ANZAC DAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 124, 23 April 1927, Page 6

ANZAC DAY

T ‘ELFTH ANNIVERSARY. SERVICE ON MONDAY. . Mon lay will mark the twelfth amiiverst r of Anzac Day—the notable occaric i when the Australian and New Zealan ( troops landed on a narrow strip < rugged coast line at a point which ater had the name Anzao Cove, Gaba 'epe, conferred upon it. That feat oi arms signalled the entry by the Coloni: 1 forces from this, the Motherland’s furthest flung outpost, upon several long dreary years of war struggle vb ch was not without heavy toil upon i s manhood. To < immemorate the sacrifice madb by the \ T ew Zealand Army Corps in the various theatres of war, Anzac Day has Ik> n accepted throughout the Dominion us a day of sacred memory. This year tl 3 event will be fittingly celebrated md on the afternoon of Monday the Re urned Soldiers’ Association will conduct the customary service at the Showgr mnds, when Padre C. Walls, M.C., t f Wellington, who is already so well-lsn wn to local residents, assisted by Pad e G. T. Brown, will officiate. Return d members of the N.Z.E.F. and im mbers of the Imperial and South . frican War Veterans’ Association ar invited to parade, while an invitati n is extended to the general public a be present. In the event of incleme t weather being experienced the ser ice will be held in the Opera House.

In tt > evening of Monday the customary sacred concert will be held in the Opi ra House, the proceeds of the door co lection being devoted to the graves, und. Tho committee has been iortuna- 3 enough to procure tho services c : the Wellington commercial travellei 1’ choir, Misses N. Whalley and N. UcHardy and Mr C. G. Swallow to urnish numbers and ail excellent pr< gramme is assured. No doubt there w 1 be an excellent attendance of the pub c and, in view of the fact that the coll ction is to be given to so worthy in object, it is hoped that the public i ill give freely.

S RVICES IN SCHOOLS.

Cl ILDREN’S TRIBUTES. That die spirit of Anzac Day is in no woy, diminishing with tho passing years v as strikingly demonstrated at Longtu n yesterday afternoon ivhen a short 8‘ rvice, fittingly appropriate to the ooc sion, was held at the school. Althoug 1 the anniversary of that day when tl 3 Australian and New Zealand Forces < ntered upon their task of magnitude >n the far distant shores of Gallipol is nob due till Monday, the headira ter and committeemen of the school d emed it preferable to assemble the sell lars yesterday and thus give them :b : opportunity of attending the public £ ;rvico in Palmerston North on the act al day itself should they so desire. The s< bolars were grouped in the interior o : tho building, and following the sia| ing of the National Anthem Rev. H T. Peat gave a reading and offered ip a prayer of thankfulness. The pla :ing of a large wreath some three ie t in diameter around the brass plaque— the -school memorial to those earlier t iholars who had answered tho call ant who had made the supreme sacrifice- -by Masters Noel Mabey and Willie A dersley preceded a moment’s silence. Tho “Recessional” was then sung by the massed scholars and the recitatio 1, “Flanders Fields,” given by Mast r Joe Aldersley.

MESS iGE TO THE CHILDREN

In 1 d Iressing the scholars on the message af Anzac Day, Rev. G. W. Dent ga- e an interesting resume of the activitie: of Toe H which, he explained, had been formed by a gathering of men who lu d fought side by side and who had lei.r it very valuable lessons therefrom. Ai the children had observed a moment’ silence in tribute to the memory if those who had given their lives, 1.0 did tho members of Toe H open tin ir services by tlie observance in sen -darkness —the room being lighted /itlr but a rush light—of a minute's silence in solemn remembrance of their lost comrades. At the close of tho . ervices tho thoughts of the membe-s were directed into channels in’ order to determine how best they, could in ke the world finer and better. One man had perhaps been the possessor of a knowledge of gardening, auc her had been sufficiently strong l lysically to undertake the sawing o wood fob some elderly or. less fortunati y placed person, and by such acts had ' they endeavoured to carry on the le sons of the war. The big aim of thos3 who had taken part in the Great W xr had not been to defeat tho Ge -r ans, but to keep the world free and clean and make it a better place in vliicli to live. The boys and girls of o-day could-equally do such good tas s and thus share in. tlie carrying >ll of that work for which so many ha< sacrificed their all. No matter whet tho standing of the men in civil life, when in the trenches they had been of one common brotherhood, the ono 1 repared to help the other in all unsiil shne6s, and for those outside the ; reat brotherhood to take all and give nothing would be dishonourable. I was consequently essential that an : venue must be found whereby one and all could do their little bit which would bo a real sign of keeping i resli the memories of those men who did not return. To do so would pr< bably entail sacrifices, but it woulc esult in the maintaining of all that t as best in British history. The sir sing of “Land of Our Birth,” t ie rendering of tho recitation, “I ] eve My Country,” bv Miss Una Char berlain, and the standing at the salu;e while singing a verso of the National In thorn marked the close of the ser vie >.

