LAST SAD HOMAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22790, 27 January 1936, Page 9

LAST SAD HOMAGE

SILENT CEASELESS PILGRIMAGE THOUSANDS THRONG WESTMINSTER HALL SCENES AT THE CATAFALQUE Westminster Hall, where the body of King George is lying in state,, continues to be thronged by thousands paying their last homage to the dead monarch. Every type is represented in the pilgrimage, \ and there have been many impressive scenes. Arrangements for the funeral to-morrow have been completed and the service, which will be simple, will include the singing by the choir of the King’s favourite hymn, “Abide With Me.”

THE DEAD MONARCH BODY LYING IN STATE (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LONDON, January 24. As Big Ben tolled 8 the great doors of Westminster Hall, where King George lies in state, were flung open. A seemingly endless queue of mourners began to move forward, the men removing their hats and the women lowering their heads. The first to enter was an elderly man, who had waited since midnight. “ I wanted to make sure of seeing my King once more,” he quietly declared. Every type of Londoner was represented. Smartly-dressed women stood beside tram drivers returning from the night’s shift and labourers on their way to work. There were hundreds of civil servants anxious to pay early homage to the late sovereign before proceeding to the offices at Whitehall.

About 150,000 of his bereaved subjects paid homage to-day to the late King, filing silently, three abreast, in double lines, past the catafalque in Westminster Hall. Many of the mourners on leaving the Hall went to pray in Westminster Abbey. The King has approved of the special order of service in commemoration of King George for use in all churches. In the prayers Queen Mary is referred to as “Mary, the Queen Mother.” It has been decided that the two minutes’ silence which will be observed throughout the United Kingdom on Tuesday next, the day of the funeral of King George, shall begin at 1.30 p.m. Although Tuesday has not been proclaimed a day of public mourning, in view of the King’s and Queen Mary’s wish that the hardship and loss which compulsory suspension of business activity might involve should be spared, all Government departments will be closed, the Law Courts will not eit and many shops and businesses will not open. The banks and the money market, however, will remain open. The royal funeral procession will, leave Westminster Hall on Tuesday at 9.45 a.m. The coffin will be carried on a gun carriage drawn by a gun’s crew, consisting of five naval officers and 142 bluejackets, of whom 98 will man the drag ropes ahead, and 40 the drag ropes, astern. A Royal Marine guard of' 53 officers and men will be mounted at Westminster Hall. Nineteen hundred royal naval ratings, 100 Royal Naval Volunteer ratings, and 580 Royal Marines will line the first part of the route to Paddington station, where a naval guard, with colours, will be mounted. The naval escort in the procession itself will consist of 24 naval and Royal Marine officers, 350 naval ratings, 150 Royal Marines, Guardsmen; and the London Territorials will line the latter part of the route to Paddington, where the procession will arrive.at 11.30 a.m. The royal funeral train will reach Windsor at 12.15 p.m. # In the - procession to St. George s Chapel the gun carriage, which will be the same that was used in the funerals of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, will be drawn by naval ratings from H.M.S. Excellent, and will be escorted by 100 officers and men from the royal yacht Victoria and Albert. There will be special memorial services for the late King on Tuesday at St. Paul’s Cathedral and in Westminster Abbey. The Duke of Connaught will attend the memorial service at Bath. ■ . . A service to the memory of his Majesty King George, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Moderator of the Evangelical Free Churches, and the Moderator of the Designate Church of Scotland, will be relayed from Broadcasting House on January 26. The funeral service of his late Majesty from St! George’s Chapel, Windsor, on January 28, will be broadcast from Davehtry. THE QUEEN’S WREATH LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 11 p.m.) The Queen sent a cruciform wreath of white erysanthemums to replace the flowers on the royal coffin at Westminster Hall. The crowd included many music hall artists, including a man eight feet in height and a woman three feet, dressed in complete mourning. Cup tie visitors removed their gaudy football favours before entering the hall. Steady rain transformed the queue, now two miles long and 10 abreast, into a vast arcade of umbrellas. Still the dead march of London’s citizens continued at the rate of 8000 an hour. People fainted, hut resumed their positions on recovering. The procession after nightfall was allowed to enter the hall only four instead of eight abreast. Fifty thousand barrackers hushed their clamour at Stamford Bridge when the raised baton of the bandmaster imposed silence. The occupants of the stands rose to attention as one man, and the crowd stilled itself and stood bareheaded. Four trumpeters played the “ Last Post,” and the drums broke in with a loirg heart-stirring roll as a prelude to the opening bars of King George’s favourite hymn, “ Abide with Me.” The crowd, after a pause of realisation, joined in the majestic harmony, swelling in spirit the mighty chorus from football grounds throughout England, where similar observances were honoured. Intense stillness followed, and the drums rolled again their crescendo. Band and voices united in the National Anthem, and silence again supervened. Then Cup tie vociferation hurst forth, the crowds cheered, coins were spun, and the games begun. BROADCAST TO THE EMPIRE LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at II p.m.) A zone of silence will stretch round the globe during the funeral of King George. The broadcasting Corporation will broadcast from Daventry throughout the Empire descriptions of the procession between 9.30 a.m. and 10.45 (Greenwich mean time). The service at Windsor, at approximately 1 p.m., will be broadcast on GSG, GSF, GSB, and be relayed by world centres outside the Empire. THE FLORAL TRIBUTES LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 10 p.m.) Thousands of seats to view the royal funeral are being sold at from two to ten guineas. The demand exceeds that of Jubilee Day. Sailors from H.M.S. Excellent at Portsmouth are preparing the gun carriage for the royal coffin, while throughout London workmen are erecting and draping stands and barriers for the funeral. Troops are rehearsing with measured tread and arms reversed for the procession in the mightiest and most

