SIR PERCY SARGOOD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24448, 6 November 1940, Page 6

SIR PERCY SARGOOD

Dunedin can ill afford to lose a citizen of the public-spiritedness of Sir Percy Sargood, whose death occurred yesterday. The supervision of a great and successful business might have left to many men no time for the service of the community in activities that were directed to the promotion of the common good. It was not so with Sir Percy Sargood. Without in. any way seeking public notice, which indeed he would have avoided, he identified himself with, and generously supported, numerous movements that appealed to him either because of their value from a national point of view or because of their humanitarianism. He was first and foremost a loyalist and a patriot, puring the Great War of 1914-18 he was prominently connected with the patriotic efforts in this provincial district and- as soon as the present war broke out he became associated with the local procedure for the mobilisation of the resources of the people in the Imperial cause. He was particularly concerned about the material circumstances of the members of the armed forces both while they were engaged on active service and also after their discharge. A personal sorrow, which is permanently' commemorated in this city, created as it were a special bond off attachment between him and those who wore the King’s colours, and no interest lay closer to his heart than that of their welfare. By none outside the circle of those whose ties with him were of the most intimate character will he be more severely missed. But he will be remembered with affection and regret by large numbers of persons who appreciated the wide range of service which, from a high sense of the responsibilities of the position he occupied, was rendered by him in this city. Though it may not be said of anyone that he is indispensable, the place which Sir Percy Sargood held in our midst will not be easily filled.