A ? WHAKARONGO. Fitting observance of Amzao Day was also i lade at Whakarongo School yesterday when the scholars were assembled u ider the direction of Mrs Eggers, hi ad teacher, in the presence of meml e s of the School Committee and parnr. a. Mr Hodgson, chairman of the ci mmittee, and himself a returned s ildier, introduced Rev. Mr Peat, who delivered an address on the significar.ci of Anzac, the speaker stressing he desirability that Anzao Day be ever cherished and the memories, f those who had sacrificed their ull tl at we might live kept ever fragrant ii the hearts and minds. The day musi sver be kept sacred to the valiant c.e ds which the men of Australia and 'lew Zealand had performed on those f; r distant shores. War was a hateful thing, while peaco meant progress ai d the development of love. The Union Jack was the symbol of freedom at d chivalry and those men had died i tat we might be united in one great .1 rotherhood for, apart from, the teacl.L gs of Jesus Christ, there

was no hope for humanity. The roll of honour was decorated with wreathes and laurel tributes from the scholars. Hymns and prayer in keeping with the hour concluded the service.

TRIBUTE TO FALLEN. SERVICE AT BOYS’ HIGH * SCHOOL. Palmerston North Boys’ High School observed Anzac Day yesterday, the scholars assembling in the afternoon around the Gallipoli oak, planted in front of the institution, and there paying their respect to the country’s fallen heroes. Addressing the assembled scholars, the rector (Mr J. Murray, M.A.) stated that the oak,'which had been planted in 1916, stood aa a living memory to tho old boys of the school who had played their part in the struggle. They had lived and played in tho school’s grounds and later, when tho great call had come, tad answered it and helped to preserve sacred the ideals of freedom and right. “It is .fitting,” added Mr Murray, “that once a year we should gather here and pay our tribute.” The Lord’s Prayer was then recited by the gathering, following which tho rector read David’s Lament from the Second Book of Samuel. Proceeding, he stated that the school was particularly pleased to have with it that day Colonel J. M. Rose, a member of the parents’ executive, and one who, in wartime, had helped to make soldiers of many of the old boys of the school, who had afterwards been comrades of his overseas. The occasion, stated Colonel Rose, was tho twelfth anniversary of the day before the New Zealand troops had left Lemnos for the landing on Gallipoli. Palmerston North a little over 12 years ago had been a much busier town than it was to-day. Then thero could be seen cavalry cantering down Feathe:'ston Street, infantry in Ter-

race Street marching back Feilding and other units in Fitzherbert Street returning from rifle practice the Hokowhitu Range. At Awapum there had been campedtheNew /-ea land Mounted Rifles, the W Battalion and a number of otner units. Many months had been spen there getting ready for overseas, ana at the end of that time those in camp had .been, ordered to Wellington, no knowing what was in front of tnem, but perfectly willing to embark on tne great adventure. They had not been allowed to leave Wellington as they liked: Germany had warships in the Pacific, and the late Mr Massey had decided that the New Zealanders should be properly escorted. Colonel Rose went on to detail the voyage ■ to Egypt, mentioning, inter alia, the sinking of the Emden by the Sydney. At Cairo they had had four months’ further training, fighting their first battle with Turkish forces on the Canal. From Cairo they had proceded to Lemnos, and had then known that they were bound for the Gallipoli Peninsula. On the morning of the 25th the Australian Division had been given the honour of landing first, the New Zealanders following. No landing in history, he thought, had been harder than this one. After relating some incidents of life on the Peninsula, the speaker said that there was no need to say anything re-, garding the quality of the New Zealanders; they had been .the best men on the battlefields, and in the short time that they had been trained they had picked up what others would have taken double the time to learn. They had been keen in action, but, by going in too far, had sometimes met with disastrous results. At Quinn’s Post he had met Major R. Hardie, an old boy of the school, and several days after the landing he had come across Eric Gardner, another ex-pupil. Later, at Walton, in England, ho had just missed the rector, who had come over from Ypres. It was a wise thing, he considered, for a country to have military training. Switzerland had been immune in the Great War; neither France nor Germany had wanted to touch a hor-,

1 net’s nest. It was * *£ y o n\y protect h ’ 3 C °“k^ to the other Stf.SS fIW « in ®w-FTcowley th th£h!ad perfect Sd'2'' .IS I '?*»■*”*> A “- them. TECHNICAL SCHOOL. director, tho ch air ? lan . jjp of Governors, Mr J. A. Nasn, » address the students on the «gmficance Anzac Dav. A handsome wreatn was then placed on the school roll ed honour, the function concluding with the singing of the National Anthem. GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL. At the Girls’ High School yesterday a short commemoration oeremony was held, when the principal, Miss Hodges,, delivered an impressive address to the, scholars. One of the senior prefects. Miss M- Moore, delivered an excellent rendering of that beautiful poem, “The Fallen.” Two minutes’ silence were observed during which the flag was flown at half-mast. The proceedings terminated with the singing of the National Anthem.

A united memorial service under the auspices of the Council of Christian Congregations will be held in All Saints’ Church on Anzac Day at 6.30 p.m. The speaker will be Captain Rev. J. M. Stewart. The service will conclude in sufficient time to allow those present to attend the sacred concert at the Opera House. A collection will be taken up in aid of the returned soldiers’ benevolent fund.