“WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM . . ."

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 17 May 1941, Page 10

“WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM . . ."

CHAPLAIN’S GIFT OF A BOOK HONOURING THE HEROES (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) Cairo, Apl. 18. Brave deeds requiring courage of the highest order which place men in that select company of heroes are performed when a nation is at war. The call of duty is nobly met, odds are faced and overcome, battles won; some live to receive the honours a grateful country generously bestows in a spirit of thanksgiving; others pass on to an even higher destiny—the company of the Gods. Such has been and still is the conceoI tion of men who stand out silhoutted from the throng of the warriors, the custodians of a priceless heritage that makes a nation great in spirit and daring. In the midst of war their names live spoken proudly and with reverence by their comrades. Later still the fury and clash of the mighty armies die away and their deeds are perpetuated in the archives of the nation and carefully preserved in shrines and memorials erected by a people whose admiration for them springs freely in acknowledgement of deeds done nobly without thought of reward. Already an honoured few of the 2nc N.Z.E.F. have made the supreme sacrifice, others again by their outstanding endurance and fearless example in the face of danger merited decorations conferred by their king. This is a list which is growing and will grow, and this fact has prompted one of the chaplains attached to the New Zealand Forces, Major J. M. Stewart, to provide at his own expense a “Book of Remembrance.- ’ It is a large volume bound attractively and inscribed in gold. Pages are set aside for each day of the year and on them the names are written of those who have brought honour to themselves and their country. The book is encased in a specially constructed box of New Zealand wood from which it is removed to make entries from time to time. With the war over but not forgotten this precious volume, rich in association and packed with reminders that chivalry is for ever alive, will be returned to the Dominion and placed in some national Shrine of Remembrance where the pages will be turned daily, showing the names of men who will 1 thus be remembered once a year at a ! date corresponding to that on which j they gave freely all they possessed for j a cause they held so dear. The “Book of Remembrance” was formally accepted by Major-General B. C. Freyberg, V.C., C. 8.. C.M.G.. D. 5.0.. LL.D.. commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, on behalf of the | people of the Dominion and will remain j in the custody of the N.Z.E.F. until it returns from overseas.