It was remarked that, whereas most people .were composed before entering the hali, few came away without signs of grief. The women declared it too impressive for words. It was hard to realise after such a solemn experience that one was back again to the work-a-day world. The mourners filed three abreast on either side of the great catafalque. It was estimated that 6500 passed in the first hour. Just a handful of the millions’ who will make the four-day pilgrimage from the. whole of Britain. , r-i: The mourners were so well marshalled and passed so rapidly through the hall that their was little or no queue by 10 a.m., when classes of school children began to arrive. As they left the hall, nearly all the children were crying. Later, queues formed again with startling rapidity and soon stretched far'towards Vauxhall, the police shepherding the crowds at the rate of 100 a minute through the hall, which was so dark that those unduly hurried were unable, properly, to take in the scene. Many invalids, unmindful of their own distress, had their chairs wheeled past the catafalque or else hobbled by slowly bu sticks .and ••._ ■ ■■■ • . ■ MULTITUDES PAY HOMAGE * LONDON, January 24. As the morning wore on the queues outside Westminster Hall became so long that the rate of movement speeded up to 250 a minute. . By noon over 25,000 had filed through the hall; yet the queue was more than a mile long and ever Increasing. It extended beyond Lambeth Bridge, necessitating a diversion of the traffic. Inside the hall a solemn silence was broken only by shuffling feet. The guard changed hourly. It was a simple ceremony, and orders were given in subdued voices. The King spent the morning at Buckingham Palace attending to a mass of State papers. Later he visited the Duchy of Cornwall offices and conferred lengthily with the officials regarding the Duchy’s future. The Duke and Duchess of Kent arrived at 5.30 p.m., walked round the catafalque, stood with their heads bowed for a few minutes, and then departed in a motor car. Between 400 and 500 diplomats, defying the dismal drizzle, arrived at 10 p.m. and stood in groups before joining the concourse. The police at 9.30 p.m. prevented further additions to the queue, which, swelled by charabanc passengers and vast numbers arriving on foot, was over a mile long. Many advanced as in a dream. The last files did not reach the ball before midnight. In view v, of this to-morrow’s queue will be permitted to remain until 1 a.m. As they departed from the hall many went to pray at Westminster. Abbey. ALL TYPES REPRESENTED LONDON, January 25. Neither rain nor a bitter wind stopped the procession of mourners at Westminster Hall. All types of the Empire Were represented—sarih-clad Indian women, negroes, omnibus drivers, tram drivers and conductors still in uniform, and labourers with toil-stained clothes, hundreds of them bemedalled, indicating that they were ex-servicemen. Whitehaired widows and mothers wearing husbands’ or sons’ war medals mingled with fashionably-dressed women, typists and shop girls, the majority of them wearing black armlets in response to the King’s suggestion concerning national mourning until after the funeral. Thousands who arrived in mud-splashed cars, .indicating long drives from the country, were in the continuous march of subjects paying their last homage to the beloved King. FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FORM OF THE SERVICE (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, January 24. Arrangements for the last stage of the funeral of King George at W indsor on Tuesday are nearing completion, and tiers of seats to extend the accommodation in the nave of St. George’s Chapel to a thousand are being erected. The choir, where the banners of the Knights of the Garter hang, has a seating capacity of about 200. The form of the service, in which the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishop of Winchester (who is a prelate of the Order of the Garter), the

