1100 MEN ATTEND DINKS’ REUNION IN AUCKLAND

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22657, 7 June 1948, Page 4

1100 MEN ATTEND DINKS’ REUNION IN AUCKLAND

(P.A.) AUCKLAND. June 7. Eighty tables stretching the length of the Drill Hall barely accommodated “Dinks” from all over the Dominion who attended the reunion of veterans of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade on Saturday night. It is believed to have been the largest function of its kind ever 'held in the Southern Hemisphere with an attendance of about 1100.

The reunion was an opportunity for countless reminiscences sharpened in flavour by the passage of 30 years since the distinguished service of the brigade in the First World War. Men Parade in Units

The brief, formal part of the programme consisted of the falling in of the men in their units before being seated at the tables, a short speech of welcome by the chairman, LieutenantColonel M. B. Blyth, and the honouring of toasts to the brigade and the fighting services.

he brigade’s emblem, a lion rampant with standard, dominated the setting of the hall which was decorated with flags and palm leaves and marked with the place names of units in old campaigns. » A survey of the gathering showed that men had come from as far south as Invercargill and from all parts of the country to the furthest north. Probably 800 of those present were from outside Auckland.

A rough check indicated that the ages of those present ranged from 48 to 78 years. The proceedings were stopped at 9 p.m. for two minutes when the gathering stood in the darkened hall in tribute to members of the brigade who were killed in the First World War or have died since Impressive Gathering at Cenotaph There was an attendance of over 800 members of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade at an Impressive parade at the Cenotaph yesterday morning. Colonel R. St. J. Beere, D. 5.0., the most senior surviving officer of the brigade, was present. The parade marched to the Cenotaph to the strains of “We are the Boys of the Old Brigade” played by a band The service was conducted by Padre O. W. Williams, padre to the brigade who served as an officer with it during the First World War. At the delegates’ luncheon Colonel Beere was elected president of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade Association and Major E. E. Greenish vice-president. The reunion next year will be held in Christchurch,