SPIRIT OF SERVICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19509, 13 December 1926, Page 14

SPIRIT OF SERVICE.

THE LESSONS OF THE WAR.

•* TOC HAND ITS IDEALS

ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL

The firm foundations of service and the great power for good which was vested in the Toe II movement, were referred to on Saturday by the Governor-General, Sir Charles, Fergusson, at the guest evening held in the Priscilla tearooms, in connection with the birthday celebrations and annual conference. The chairman, Mr. E. E. Pittock, who presided over a large attendance, said similar anniversary celebrations were being observed in every country where the movement had been established. Toe II did not exist to retain doleful memories but to combine service with a spirit of true hilarity, and it was hoped that tho evening's visitors would depart with a deeper insight into its ideals.

The Governor-General said it was not easy to give an address on such an occasion even although the chairman had remind&d them it was not a time for solemnity. On tho other hand, they could not help calling to mind the origin of Toe H, what it stood for, and remembering they were gathered on a solemn anniversary which carried the mind back to many memories, some of which were happy, but some of which were extremely sad. Origin of tho Movement. Toe H sprang into existence at thp small town of Poperinghe, behind the Ypres salient, in December, 1915, tho Governor-General explained, and had now developed into a world-wide movement.. Ypres was the nearest point to the firing line, and although 1915 was not, perhaps, the worst year of the war, it was in one sense as the men were new to the fighting. which was heavier and carried out under worso conditions than afterwards. His Excellency sketched the position on the Ypres salient in 1915, and paid a tribute to the wonderful spirit everywhere displayed under terrifying conditions. It was in these trying days that a little club bearing the name of Talbot House was formed, His Excellency said. It was there that men congregated on their way to and from the line, meeting and parting, knowing full well their small chances of returning. In rooms, made as comfortable as possible, men found care and rest when they returned broken iu health. All through the war j Talbot House continued in its work, and it was hard to exaggerate the comfort the men found within its walls. A greEit spirii «>f comradeship sprung up and rose above the dangers on every hand. A great movement had now spread over the whole Empire, which had for its ideal the perpetuation of the spirit of service so wonderfully shown at Talbot House. Teachings of Adversity. "Let us look hack and see what we have learned from these men," His Excellency continued. "First, I think they taught us how adversity can make men unselfish. They taught us how danger could make them brave, and how selfeacrifice sprung from their loyalty to each other. They raised to a higher level the standard of life of every one of us. Life 5b one long succession of branching paths. End the difficulty is to know the right one to take. This is what they taught ilk to do. These qualities are what we want in the days after the war, and they may all be summed Tip in the words 'selfsacrifice.,' This was the lesson of the whole war, and it is the lesson Toe H trips to carry on, and you have formed yourselves into a body to try and perpetuate the qualities shown by these gallant men." _ In conclusion, His Excellency referred to the' broken link between two generations which had been caused through the war. Its absence was felt every day. The older people had to step forward and take the place of those who had not returned, but who should now he the natural leaders of the younger generation. Their lives had been spared not because, they were more ..precious, but because there was work for them to do. This work they owed to their comrades who had given their all. Toe H was not content with mere sentiment. The men who were glad to live were prepared to die, and it was their duty to bring into the lives of others the joy which these men .were denied. Symbolism of the Lamp. The symbolism of the Toe H lamp, which is lighted when a branch meets, was explained by the Rev. R. G. Coats, who said there was no mystery attached to the ceremony. The flame of the lamp symbolised the sacrifice of those whose • memory they sought to perpetuate through : the years. A special lamp for the Auckland branch was to be lighted in Man- , Chester by the Prince of Wales that night, and it would be brought to New ; Zealand by hand. Those present stood while the ceremony J was performed and with the lights ex- i tinguished the small flame was placed in < the centre of the room while Mr. Coats < repeated Binyon's words:— ] "They shall grow not old as we that are left t grow old; 1 Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. J 'At the going down of the sun. and in tho 1 mornmE. > We will remember them." After the sounding of the "Last Post." t two minutes' silence was observed, and i was followed by the "Reveille." The i evening closed with special Toe H songs 1 and the National Anthem. r