MEMORIAL UNVEILED

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 295, 7 April 1921, Page 3

MEMORIAL UNVEILED

AT GLEN OIWJUA SCHOOL.

There was a large gathering of.residenls from j;ill quartersjof tlio Glen Oroua. district yesterday-.aftcrnopny when- a memorial monument., ejected to perpetrate the. 'taejaj', ory of -thu?.e who 'served in 'the late war,' ,whs ; (invoilod;, at. ..the :•(] lon Oroiin..'.school .-■ It ; . redoundV io, the credit of the. district that the whole of (he amount -subscribed; toward* the cost of the. monument was raised, by voluntary donations; not ho much us a penny having been obtained I>,V enter-" tammenCs or similar moans, Standing just iusidoi tho.:gates .of the;, playground the column, which is about eight and of grey -.granite, mounted on a ,siib.staniwi br.se', with'' three stops, is in a ':?.ndst ■■ appro-priate-position;, since k % wiil ser.ve to remind the children for : many generations to eomo.of the heroism "of their:, kinsfolk. A commit fee' cornprishig. Messrs ■ ; '.J-I.' J.'Lam caster (chairman), .1. Boyco, C,, iMassev ■ .(secretary), .A. Train. J. AV. ;Haft»lm and D. Young whs elected at a largely:attended public! meeting sqfiftS time ago, a,ud;jt is due to their' efforts in canvassing the;-district whiohi: it may be stated, covers an,: .area of only nine sojuare miles, that the memorial was established.' . , : ' . (•jjlr Ti: J... Lancaster, who presided; at. theceremony;'.yesterday.,- expressed his . gratifi-, cation, at' tho large assembly present. . He then outlined "the work of the committee in establishing the memorial, after which he. called upon Mr E. Newman to unveil the; monument, •>. '..•.. : "LAST GREAT ROLL CALL."., ,

Mr Newman said ho felt that the occasion was both important and unique in the history of the district. In all probability such an occasion would .never again .occur in the lifetime of those • present. The monument represented an effort on the part of their community to place on record a substantial tribute, to the memory of those who. had served their King and country faithfully and weir in time of dire distress. only would the monument bo ,a. reminder of the men of the district ,who: luid taken up arms in the cause, of .righteousness, but it would, alpo keep green the memory of tlioso 17,000 New Zeiilatidcrs—the cream oftho Dominion's manhood—who had gone to answer the last 'great roll call. The speaker hoped that, whenever the scholars of the school looked upon the memorial, it would recall to "their minds the high principles of tolerance, justice and righteousness which had prompted their elder brothers, friends and fathers to sacrifice nil in the cause- of the Empire. Much was to bo said in favour of monuments as memorials, but all true-hearted people would agree that the- only memorial worth having was'the memorial enshrined in the hearts of the people. The civilised countries of the world were a. little downcast, and certainly very disappointed with tho after effects of the war. ; As yet, conditions were far from what we'had hoped for, aiid .it was felt by many that- countloss strong men of sterling character had died in vain. Although . perhaps natural, these thoughts were fallacious, since it was recognised \v' all thinking people that /the same Almighty hand which had fjuided the allies'to a. righteous victory could 'not fidl to .smooth the way to a higher, purer and better stale for the whole of mankind. Lt conclusion, Mr Newman offered to all thqso who had suffered bereavement through the war his sincere sympathy, and he expressed Ids appreciation. of the heroism and devotion of two womenfolk who had sent forth to the fight their husbands;, sods and loved ones, without murmur or complaint, that the principles of truth, justice and honour might bo vindicated. The Rev. B. R. While then offered up a dedication prayer, after which the school children sang the Now Zealand National Anthem. . ■* •■ ' , .

