ANZAC DAY IN LONDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23514, 31 May 1938, Page 15

ANZAC DAY IN LONDON

INTEREST IN OBSERVANCE (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON. Apl. 27. Anzac Day celebrations in London this year were marked by several addresses and incidents of unusual interest. Although the occasion naturally does not attract so much attention as in Australia and New Zealand, commemorative functions continue to draw large attendances, and this year’s services were crowded. The chief service was held at the official Australian church in London, St. Clement Danes. The church was filled by a congregation consisting chiefly of Australians and New Zealanders, and including the members of the Australian cricket team. General Sir lan Hamilton, Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Field-marshal Lord Birdwood, general officer commanding the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, General Sir Alexander Godley, the New Zealand commander, and Viscount Gort, present chief of the Imperial General Staff, were among the distinguished soldiers present. The lessons were read by Mr S. M. Bruce, High Commissioner for Australia, and Mr W. J. Jordan, High Commissioner for New Zealand. A solo, “God Shall Wipe Away All Tears,” was sung by Miss Christina Young, the Wellington mezzo-soprano. During the service, which was conducted by the rector, the Rev. W. Pennington-Pick-ford, wreaths were placed on the War Shrine by the High Commissioners. The Rev. G. Green, formerly chaplain to the Australian Imperial Force, who gave the address, said Anzac Day should not be a day of mourning or of pride in the past, but of inspiration and hope for the future. He gave as an example of the Anzac spirit of courage, comradeship, and cheerfulness a case he came across in Gallipoli. An Aucklander, Sergeant R, Nairne, was killed while attempting to smother a bomb, and so saved the lives of troops near him. He wrote to the dead man’s mother, and received a letter which reflected the Anzac spirit as finely as had the act of her son.

By a remarkable coincidence, Sergeant Nairne's sister, Mrs R. G. Milligan, of Auckland, was present in the church. She knew nothing of Mr Green’s intention to speak about her family. After the service men who took part in the landing at the Dardanelles paraded at the Cenotaph, while wreaths were laid on behalf of the British, Australian, New -Zealand. Indian, and French military and naval forces and by representatives of various ex-servicemen’s organisations. The official New Zealand wreath wag laid by Mr Jordan, and among others were wreaths from the Victoria League in New Zealand, the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, laid by General Sir Alexander Godley, and the Artillery Association, Auckland, laid by Colonel R. G. Milligan. Later in the day Mrs Jordan unveiled at the Cenotaph a wreath which had been sent from New Zealand in ice by the Auckland branch of the Mothers’ Union. She was accompanied by. the Hon. Mrs E. H. Hardcastle, acting central president, and other members of the Mothers’ Union in England. A short sevrice was conducted by Canon R. H. Hobday, formerly of Auckland.

There was another brief ceremony at the Cenotaph, when Bradman and McCabe, captain and vice-captain of the Australian cricket team, laid a wreath on behalf of the team, while members stood behind them at attention.

, Mr Jordan represented the Dominion at the Gallipoli Day service at Holy Trinity Church, Eltham, on April 24, held annually in memory of the 29th Division. In an address Captain E. Unwin, who received the V.C. for his part in the landing in command of the River Clyde, said that if the campaign had been properly managed, Constantinople would have been taken, for no nation sent forth braver troops. “At great sacrifice we landed but we had not enough guns and I do not know if some of them had been in the ark,” he said. “A few more guns and the men would have got there. What I saw of the fighting gave me great admiration for my country.” A different reason for failure was given by General Sir Beauvoir de Lisle, formerly officer commanding the 29th Division, at a luncheon held on Anzac Day by the British Empire Service League. Field-Marshal Lord Milne presided, and representatives of many Australian and New Zealand organisations were present. Responding to the toast of “The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force,” proposed by Mr Jordan, Sir Beauvoir said that if the Gallipoli campaign had been a success the whole world would have thought it a great conception of strategy. Its failure was not due to the troops. Ever since, Mr Winston Churchill had had to bear the blame for what was not his fault. The fault lay in delay and handing over the element of surprise. When it was realised that the subject of the Gallipoli campaign was discussed in the House of Commons before the first attack, it would be seen that the troops were under a great disadvantage, and it was only their gallant endurance and initiative that enabled them to hang on for so long. Yet another commemorative service was held on the evening of Anzac Day at St. Mary’s Church, Walton-on-Thames, the parish in which two large New Zealand military hospitals were situated during the war. The High Commissioner was represented by Colonel Milligan. To coincide with the Anzac Day celebrations, a new diorama was opened at the Imperial War Museum 'in London, showing the landing from the River Clyde at V Beach. It shows the Royal Munster Fusiliers pouring down the gangways and attempting to land by means of three lighters under heavy machine-gun fire from the Turks. Several Gallipoli relics have also been placed on view, together with a series of pairs of photographs showing wellknown places on Cape Helles in 1915 and 1930.