HONORING THE BRAVE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1914, Page 2

HONORING THE BRAVE.

A SEVERE REBUKE. The Inglewood Territorials did not show to advantage on Saturday last, says the Record, which goes on to say; The Veterans’ regulations say that these old men shall at all times be entitled to a military funeral, should their surviving relations desire it. * The family of the late Mr Johnson expressed the wish to have a military ’’funeral, and made this wish known to the Inglewood bandmaster and Major Leech. The Inglewood band, however, 'had disbanded just four days before, and when an effort was made to get the' members to attend it was met as was the giver of the Biblical Marriage feast of old, when those bidden to attend it excused theselves in various ways', one saying that he had bought a pibce of land and must go and .see it, hn'other had bought 1 live yoke of oven and'must go and prove them, another hall married a wife and therefore could not come, anil so on, so with the bandsmen, one 1 lot’ could not come because it was Saturday, another lot could not come because it wasn’t Sunday, and so ‘on. Veterans should, therefore, remember they must time* their dying so as ’hot To place" Die "funeral on a Saturday or other business day, or a band cannot he obtained for their last rites and,’ as in this case, the band will hate to he abandoned. Only the .firing party (appeared to-be available, and later even this failed, :>s a sufficient number of Territorials could not he warned to attend, probably because it .wasn’t Wednesday or Thursday, and in the end the firing party also had to be abandoned. A civilian funeral, which fortunately can always lie relied on to honor the memory of those who have “crossed the bar,” was accorded the old veteran, which was attended by a large concourse of friends from far and wide, the old warrior thus being attended to his last resting-place by many old fel-low-fighters who had often, with their, now past comrade, felt the support and mutual magnetism afforded by the presence of those who had never been known to turn their hacks to the enemy or on a fallen comrade. It is not pleasant to find that services, such as those given by these old fellows in times gone by, are not now deemed to l>e worthy the sacrifice of a single hour by the rising generation, who are living in peace and prosperity purchased for them by, in many cases, the lives in other years of service of those, now fast-passing, old veterans. And apparently of such are the present Territorials.