle Saint Paul, in the first letters he wrote to the Christian Church at Corinth, remarked: 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are indeed of all men to be pitied,' but," said Mr. Fry, "because we know, in the words of one of our Christian poets, that far out of sight, beyond pur mortal ken, lies that far country where our hearts abide, then the note that is struck at such a service as this surely must be one of joy and thankfulness —thankfulness.for a life so well begun.

"'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, their works do follow, them.' Yve know that that is true of Thomas Mason. Wilf ord, in whose honour and in memory of whom we are met in this church in which he used to worship in the days'"gone by. His, works do follow him. '

"It was Samuel Rutherford, a great divine of our English • Church, who said, exhorting his Christian brethren, 'Take with ' you my ' friends in ; your journey what you , may j carry with you; your conscience, faith, hope, goodness, brotherly kindness: such wares as these are of great price in the high and new country whither ye go.' It is the use we have made here of the talents which the Creator gave us; it is the use we have made of the opportunities which were given us here serving God and our fellow-men—it is all that that will be of value' and credit in the new life to which we pass on the other side of the grave. The kindness. we have been enabled to show, the compassion we have been enabled to realise, the self-sacrifice we have been enabled to practise, the strength and the cheer we have been able to give to our fellow-men —these are the things which are ours in the Eternal World.

"We need no reminding that Sir Thomas was possessed in no small, measure of talents and ability such as 'are granted to few, and, by. the Grace of God, he made good use of them indeed. He ■ of his best over many years in the service of God, of his King, and of his; country. In his. passing into life, unseen, the . Church on'earth has lost a faithful member, the Empire has.lost a .faithful and devoted servant, and our .country has lost one whose name will go down to history as one of New Zealand's most prominent leaders; and we, ourselves, have lost a true friend. ,

"I know feat the wholehearted sympathy of us all goes out td Lady Wilford and the other members of the family. We salute the . honoured memory of Thomas Mason' Wilford, knight and gentleman, the motto of whose life surely and consistently was, 'I serve,' and for him the trumpets have sounded now on the other side." The service was conducted by the Rev. H. E. K. Fry and the Yen. Archdeacon A. L. Hansell.. ~■■.'

The pallbearers were Mr. H. F. O'Leary, K.C. (New Zealand Law Society), Mr. J. W ; Andrews (Mayor of Lower Hutt and member of the Wellington Harbour Board)', Mr. M. F. Luckie (Wellington City Council), Mr. W. H. Robeftshaw, Mr. T. E. Y. Seddon. and Mr. W. P. Sommerville.

The chief mourners were Lady Wilford, Miss McLean, Mrs. Reid, Mrs. Horace Wilson, Messrs. G. Mason, F. McLean, W. Wilson, and /A. J. Harding. Amongst those present at the church were the . Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser), the Attorney-General (the.Hon. H. G. R. Mason), the Minister of Railways (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan), the Minister of Agriculture. (the Hon. W. Lee Martin), the Minister of Immigration (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong), the Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Myers, Chief Justice. Mr. Justice Blair, Mr. Justice Northcroft, Sir Harry Batterbee, High Commisisoner for the United Kingdom in New Zealand, the Hon. W. Perry, M.L.C., the Hon. V. Ward, M.L.C., the Hon. T. Brindle, M.L.C., Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P., Mr. H. E. Combs, M.P., the

