EARL BEATTY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22392, 13 April 1936, Page 11

EARL BEATTY

' FUNERAL IX LONDON PEOPLE'S LAST TRIBUTE "THE SPIRIT OF NELSON" [from our own correspondent] By Air Mail LONDON, March 21 ' Like that of the late Earl Jellicoe, t he funeral of Earl Beatty was a simple e. The coffin was borne on a' guncarriage drawr( by 20 men from H.M.S. Pembroke. A naval guard of 100 men accompanied them. Behind the coffin came four naval officers carrying Adliral Beatty's medals and decorations velvet cushions. The insignia bearer , „ s Vice-Admiral G. Blake, who also represented the New Zealand Naval Board. The Navy of the war years was represented by a group of weatherbeaten veterans wearing rows of medals oe their civilian coats. They had all gerved under Earl Beatty. From the Horse Guards' Parade the people stood in unbroken line along the Mall, Northumberland Avenue, the ' Embankment, New Bridge Street and Ludgate Hill. Flags drooped at halfmast everywhere. In addition to the British naval men there followed the Coffin a large company of distinguished mourners, among whom were the representatives of Royalties and of heads of States, Foreign Service representatives, the Board of Admiralty, and delegations from the Army and Air Councils.

Royal Dukes Present

A .hundred tall Grenadier Guardsmen, carrving arms reversed, formed the Army - contingent. A similar number from the Royal Air Force marched behind them. Last of all came 18 men in civilian, dress, who had served with Lord Beatty at Jutland. Outside St. Paul's a guard of honour of bluejackets with arms reversed stood with bent heads as the coffin was lifted from the gun-carriage and carried slowly inside. The Duke of York was at St. Paul's to represent the King. The Duke of York, in the uniform of an admiral, and the Duke of Kent, in the uniform of a commander, walked in the procession.

No sooner had the coffin been placed by 10 petty officers upon the catafalque than Bunyan's hymn, "He who would valiant be," filled the cathedral. After the coffin sank into the crypt Kipling's Recessional was sung to the tune of the Navyl own Jix-mn, "Eternal Father, strong to save." , Two sons of the late admiral and the family mourners remained there alone for a few minutes. Masses of wreaths from all parts of the world surrounded the grave, which is in the same "bay" as that containing the grave of Lord Jellicoe. Afterward the public were admitted and all through the day they continued their pilgrimage.

"Ministr/ of a Flaming Fire" In the course of his address, the Archbishop of Canterbury described the late Lord Beatty as "the very embodiment of the fighting spirit of the Navy.'' In' him something of the spirit of Nelson seemed to have come back. As with Nelson—to use the words of the old Psalm —his was the ministry of a flaming fire. In him, as in Nelson, the fire burned as a passion for victory. In the days of the war. his one consuming desire was to engage the enemy. When any tidings came that the enemy was coming out, he was like one of his own hounds set free from the leash. "His signal at the Dogger Bank, 'Keep close to the enemy,' although it miscarried at the time, expressed the very spirit of/the man," sajd the archbishop. "In the pursuit of victory he was ready to take all risks. As a horseman on shore! he feared no fence. As a commander at sea he fearer! no responsibility. New Zealand Wreath "It is fitting that the bodies of JellicOe and Beatty should npw and henceforth lie side by side within the peace of the great cathedral. There is no need of critical comparison. Each had the qualities most needed for the place he had to fill in the great contest. They were one in their devotion to the Navy which they loved and to the country which they served." Sir James Parr was present, and others included Admiral Sir F. C. Dreyer, Admiral A. G. ETothanj, ViceAdmiral E. R. G. R. Evans, ViceAdmiral A. F. Beal, Pear-Admiral Lionel V. Wells, representing the New Zealand Division, Royal Navy, Commander R. H. F. de Salis, and General Sir Alexander Godley. The New Zealand wreath of pink tulips and mauve iris bore the inscription: "With deep sympathy from the Government of New Zealand."

SOLDIERS' DIET USE OF BUTTER URGED AGITATION IN BRITAIN [from our own correspondent] By Air Mail ' LONDON, March 21 ior its backward policy in regard to the feeding of the fighting forces the Government is taken to task by f"Ord Bledisloe. in a letter to the Birmingham Post. "It may seem ineredum" sa . vs -. "but it is a fact that fresh milk and butter are frequently partf of the daily diet in the erstwhile workhouses and. other poor jaw institutions, neither of these vitally important commodities is part of the regular rations of the Army, the Navy or Air Force. Yet butter at least is' provided for. the fighting forces of the United States, Soviet Russia, Norway, oweden and our own Dominions." Sir William Wayland, M.P., has tackled the Secretary for War, the Under-Secretary for Air, and the First •l-'Ord of-the Admiralty on this question and now hardly a day passes in Parliament without a question from some rneinher or y"ther. particularly from the Labour Opposition. aj • Griffiths, M.P., urged the Admiralty to "feed the sailors on butter instead of margarine, and they will nght better 1/1 But most members have centred their attack on the Under-Sec-retary for Air, Sir Phillip Sassoon, believing that the Air Force would be more likely to take the lead in diet reform than the two older services. ""hen Sir Phillip tried to defend the use of margarine on nutritional grounds, Mr. J. Maxton asked inn whether he kept it on his dining table. Lieutenant-Colonel Acland-Troyte said the provision of margarine instead of butter was having a very serious effect on recruiting. The Financial Secretary to the iTeasury, Mr. W S Morrison, stated the other day that the supply of butter instead of margarine to the three services would involve an additional expenditure of £190,000 a year. The •j a , mou nt of margarine now prodded is about 60.000cwt., which is Purchased at a rate of 27s 6d per cwt., or 3d a pound. c . Li answer to a question in the House ®'r Phillip Sassoon revealed the fact that the lijargarine supplied to apprentices and boys in the Air Force was Jitaminised, but not so that supplied to airmen.