THE GALLIPOLI CEMETERIES

Otago Witness, Issue 3954, 24 December 1929, Page 30

THE GALLIPOLI CEMETERIES

THE NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL. Sir James Allen has received a letter from Sir Fabian Ware, vice-chairman of the Imperial War Graves Commission, written at Constantinople on October 11, from which the follow’ing is an extract: — I have just spent two days with Hughes on the Peninsula, and thought that you would like to hear from me at first hand, how things are going there. I had not been there for four years, and was very pleased with the development of the cemeteries; in yours as in all others (except in the one or two right down by the seaside exposed to salt spray) the trees are growing well—cypress, pine, and tamarisk—and the effect of large spherical clumps of rosemary is excellent. The horticultural work done by Kett in this respect is really very remarkable, and though we cannot grow the flowers we do in France and Belgium, they quite hold their own in comparison with the cemeteries there, and have a dignity and very peaceful permanent appearance which was very moving, to my mind. I don’t know if you beard that poor Kett died a short time ago in Egypt, having been knocked down by a motor car. Hughes’s work is still beyond all praise and be retains to the full his keenness and his sense of the greatness of his task and its value to the Empire. I am very happy about it, and I know it will give you pleasure to hear about it. The stone everywhere has retained its whiteness —I had expected it to weather much darker —and the view of the cemeteries from Chanuk Bair and other heights, is very much as it was, absolutely overwhelming in its impressiveness, though the growth of the trees is adding a green framework to the cemeteries, which makes them living in the landscape. Yon may remember that I never liked the form of headstone we had adopted there: but since the horticulture has developed, all my objections have disappeared The New Zealand memorial at Chanuk Bair stands strong and solid, and will do so for 1000 years or so. I was very interested to see that the Italian boats (I expect some of the others do so too) in passing the Cape Helles monument, blow three blasts, dip their flag, and ask (in a notice put up the day before) everybody to observe three minutes’ silence. The work generally is going very well, but, of course, one has to keep a con-, stant watch on the treasury; but if I live I think I shall see the five million endowment fund established.