Dean of Windsor, and canons and minor canons will take part, will be simple, and will include the singing by the choir of the King’s favourite hymn, “Abide With Me.”

solemn spectacle the city has ever seen. Over 5000 wreaths are received every hour, spreading fragrance through the cloisters of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. They range from an enormous chaplet of white lilies and tulips from Kemal Ataturk to a tiny artificial bunch from a little country girl. The Bishop of London, recalling how King George distributed prizes to Sandringham children, said that when his Majesty gave them Bibles he used to say “I was taught by my mother to say a prayer and read the Bible every day. I have done it and I hope you do th 1 - same.” THE DOMINION’S WREATH LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 5.5 p.m.) New Zealand’s wreath for the King’s funeral consists of white stocks and orchids, and bears the inscription “The Dominion of New Zealand mourns its beloved monarch.” Australia’s wreath is 36 inches in diameter, and consists of dark red carnations. It bears the inscription, “ With heartfelt sympathy and loyal devotion from the Government and people of the Commonwealth of Australia.” Captains Maxwell and Sugden will represent the New Zealand Forces at tne funeral. The newspapers recall that the two minutes’ silence was first associated with Queen Victoria’s funeral, when a national silence was introduced. KREISLER’S FINE TRIBUTE LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 9 p.m.) The Sun-Herald Service says Kreisler has cancelled his Albert Hall concert on January 26 because of the King's death My heart is sa d and I cannot play my fiddle. What a man he was! So quiet, calm and dignified, and he never interfered, never made a fuss. I shall never forget his kindly smile and lovable, dignified manner.” PROCLAMATION AT WINDSOR LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 9 p.m.) Under the shadow of Windsor’s ancient castle .walls below the halfmasted Union Jack on the summit of the massive round tower, lowered only when the sovereign dies. King Edward the Eighth was three times proclaimed King with ceremony dating to Tudor times. The proclamation was made first at the statue of Queen Victoria, the sceptred arm of which was extended as in a blessing, then at Henry the Eighth gateway and at Windsor bridge, on the boundary of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Heralds and the mace bearer led the procession from the Guildhall, including the scarlet-robed Mayor, ceremonially garbed aldermen and officials. Coldstream Guards in full dress uniforms, with, bear skins, crossbelts and overcoats, supplied the guard of honour, and the Life Guards the band music, their trumpeters, in red, gold and silver, sounding a double fanfare precisely at noon. All civilian heads were bared in reference to the dead King while the Mayor was reading the Proclamation. Three cheers were given for the new King- . , , The dean and canons, m scarlet, attended the gateway ceremony. The ancient car from which the sheriff proclaimed the King at Bristol, has been similarly employed in the proclamation of the last six sovereigns. CHILDREN’S DAY LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan., 26, at 10 p.m.) As on the occasion of King Edward VH’s death, to-day was children’s day, and thousands accompanied by teachers, many from convent schools and escorted by nuns, formed a queue. The children mustered as early as 8 a.m. in drizzling rain and by 8.30 the waiting line again extended almost to Lambeth bridge. Officials say the crowd far exceeds yesterday’s and estimate that 35,000 passed the catafalque by 11 a.m. As soon as the offices were closed at noon there was an appreciable increase in the queue. The King has gone to his private residence, Fort Belvedere, Sunniugdale, to rest quietly during the week-end. SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 5.5 p.m.) The funeral of King George will be of a distinctly naval character, befitting his many years in the service, but the army will supply nearly two divisions for duty in London. The overseas military representatives will include Dominion officers attached to the staff and other colleges. Many foreign armies are sending detachments and 50 nations will be represented by cither the king or Ministers. The procession will pass through streets draped in - purple and black. AFRICAN REPUBLICANS CAPETOWN, January 24. Mr D. F. Malan and members of the small Nationalist Opposition quietly rose and left the Chamber when General Hertzog moved a motion of congratulation and loyalty to King Edward VIII. It was pointed out that Mr Malan had previously seconded a motion of sympathy with his Majesty, but felt bound to leave the Chamber when the' loyalty issue was raised, as he was an avowed Republican. NO HOLIDAY IN CANADA OTTAWA, January 24. (Received Jan. 26, at 5.5 p.m.) The Government announces that the national holiday proclamation for Tuesday has been cancelled in deference to the wishes of King Edward VIII. Two minutes’ silence will be observed instead. FOREIGN ROYALTIES ARRIVE LONDON, January 24. The first of the foreign Royalties to arrive in London were the King and Queen of Norway. They were greeted at the station by the Duke of Kent, who kissed his aunt on both cheeks. Queen Maud was dressed in the deepest black. She walked down the platform with her nephew. EX-KAISER’S REPRESENTATIVE BERLIN, January 24. The ex-Kaiser has appointed Prince Freidrich, the godchild of King George and the youngest son of the ex-Crown Prince, to represent the Hohenzollerns at the funeral. He arrives in London on January 27, the ex-Kaiser’s birthday. LONDON STORES TO CLOSE LONDON, January 24. The London stores have decided to close on January 28, the banks remaining open.

