COMMON SORROW

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18923, 27 January 1936, Page 11

COMMON SORROW

INCREASING HOST PASSING OF KING SUNDAY MULTITUDE OVER 155,000 MOURNERS QUEUE TWELVE ABREAST (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Asan.) (Reed. Jan. 27, 3 p.m.) LONDON, dan. 27. Sunday's leisure afforded daylong and nightlong opportunity for the populace to renew homage to tiie dead King. The queue exceeded all previous dimensions, stretching 12 abreast dowii the Albert Embankment, across Vauxhall bridge and along the southern bank of the Thames to Westminster Bridge. the rearguard taking four hours to move three miles and necessitating the public being admitted to 'Westminster Hall until six a.m. to-day (Monday). Two thousand replaced every thousand traversing the hall. The first time any of the King s grandchildren saw the coffin was when Viscount, and Gerald Lascelles with the Karl of Harewood, the Princess Royal and the Princess' Louise entered the building. Three generations of the Royal Family were thus linked in common sorrow. The Infanta Beatrice of Spain and peers and members of the House of Commons and their relatives, all m deep mourning, arrived in the evening and were admitted through the crypt. Uniformed nurses and wounded exservicemen and veterans .were allowed to enter without queuing up. The visitors passed through at the. maximum rate ot 15,000 an hour, totalling 155,358 by 7 p.m. . Half an hour later the queue alone was estimated to contain 50,000, entail in" a journey of six hours for those joining the end. The Embankment became impassable to any traffic as the double-decker trams from South London disgorged their loads. Underground trains to Westminster were crammed to the doors, necessitating one-way traffic outside. The police formed the mourners into two queues, completely encircling the Houses of Parliament. Trains and buses since early morning brought the advance guard of the great civilian army of mourning. The streets around Westminster were soon crammed with people, streams overflowing by noon'into the roadways and congesting traffic and jamming motor cars in Whitehall and on the Embankment and in Queen Victoria Street. Another great, queue was formed late in the afternoon for the evening prayer at, Westminster Abbey, which has been crowded ever since the King's death. The Abbev will be. open all day for services on Monday and Tuesday. The manner in which the tributary queues were forming automatically and converging to the main ones instanced London's wonderful crowd sense. Children were lost and women fainted, but the orderliness was perfect and detachments of nurses and first-aid men rendered valuable service.

RESWORN IN GOVERNOR AND MINISTRY (Per Press Association.) . WELLINGTON, this day. The Governor-General, Viscount Galway, and members of the Ministry were resworn in at a meeting of tin Executive Council to-day. The City Council at a special meeting to-dav placed on record the deep regret of' the citizens of Wellington at the death of King George V and the profound sympathy with the Royal Family.