CHURCH PARADE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22574, 12 November 1936, Page 15

CHURCH PARADE

:s OLD CONTEMI'TIBLES OTHER BODIES TO JOIN IN SERVICE AT THE TOWN HALL A special Armistice Day cliurel parade is to be held by the* Aueklane branch of th(> Old Coiitemptiblcs' Asso eiatiou 011 Sunday. The .service will Ik , s _ held in the 'Jown Hall, and not, as ii ; ,k the past, in St. Matthew's Church [i- fhe reason for this being that the presi- |._ dent ol the Auckland Returned Sol • 0 diers' Association, Mr. J. \Y. Kendall lt | recently approached the Old Contemp 3. tibles Association and asked if mem ( j hers of his organisation could join ir the service. Subsequently other ex service associations expressed a wish to take part, and as a result tin parade will be the most representative of its type yet held in Auckland. )s In addition to members of the Ok: Contemptibles' Association and the II Auckland Returned Soldiers' Assoc*!t j tion, there will be representatives ol j the following organisations:—The British Legion, the Legion of frontierse men, the Heturned Nurses' Association, e the Kx-Scrvicewomen's Association, the s Ex-Naval Men's Association, the South African Veterans, the Australian Exc| peditionary Force and other bodies. fc The service will be conducted by the Rev. G. V. Gerard, chaplain of the Old C 'ontemptibles' Association, anel will bo ol the type known as a " drumhead .service." When all the members of the congregation are in their places they will stand to attention at the roll of a drum, and the chaplain, followed by the colour bearers, will march from P the body of the hall to the rear of the platform, where lie will take his station behind three piled drums. After the 0 National Anthem has been played and s the colours have been placed on the s drums, the service will proceed. At its conclusion there will be a special act of remembrance, in which the chaplain . will take part and the trumpeters will play the " Last Post " and " Reveille." -Mr. S. Panting will play the " Dead e March " on the organ. tl The parade will go to the Town Hall from Quay Street by way of Queen J Street. The men and women will march • under the command of Major-General e Sir George .Richardson. * AT THE CENOTAPH 1 s CEREMONY IN LONDON 1 WREATH LAID BY THE KING Even a continuous surge of static ■ coulel not rob the Empire broadcast last i night of the Armistice Day service at the Cenotaph, London, of the force of its great solemnity, and for millions of listeners throughout the world the impressive and reverent nature of the ceremony must have been thrillingly captured. Nor could the static prevent the two minutes' silence, which must have seemed all the eleeper because of the huge crowd that had assembled there, from being the most inspiring part of the service. Attended by his royal brothers, King Edward VIII. made his first appearance at such a ceremony as King and Emperor. According to the announcer, lie was clael in the undress uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet. Queen Marv, dressed in black, and bearing a large bouquet of Flanders poppies, took part in the service, from a balcony of the Home Office. The Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, members of the Cabinet, representatives of foreign nations and e>f the British Dominions and ! Colonies, officers of the British Forces, and members of the clergy, also attended. The Bishop of London, Dr. A. F. Winnington Ingram, conducted the service in the middle of the square formed by detachments of the different regiments, and the vast thoroughfare of Whitehall was packed with people. Overhead was a grey sky through which, the announcer said, the sun was trying to break through. Bands of many regiments played appriate music until the King made his appearance. The roll of the drums maintained a funereal note that was heightened by the lament of pipe bands. Then King Edward took up his position on the north side of the Cenotaph, the base of which was already almost hidden by wreaths. Behind him were the Duke of York and the Duke of Kent. When the King had stepped out to lay the wreath of poppies that for many years had been regularly laid by King George, the troops presented arms, the orders of their officers coming sharply over the air through the distortion of sound caused by the static. After that the bands took up Chopin's Funeral March. At its conclusion the silence fell. It lasted for two minutes and then the trumpeters p.ayed the "Last Post." . The surge of static again spoiler] the full effect of the hymn that followed, the tune being that of "0 God Our Help in Ages Past," although the words could not lie distinguished clearly. It seemed, however, that the whole of the huge crowd took up the hymn, and theA later followed the Bishop of London in the Lord's Prayer, after which lie pronounced the blessing. "Reveille. the rousing notes coming very clearly ami the National Anthem concluded the ceremony. WELLINGTON GATHERING ckrkmony at war memorial []lV TF.r.FOltAl'H —I'ItKSS association*] WELLINGTON', Wcrincs<Hy The boom of a gun across the harbour at eleven o'clock this morning signalled the commencement of the two silence. At the Wellington Citizens War Memorial approximately -W returned soldiers from all parts of the Wellington district, and several hundred citizens gathered shortly betoie 11 a.m. Lieutenant-Colonel A. Cow es, VI) president of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association placed a wreath before the door ol the slmim. The New Zealand Returned Soldiers Association was represented by Mr. ». Harrison (Dominion secretary), and Mr \ Gorton (assistant secretary); the South African War Veterans' Association by Mr. J. I. Goldsmith; and the New Zealand Permanent I'orces by Major-General Sir William SinclairBurgess, general officer commanding.