PRICE NOT IN VAIN. Lieutenant-Colonel Why to; D. 5.0., second in command of the Wellington Military; } District, speaking as a rcpre;senfative of | the Defence Department:, said the dtslriet f had something' to lie proud of ,iu the monument., The parents who had lost; their sons had/indeed pair! a big priov to keep I'the flag flying. But the pijcij ha.d not.boen i paid 'in vain. Posterity \vould benefit by Ul«i)-;mllin actions, and . f exonerations .to j come- the children would look upon the > names inscribed on the monument with ieelI ings of the.deepest gratitude.-. It- wasgpou ;to see the dead remembered, but.the Hying, that great army of heroes, should not be forgotten. Parents and wives;had endured i unknown suffering, suspense of the most i heartrending kind, and they too should bo honoured for their dauntless courage in waiting and praying during the gloomydays of the war for news of their loved ones, forever fearful of that dreaded dispatch -which would bring sorrow and bereavement to their homes.' We .should be ' worthy of those who now awaited the Great Reveille, and to play the game as they bad played it should bo our constant aim. Lieutenant-Colonel Whyte concluded by stressing the importance of being, prepared for war so that war might b e averted.' Kipling's Recessional was then sung by the school children. SCHOOL'S GLORIOUS TRADITIONS. Mr J. B. Jacobs, President of the Palmerston North Returned Soldiers' Association, in addressing a few well chosen words to the young people on behalf of the Association, paid a tribute to the settlers of the district who had shown by their actions jthat they appreciated what . had been done for them by the'.men who had left New Zealand to help crush for over 1 Germany's militaristic spirit. Of these Mr Lancaster was deserving of thanks'for tlio manner in which he had proved him- ' self a true friend of the. returned soldier in ' need of assistance. There was a word which he would give to the schoolmaster that it might be explained fully "to the. schoolchildren, and th it word -was ["tradition." New Zealand as a Avhole had no traditions, but each separate part , of it, every school, institution and organisation had each some traditions to cherish 1 and to strive to emulate. Tho Glen Oroua. ; School now dud glorious traditions, for tjjere were inscribed on tho. monument the names of some who had learnt to play- the game at that school. These men had gone to play the great game of war, with all its attendant sacrifices and hardships, that posterity might prosper and bo free.: To' work diligently, to climb over-toward a goal worthy of the.' fallen should be the aim of the girls and boys assembled there that, day—indeed they could not do better than endeavour to fashion their lives after that of the late Lieutenant Gibbs, a former teacher of their school,' who had made the supreme sacrifice in the war. If war reared its ugly head again, when they had, grown to manhood and womanhood, then they should not. shirk their duty, but,, looking upon the column, ponder a moment on its significance and go forward resolved to be worthy of the traditions made for them in tho past. Mr Jacobs concluded by declaring his faith in the people in watching the interests of returned men, and he expressed the hope that the.column would long stand us a-constant reminder of that unselfish spirit of patriotism which had permeated the country in a time of.stress. The hymn "0 God Our Help in Ages Past" was then sung, after which the Rev. T. Halliday gave a short address and pronounced the-Benediction. The inscriptions on the monument are as under:—Killed inaction: Lieut. W. G. Gibbs, Corporal V. W. Pearee, M.M., Lance-Corporal Innes Kinzett, Riflemen AlbertS Kinzott, Frank Hamlin, Win. A. Ward, Privates B.'T..Hopping and Joseph Smith. Died in canto: Private Wm. Young.- Their' l name liveth for evermore. The following are' the names of. those .of this district who served in the Great War, 1914-1918:. Q.'M.S. G. .11. B. Bosvvxill, Sergeants W. Boswell, L. J. 'Hopping, T. Lawlor, H.' McMillan; Corpora! W. G. Hopping, . Lance-Corporal 11. 11. Harper, privates Lewis Clark, A. Clements, Edgar Cornwall, Edgar Cornelius, R. Christie, E. Hopping, W. P. Marshall, E.L. Spiers, T. 11. E. Tallott, lan Anion, Rifleman W. D. Hopping, Troopers P. R. P. Larson and R. A. Larson. Mr and Mrs A. Train■ afterwards entcrf tained the'visitors; to afternoon tea.-