A ROLL OF HONOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20420, 23 November 1929, Page 14

A ROLL OF HONOUR.

THE APPEAL LAUNCHED.

PROMPT RESPONSE MADE.

SEVERAL LARGE DONATIONS. PAYING PERSONAL TRIBUTE. The appeal for a fund to provide a roll of honour in tho War Memorial Museum was launched yesterday by' tho Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association, with tlio special committee with which a number of prominent citizens are associated, and the New Zealand Herald has opened a list. The rosponso to a personal canvass may bo described as "instantaneous." Several substantial donations wore immediately subscribed, and by evening tho fund had vouched £585.

Tho reason is that this appeal goes straight to ti.e heart of the public. As has already been emphasised in the columns of the lleralu, tlio superb museum building, with its wealth of general memorial features, cannot be complete as long as it remains an impersonated memorial . Personal tribute must bo paid to the memory of the 6000 or 7000 men of the Auckland province who died the death of sacrifice in the Croat War.

"They Were a Wall Unto Us." "They were a wall unto us both by night and by day," runs tho inscription on the lintel of tho door which will be formally opened by His Excellency the Governor-General next Thursday. Each and every person who goes beneath that lintel will think of kinsmen and friends who were part of that "wall," and, were tho names not imperishably inscribed in the memorial section of the building, they would feel a sense of shame. Thero has been the intention to make the building a memorial to all those who served, but much morq important is it that it should commemorato those of our brethren, fully one-fifth of every unit of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, who did not live to possess the freedom their gallant service helped to preserve. The Graves of Aucklanders. In foreign lands most of theso dead are sleeping. On the rugged slopes of Gallipoli, amid tho restored fields of fair France, in tho sandy wastes of Sinai, in the valleys of Palestine, are the white crosses that bear tho names of our own people. Many have no known graves. They rest where their comrades laid them, covered only by a blanket, the only possible shroud, the boom of gun fire their only threnody. Many died at sea. Along the ocean highways and particularly along the tracks taken by transports and hospital ships from Anzac Cove to Egypt, and to Malta, the broken bodies of our kinsmen made milestones on the ocean floor. Each gave all he had to give. He surrendered tho life God gave him, and all that he hoped, all that he dreamed, because his country was menaced and civilisation itself assailed. And when we. raise a memorial shall we forget the names of theso our brethren. Tho ready rosponso to the appeal for funds to repair an omission that would bo an eternal disgrace to this generation proves that tho public conscience is alive to its obligation. A.M.R. Men Guarantee £250. One of the outstanding events of the campaign yesterday was tho decision of a number of the surviving members of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment. In the name of the known survivors, some 650 in number, they guaranteed the committee £250, representing £1 for every man of the regiment who died on service. They do this •'<? a hist tribute to the comrades they left behind. They fought together, suffered together, and together tasted victory. And many of tho survvors shall subscribe with tho names specially in mind of comrades who succoured them when they themselves fell wounded.

"My pal now dead was beside me on the two occasions I was wounded," said » veteran of the regiment. "Twice ho lifted mo out of the dust and got mo on to a stretcher and away. I want to feel that my contribution places his name on tho roll of honour. Not only did he carry me out. He was my secret source of strength always." Members of tho committee were asked yesterday who would be responsible for having the roll of honour inscribed, and the assurance was given that the fund would be controlled and tho work done by tho committee of soldiers and civilians to bo added to it at tho coming public meeting. The fund is to be entirely distinct from tho memorial fund, and neither tho memorial committee nor tho Auckland Institute i 3 to control it.

Questions have boon asked' as to the scope of tho list. It is the intention to make it wide. If an Aucklander served in a unit of another province naturally his iianie will be on the list. If an Aucklander happened to bo domiciled elsewhere when he enlisted, his name will be added just as if he had enlisted in Auckland and served in an Auckland regiment.

The list is to be provincial in scope, and the committee has forwarded the following message to tho Mayors of all country towns:—"The Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association is compiling a roll of honour of the men of the Auckland Province. We request your assistance by opening a subscription list and collecting the names of the men of your district."

The Herald List. The following contributions to the Roll of Honour Fund were mado yesterday through the Herald list:—, Robt. A, Laidlaw . . .. £250 Wilson and Hoiion, Ltd. . . . £IOO F. Crossley Mappin .. . . . £IOO

NO HALF-HOLIDAY. DECISION OF RETAILERS. Tho request made by the Mayor, Mr. G. Bail don, that shops and offices should observe a half-holiday next Thursday afternoon for tho opening of tho War Memorial Museum was considered at a largely-attended meeting ot retailers yesterday afternoon. It was decided that the granting of a half-holiday would bo impossible owing to tho disorganisation of trade which would result. Considerable discussion took place. Tho decision t"o refuse a half-holiday was mado 011 tho ground that tho present time was most inopportune for a cessation of business. It was considered that trade would lie disorganised to an unwarranted exLent.

.In spite of tho retailers' decision it was pointed out at tho .meeting that should a universal half-holiday be declared tho retailers would no doubt fall into lino with the arrangements made. Several present stated that a Sunday would bo the most suitable day to hold the ceremony, but this has been found impracticable, as next Thursday is tho only day on which tho Governor-General, Sir Charles Fcrgusson, can attend.