EMPIRE PILGRIMAGE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 26 June 1924, Page 4

EMPIRE PILGRIMAGE.

753 VISIT THE WAR GRAVES. ST. BARNABAS ORGANISATION. LONDON, May 6. Last week-end 753 pilgrims from all parts of Great Britain set out in one party to France to visit the graves of their relatives. This is the third such pilgrimage that has been organised by the St. Barnabas Hostels, which in this larger movement is known as,,the St. Barnabas Pilgrimage Fund. On this occasion the obiect was to attract a great many people from the Dominions, but it was evident that Dominion visit, ors have the time and inclination to make the journey to the cemeteries in greater comfort, for the representation from overseas was not large. New Zealand, however, was represented by the Rev. Frank Dunnage (Christchurch), who had been helping the Rev. M. Mullineux, M.C., in the work of organisation. Miss Hanlon, of the HighCommissioner’s staff, was one of the party leaders.

Even when the pilgrims assembled on the Victoria Station it was evident they were not going to have a happy voyage. The day had been wet and the wind had been tempestuous. Everything was organised on military lines by Major H. Cook, and every group of' twenty or so who were to visit graves in the same districts were under a leader, whose badge of office was a wand, at the end of which was a placard bearing the group number, plain for all to see. The special trains left Victoria, about 10 o’clock at night, after everyone had been provided with tea and biscuits. On arrival at Folkestone no movement was made until about 6 o’clock, thus enabling the people to get some sleep. Then the crossing commenced. It was one of the worst that the Channel can provide, but those who had never been to France before gained some idea of the conditions under which their brothers and sons and husbands went over to the battlefields in the old days The majority of the pigrims were not elderly people and could take no harm from the rough handling they were subjected to. But some were well on in years. Their courage under the unpleasant conditions was remarkable. Five hundred of the pilgrims were ill, but when they arrived at Boulegno they cheered up wonderfully and found com. fort in a thoroughlv good breakfast in the buffet on the wKarl,

All the motor-lorries of Boulogne were in readiness to convey the pilgrims to the Terlingthum cemetery, on the top of the Boulogne cliffs half-way to Wimereux. A detachment of the Royal Engineers, especially detailed from Chatham, was waiting at the cemetery entrance. Colonel Goodland, Deputy-Controller of the Imperial War Graves Commission in France, was also there with many of his staff. The sun was shining fitfully and a strong wind was blowing from the sea. After entering the cemetery in procession, the pilgrims massed round the Stone of Remembrance t.o join in a religious service. "VY ith shawls and travelling rugs on their shoulders the congregation stood or knelt among the graves and between the lines of white regimental headstones. The Rev. H. L. C. de Candole, Canon of Westminster, gave an address. Holy Communion was celebrated, and as far as possible the commamcants were representative of the different countries of the Empire. A message from the Prince of Wales was read. These were his words: “It is with feelings of deep sympathy, and yet profound satisfaction, that I have heard of this first pilgrimage of relatives from ijjl parts of the Empire to the resting places of their honoured dead in France and Flanders. When I visited the war cemeteries last spring I found a spirit of love and devotion iiiidCTlymg the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission, of which it is my privilege to be oresident. That is one reason why I am glad that this pilgrimage has been arranged, for I know that all those "who take part in it will find consolation in the atmospheie of peace, beauty, and permanent security in which the graves are being surrounded.”

Some few of the pilgrims found their relatives graves in the Terlingthum cemetery, but the remainder took spemal trains from Boulogne and VYimereux and were conveyed to such centres as Amiens, Arras, and Bethmie. homes were waiting at these stations, and the parties were taken d *25 they wished' to visit. «y this time the rain had settled in and the day was cold and unpleasant. .Nevertheless ever y one of the 753 pilgrims had the opportunity to see the grave he had come so far to visit. Custodians of the cemeteries had been prepared beforehand and were able to conduct the visitors directly to the special graves. Tow-aids the evening the trains bearing the pilgrims converged on Boulogne again. There had been onlv one mishap. Five had missed their ‘train at Arras, and by taking a motor-car •i' V i a r n ' lv y c l just before their boat sailed for England. Just before embarking a brief service was held, and an address was "iven by an accomplished Parsec gentleman tvho is on a lecturing tour in England.’ Like so many of his fellow-countrymen he wa s a master of classical English and in the five minutes allotted to him he gay# an address which was a masterpiece in the choice of language and substance.

The journey back to Eolkestone was unpleasant, but the tempestuous seas had somewhat abated since the morning. At Folkestone the pilgrims board ed well-heated trains and had four or five hours sleep before making the journey to London. Even to the very end the perfection of organisation was maintained, for at Victoria a good hot breakfast was awaiting the travellers and before eight o’clock on the Monday morning they u'ere all ready to set out on their homeward journeys or to return to work.

Some days before the pilgrimage an appeal made by the Duchess of Atholl was broadcast throughout Great Britain and had-a very satisfactory effect. A newspaper editor of Birmingham, on hearing the appeal, immediately sent a cheque for a hundred guineas, and others who heard responded with lesser atuounts.