ST. MARY’S CHURCH

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20326, 27 January 1936, Page 5

ST. MARY’S CHURCH

The memorial service at St. Mary”s yesterday mcming, which was conducted by the Ven. Archdeacon H. W. Monaghan, assisted by the Rev. J. Evans, was a most impressive one. Appropriate hymns were sung by the large congregation, special prayers were offered and Beethoven's Funeral March was played by the organist, Mr A. W. V. Vine. Archdeacon Monaghan took as his text, 2 Chronicles, Chapter 34, Verse I:—“And he did that which was right in the sight ot the Lord.” Archdeacon Monaghan after explaining the importance attached to all events in the life of the Royal Family, said:—“The birth, death or marriage of any member of that family is the concern of the whole nation. I have said that all kings claim and receive a loyalty and honour in virtue of the high office which they hold. When King George came to the Throne he received that formal tribute from the nation. In the 25 years in which he reigned over us he won something much greater than this. We learned to honour him not becaus“ of the high office which he held, but because of the virtue and nobility of character with which he adorned it. It would be vain for me to attempt to add to the tributes which have been paid to our late beloved and revered King by the leaders in Church and State all over the Empire. Let it suffice to say that throughout the years of his troubled reign, in war and peace, in times of joy and days of sorrow, in prosperity and distress, he never failed us. In one of the greatest crises of European history, when all around thrones were toppling and monarchs fleeing Into exile, King George V. so nobly fulfilled his kingship that he left the throne of England more firmly established that ever in the constitution and in the hearts of the British people. This high achievement was not wrought without great toil and sacrifice. We easily get the idea that the life of a King is a soft one. At the Jubilee celebrations nothing impressed me more than the reiterated tributes paid to the King as a worker. We knew that he was conscientious in all his Ways, and we must have known that his office Involved an amount of routine work in dealing with the affairs of state. But what I had not realised was the extra work thq King put in all through his reign. He was never content with just the formalities, but insisted on keeping himself informed in everything which concerned the welfare of his people. He bore a heavy burden, the care of all the Empire, and when we saw him at his Jubilee, like all good workers, he looked a happy but a tired man. God Bless Your Majesty. “Here in New Zealand, because we live so far away and do not see our King it is impossible to enter into “le subtlest and most intriguing aspect of the devotion of the British people to their Sovereign. I can vouch for this incident myself. There is a poor family living east of Kensington who are the proud possessors of a very interesting autograph of the late King. The father has had little work for three years and they are very poor but the children are intelligent and the mother is a wonder in the way she manages to keep them clean and tidy. One of the little boys set his heart on getting an autograph of the King. His mother could not discourage him so one morning with his boots and his face polished off he went to Hyde Park, because last summer the King used to often ride in the Row at half past six in the morning. The little boy by carefully dodging the police, at last managed to step right out in front of the King’s horse. The King stopped and asked him what he wanted. “Please, your Majesty, would you be so kind, and give me your autograph.’” The King laughed and said: “Well, you are a plucky little chap, but I have no pen or paper.” Like a flash the boy produced the pen and the paper and the autograph was signed on the pommel of the saddle. When the King handed it back that little bareheaded London boy said, “Thank you Sir, God bless your Majesty.” ’ Fervent Devotion. "This incident which I came across by accident may serve to explain that fervent personal enthusiasm and devotion which the people in the Old Country and feel towards the Royal Family. The King is theirs and they are his. In few reigns has this devotion been deeper than during the reign which has just ended. For twenty five years we have prayed in this church 'Almighty God so dispose and govern the heart of George thy servant our King and Governor, that in all his thoughts words and works, he may ever seek thy honour and glory and study to preserve thy people committed to his charge, in wealth, peace and godliness,’ and to-day, when we remember him in death, we can thank God that our prayers have been granted. “As one of our bishops said last week: ’To his son and successor, King George has left a pattern of what, by the grace of God and King may be.’ To us all, and especially to all who hold places of responsibility, he has left an example of devoted, unselfish service to the common good. So we turn over another page in the history of our nation and blot the final words: 'George the Fifth reigned five and twenty years in London, and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and he was buried in the tomb of his fathers and Edward his son reigned in his stead.’ The servicee concluded with the National Anthem.