The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1924. NEW PLYMOUTH’S WAR MEMORIAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1924, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1924. NEW PLYMOUTH’S WAR MEMORIAL.

The unveiling of the eenotaph took place at New Plymouth yesterday—the form of the memorial whereby the people of the chief town of Taranaki have given an outward expression of their heartfelt desire to honour for all time the soldier citizens of the district who lost, their lives in the war. Those who may consider that the “empty tomb” of remembrance has been too long in taking shape, may find some consolation in the fact that only two months ago Prince George unveiled at what we may call Old Plymouth a similar memorial to the naval men from that port who perished in the Great War in the defence of the Empire and the cause of freedom from military tyranny. It was most fitting that yesterday’s ceremony should have been performed by the GovernorGeneral, Lord Jellicoe, who, as the the representative of His Majesty the King, occupies the chief position of honour in the Dominion, and during the war was in supreme command of the British Navy, the first-line of defence of an Empire which is maintained by reason of its sea power and is scattered over the seven seas. Moreover, additional eelat was given by reason of the occasion being the farewell visit of Lord and Lady Jellicoe to Taranaki before their return to the Homeland. The site chosen for New Plymouth’s eenotaph is one that may well appeal to Lord Jellicoe, being adjacent to the shore of the sea which is the connecting link of the whole Empire, and in the guardianship of which His Excellency has taken such a prominent part during his illustrious career, particularly during the war wherein so many sons of the Empire laid down their lives for home and country. The great majority of New Plymouth’s illustrious dead soldiers whom this memorial is intended to honour and keep in remembrance found their last resting place in distant lands—in France, Belgium, Italy, Palestine, Gallipoli, Salonika, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and possibly in Africa, in all of which countries, “stones of remembrance” are to be found as silent witnesses to those courageous hearts which answered the call to d(ity, the pride of the manhood of the Empire who came from the uttermost ends of the earth, from every country where the British flag flies, to

stand and fall by their, side in a most righteous cause, and in the common effort, made by the Empire in that terrible struggle for right over might. In their deaths they were not divided, and the simple but stately cenotaph which the people of New Plymouth have raised to their lasting memory, fittingly represents this work of Imperial co-opera-tion, while it is a symbol of what has been and of what will be, of a fraternity united under one flag, banded together as the subjects of one Sovereign. The citizens of New Plymouth may, therefore, have enduring satisfaction because it was the. King’s representative who unveiled their eenotaph which will bear throughout the ages to come a silent but none the less impressive testimony to the manner in which, not only the manhood of Taranaki, but of all parts of the Empire, fought and made the supreme sacrifice in order to secure the peace of the world. Honoured in their death, their memory will serve as an inspiration for the generations to come to uphold the glorious traditions of the British race. Each of the heroes in whose honour this cenotaph has been raised represents a part of the enormous price paid by the Empire for the hardly won victory; their names will live and their deeds will be immortalised', while their example will ever stand forth as glorious. New Plymouth’s “empty tomb,” adds one more to the long chain of war memorials throughout the Empire and calls to mind the cemeteries with their Stones of Remembrance and thefr Crosses of Sacrifice, the Gardens of Sleep in which lie our honoured dead. These men did their duty, • and now the people of New Plymouth have done theirs in raising the cenotaph to the honour of their sons. The ceremony was characterised by quite the right note of solemnity and sincerity, and there can be no doubt that Lord Jellicoe distinctly rose to the memorable occasion and did justice to the sentiments that should have found a ready response by all present. Certainly this last patriotic act of the Gov-ernor-General in Taranaki will add to the high respect and esteem in which he is held by the whole of the country and particularly by the people of New Plymouth.