Mayor of . Wellington (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop), the Solicitor-General (Mr. H. H. Cornish, K.C.), Mr. C. H. Weston, K.C., Mr. P. B. Cboke, K.C., Sir, James Grose, Sir Charles Norwood, Sir Charles > Luke, Captain S. Holm and Mr. E. M. Bardsley (Wellington Chamber of/Commerce), Mr. M G. C. McCaul (Associated Chambers of Commerce), Messrs. E. A. Batt, A. J. Toogood, E. P Hay, and H W. Shortt (the Automobile Association, Wellington), Mr. G. G. G. Watson (New Zealand Law Society), Mr. S. Blackley (Hutt County Council), Captain M...5. Galloway (Red- Cross Society), Mr. Sinclair Thompson (National Bank of New Zealand), Messrs. W. Thorpe, and-W. Appleton (New Zealand Guarantee Corporation), Mr. J. T. Martin (Wellington Savage Club), Lieutenant^ Colonel S. H. Crump (Army), WingCommander T. M. Wilkes and Wing Commander A. de T. NevilL (Air Department), Messrs. D. S. G. Marchbanks and G. Swan (Wellington Golf Club), H. L. Nathan (Wellington Racing. Club), Mr. T. B: Heath (Bank of New South Wales), Messrs. A. Sassone and J.: Pagani (Garibaldi Club), Messrs. W.'Warner and R. R. Scott (Lodge Waterloo), Mr. R. Randall (Karori Rifle Club), Mr. T. W. Brown (Ist'South African Contingent Association); the Wellington Harbour Board was represented by Messrs. C. M. Turrell, T. R. Barrer (members), A. G. Barnett (general manager), E. D. Cachemaille (engineer), J. Marchbanks, J. F. B. Stevenson and A. V. Hale Monro; and others present were Messrs. R. L. Macalister, W. Duncan, J. O'Shea (City Solicitor), K. E. Luke .(City Engineer), M. Cable, (general manager, tramways), J. S. Barton, R. A. Wright, H.. P. F. Blundeli; J. C. Peacock, W. H. Field, D. Riddiford, G. Pearce, L.-..0. H. Tripp, E. P. Bunny, P. Levi, S. Harcourt, G. Sutton, Russell Dymock, V. Rhind, C. Nathan, Walter E. Reid, R. Sellers, P. Jackson, H. S. Malcolm, J. M. Prendeville, C. Todd, C. A. L. Treadwell, R. C. Addison, Professor yon Zedlitz, Drs. Martin Tweed and Duncan Stout, and Dr. C. J. Reakes. ' HUTT REPRESENTATIVES. Representatives of Hutt Valley bodies were- as: folldws:—The Mayor of Lower Hutt (Mr. J. W. Andrews), the Mayor of Petone (Mr. G. London), the Mayor of Eastbourne (Mr. E. W. Wise)," Messrs. J. C. Burns, .W. H. Edwards,. H. F. Fleet, H. Green, and A. M. Macfarlahe (members of the Petone Borough Council), Messrs. W. C. Gregory and.A. Marshall, (mem-' bers of the Lower Hutt. Borough Council), Mi\ W. Greig (member of the Upper Hutt Borough Council), Mr. O. Silbery (Petone Bowling Club and Petone and Lower Hutt Gas Lighting Bdftrd), Mr. H. Appleyard (Petone Bowling' Club), Mr. J. E; August (Hutt Park Trotting Club), Mr. J. Purvis (Wairarapa National Party), Messrs. A. McFadyen and W. B. Nicholson (Petone Memorial Techriical College), Messrs. W. H. Smith, C. Gi Hedge, and S. M. Hobbs (St. James's Church).

, Other residents: of the Hutt -Valley present were Mr. J. W, McEwan, v (exMayor of Petone), Mr. W. T^ Strand (ex-Mayor of Lower Hutt), Mr! A. Anderson, Mr. F. Whiteman,; J.P., Mr. C. L. Jackson (Petone Borough; Engineer), Mr. G. F. Dixon, Mr. W.; J. Walters, Mr. J.1 S. Stonehouse, Mr: and Mrs. O. G. Kember. Mrs. T. Ri> Aitchesdn, Mrs. E. E, Yates. Dr. Welton Hogg, Messrs. W. B." Rainey, M. G. Neal,, F. B. Bolt, J\ S. Ho.Sson, J. 5,.: Barton, T. A. Jackson, C W. Johnston, H. Styles, E. Gallichan. A. Grierson, G. Goodwin, H. B. Gordon, C. J. S. Harcourt, W. Wakelin, and the Rev. J. E: Lopdell. After the service the cortege left for the. Crematorium,- Wellington, where the service was conducted by Mr/Fry.