HONORING THE FALLEN.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 January 1920, Page 3

HONORING THE FALLEN.

UNVEILING CEREMONY AT AWAKTNO. A IDISTEICT'S SINE RECORD. No province in New Zealand has a better record than Taranaki in connection with service during the war, and in this respect our northern neighbours from the Awakino district—which, though actually in the Auckland province, is so bound up with Taranaki as to be regarded as part and parcel of this fine province—showed themselves no less backward, as may be gathered from the fact that the district, which is a very scattered one, sent no fewer than 54 men to the war, of whom 14 made the supreme sacrifice. In order to perpetuate the memory of these men residents of the district decided to erect a fitting memorial and the .committee set up, comprising Messrs. L. R. Jones, chairman and secretary, W. "J. R. Avery, J, McNeice, P." J. Woolfe and T. Cummings, after due deliberation, decided on the memorial which was unveiled yesterday, and which consists of a concrete arch and fence erected in front of the Awakino Hall, This makes a most imposing memorial, the arch, which is of Gothic design, being 12 feet high overall bv 12 feet wide overall. The pillars are massive, being 3 feet by 2 feet, whilst tlu> gateway is 6 feet wide by 7 feet 6 inches high, and contains a handsome new gate manufactured by Ross Muller. The arch is finished with cornice, whilst the pillars are panelled. On each pillar there is a marble tablet- The concrete fence, which is 4 feet 9 inches liigh, consists of a (! inch wall or a 12 inch base with a 9 inch coping. and is nicely panelled. In fact tlie whole is built to geometric designs and is a credit, to Mr. T. Bevens, who carried it out.

Tlie arch is surmounted by a short flag staff, on which proudly floated' the Union Jack, whilst streamers of flags added to tlie brilliance of the ceremony. Splendid weather prevailed, and consequently there was a verv large attendance Of settlers and their families from Awakino and surrounding districts. Am one; visitors present were Lieut.-Col. Weston, 8.5.0.. commander of the Taranaki Legion of Frontiersmen, who was accomnanied bv Staff Ofiir er Lieut Goldsworthy, Staff-Secretary Capt. Gilbert, and Staff Sergeant Major Hinc. Frontiersmen were also largely in attendance from the local corns and' also from Rahotu. "Ur obainnon of the Awakino County Council, was present, as were some oO returned soldiers, under Corporal A. G. Jones.

AWAKINO'S FINE RECORD.

Mr. L. E Jones, who presided, expressed his pleasure at seeing such a gathering on such a memorable occasion'as the unveiling- of a memorial to the men who had fallen, and also a roll of honor to the men who had gone from the district. I Awakino had a fine record, having sent over 50 men, of whom 14 had made the supreme sacrifice. On behalf of the residents of the AjWakmo district he extended a hearty welcome to the visitors present, particularly mentioning Col. Weston and' j Mr. Boddie. Flo also expressed regret at 1 the absence of Air. Jennings, M.P., who : was ejepneted fo.'be present, but had telegraphed an apology from Wellington. ft!r Koddie expressed his pleasure at being present on such a memorable occasion, which would ever dwell in the memory of all present, and narticularly in the memory of residents of Awakino. ihc memorial was indeed a magnificent one and distinctly creditable to those responsible for it, and to those settlers of the district who had provided the funds He thought that people had not given the thought they should towards the erection of memorials, which he considered should be as this was, something tangible, something substantial, some" thing that would be here for all time as a reminder of the trials that our, brave men had gone through. The present generation would not need' anv reminder but for generations in time to come there must be something to remind them of the glorious deeds performed by those brave boys who had-borne the'burden an;l heat of the battle so that we might keep, the fine country we had- While all should hope that this would be the last war, they must- not get into a fool's paradise and think that it would be the last war. The best chance of preventing another war was to be prepared for one. A lot had been said: about military trainmg, but if tliov had been prepared six years ago he felt certain that instead of dragging out five years the war would have been over in twelve months. The memorial should teach them a lesson that it had not been erected merely in honor of those who had fallen and who md gone to the war, but as a reminder that they should he prepared in the future for any eventuality Tf they were prepared they would not be called upon to go through the awful time those brave lads had gone, through. Those whose sons had fallen could look upon the removal as an expression of heartsympathy from the community, as would those whose sons had been fortun- | ately spared to return.