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TRIBUTE

LONDON, January 25. (Received Jan. 26, at 10 p.m.) All parties in the Northern Ireland Senate and the House of Commous paid a tribute to King George. Members, silently standing, passed motions for loyal addresses to King Edward, after which messages of condolence were sent to Queen Mary. A Nationalist, Mr Campbell, said King George was a constitutional monarch who did not swerve a hair’s breadth from the constitutional path, never even when urged by high and mighty influences during the Home Rule struggle to exceed-its limits. He had nothing but generous thoughts and deeds for the Irish people, striving with all his might for reconciliation and healing between the British and the Irish. SERVICES IN SYDNEY SYDNEY, January 26. (Received Jan. 26, at 10 p.m.) Memorial services for King George were held by all churches throughout the Commonwealth to-day. AN AUSTRALIAN MEMORIAL CANBERRA, January 20. (Received Jan. 20, at 10 p.m.) The Federal Cabinet has unanimously decided that a fitting national memorial to King George should be erected in Australia. The State Premiers are to be consulted with regard to the form and site. THE TWO MINUTES’ SILENCE ALL TERRITORIALS TO PARADE As a result of the conference held between the civic, military, naval and other authorities it has been decided fittingly to commemorate the two minutes’ silence requested by King Edward VIII for the late King George V at the cenotaph in Queen’s Gardens at 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning. The Mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox) respectively requests citizens who are able to do so to be present, and asks employers to facilitate the release of members of territorial units to enable them to attend the parade.'For the benefit of those who are unable to leave their work he requests that all work should, cease during the two minutes’ silence. All territorial units other than the 12th Battery will parade in Cumberland street alongside Queen’s Gardens at 10.15 a.m. Members of the 12th Battery will parade at the Oval at the same time for the purpose of firing an artillery salute of 70 guns. Officers of the Reserve and Retired List are invited to parade at Cumberland street. The dress will be review order, other ranks without rifles. Officers and warrant officers will wear black mourning armlets on the left arm. Drums will be muffled.

AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, January 25. The Governor-General has received the following reply to his message of good wishes for the future reign:—“l much appreciate your telegram and the good wishes of the people of New Zealand for my future reign.— (Signed) Edward R. I.”"