THE INSCRIPTION. While the returned soldiers stood at attent'on W'tf.-co l . Weston then unveiled the tablets and the roll of honor simJSCS. Tl " On the one side-"For Freedom's Cause. Dedicated by the people of Awakino to the memory of those U Awakino soldier )°\s. who made the supreme sacrifice m the Great. War, 1914-ms." Whilst on the other side appears the names of the--14 soldier hoys who fell. Thev are as tollow:—Lance-Senrt. M. Beck' (MAI) Corp. A. R. "Black, Pte. S. M. Black, £ P flatley, R Ir . Con(]nn _ c R Carrin^on H. Chambers, A. Kcllv, W. Luck. J McGee, Lce.-Ser,t„ T. A. Parr, W. Preston, K. Pan] and P. Sparrow. The roll of honor, which was placed in the centre of the arch, contained the words, 'Roll of Honor dedicated to the soldjer boys of the Awakino district, who answered the call of duty in the Great War, 1914-IHIB. j n addition to the of those killed it contained the following names:—Wounded: Ptes. R. C. illack, A. Ulanchsrd. O. O. Pponill, T. Carrintrton. W. Carrington. Corp. W H Cummiiigs, Ptes. P. Howard, T. Hitchinsi Corp. A. G. Jones, Ptes. J. Lowe, ,T. Morteson, iSeret. K. W. Parr, Left -Corn V Payne Ptes. R. Shnesmith, W. Sofle, H. Sofle, L. Saunders, P. Webster. Also E. 1 m D. Bowers, M. Collins, i. Cummings, H. Dundon. Corp. W O Fisher Ptes. P. J. J. Harrison, W. Ha* kett, W. P. Kelly, C. Moore, J. Mcintosh, N. Ordisli, A. O'Neill, W. Parr, H. Pearee, C- Rae, B. A. Svenson, J. Thompson, ll' Tucker A. Uliger. and W. Volker. Below the tablet was a laurel wreath 0 THE REGIMENTAL SPIRIT. Colonel Weston said that he felt it a great honor to be asked to unveil the memorial to men who had left the district to serve the Empire. One could share in the appreciation felt br Uw kw

pie of Taranaki at the action of tleir young men—whom it was felt bad made history for New Zealand, which they should hand down to future generation* as traditions of the country. Battered Sags, great monuments, etc., were great factors in preserving and encouraging regimental spirit, esprit de corps in schools or patriotism in a nation. The history of the old crusaders never failed to stir our Wood when we were young, and yet the story of the way in which the boys of the back country left their farms and stations at the call of the bugle and went thousands of miles across the sea was just as line as that of old crusaders and old sailors. Moreover, when they got there they proved greart fighters, and during the intervals of peace chivalrous gentlemen, and one could say to their fathers and mothers that they were indeed'; worthy of this great memorial, which would show to the world at large that the memories of those that fell shall never be forgotten. There were many who believed that while the bodies of those who had fallen lay in Gallipoli, France, and Egypt, their spirits o«casionally come back to their former home and this dumb memorial would show them that they would never be forgotten. The men who had fallen had paid the toll and deserved the memorial. They had gone in tho full flush of life with eyes open and fearless hearts to fight for their Empire. He could only recall personally four of the boys whose names appeared on the list, viz.: Sergt. Beck, Corp. Black, Sergt. Parr, Pte. Black, but whenever he thought of them, which was not seldom, he thought of them with feelings of deepest affection and respect. If the monument served to perpetuate in this county the spirit that actuated those men, the inhabitants of Awakino would have done a great service to their county. The ceremony concluded with the singing of the national anthem, accompanied by Mrs. McNeice on the piano, after which all present were entertained to afternoon tea >n the hall by the ladies of Awakino, musical items being rendered by Mesdames McNeice and Christofferson and Misses Thompson and E. 0 Sullivan. Tho ladies' committee, who were responsible for the success of the gathering, comprised Mesdames L. R. Jones, B. Condon, T. Cummingg, J McNeice, W. J R. Avery, L. Black, McNair, Woolfe and P. Howard, Misses K. Thompson, A. M. Black, Webb (2), Woolfe, Waring and McNeice THE DINNER. In the evening the residents of Awakino entertained the returned soldier? \v:tl: their wive?, or in the ease of the single men, with ihcir fathers and mothers, to dinner in the Awakino Hall, which had been beautifully decorated with ferns, flowers and flags, and, witli the charmingly arranged and sumptuously garniehed tables, looked a picture. In an some SO partook of the lavish hospitality of the Awakino ladies, the bill of fare including among other dainty fowl. duck, turkey, goose, jellies, trifle, etc., to which full justice was done by those present, the bevy of youn" ladies, who for the nonce filled the posi" tion of waitresses, being kept very busy. _ "ri.ii- to commencing a short toast list, those present stood in silence for a moment in memory of the honored dead. A toast list was then discussed as follows: "The King," proposed by the chairman: "The Navv and the Army" proposed-by Mr. W. 1). Thompson, and responded to by Col. Weston and Mr. i.'UA'in: "Our Guests: The Returned Soldiers," proposed bv the chairman, and responded to by Capt. Gilbert and Cm-,,. Jones. "The Ladies," proposed by Mr. W. .T. E. Avery, who expressed the thanks of "the committee for the splendid assistance given by the ladies, without, whom Hie function that dav could not have been such a. success, and responded to bv Mr. Keay, returned soldier.

THE BALL. Proceedings dosed with a ball in the Hall, which was crowded, the attendance being representative of Awakino district and surrounding districts, Mr Rattenbury bringing 20 through from Toneuporutu in Ins motor wagon. Mr B. Condon made an efficient M.C., and matters moved mernly to excellent music supplied bv ivfosdames Cbristofferson and MeNeice, extras heme played by Miss O'Sullivan Messrs Ridling, Louissin (Palmerston North) and McGregor. During the events -nr. Ridley, a returned soldier from Mahoenui, who is the possessor of a fine voice, which he iises with feeling and expression. rendered several songs, hein" encored on each occasion. He nlavert liis own accompaniments. Mr. Mcßae (lftw Plymouth) was also encored for his exhibition of dancine, his accompaniments being played by Mesdamcs McNeice and Christofferson. Supper, dispensed by the ladies, was greatly appreciated, after which dancing was resumed and kept up with vigor till the early hours.