AN INTERESTING LANTERN LECTURE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17853, 22 May 1926, Page 15

AN INTERESTING LANTERN LECTURE

MR S. HURST-SEAGER TALKS OF WAR MEMORIALS. The subject of war memorials is one which interests almost every New Zealander, and therefore the lantern lecture given by Mr S. Hurst Seager in the Choral Hall last evening attracted more than passing attention. Memorials perpetuating the exploits of New Zealanders on all fronts in the Great War were brought into locus by Mr S. Hurst-Seager. The dignity and simplicity of the massive monuments were at once arresting, and showed with what thoroughness the Dominion and Imperial Governments have undertaken the work. The memorials have been set in surroundings that the Australians and New Zealanders have 'made famous.. The New Zealanders, led by Lieutenant Averill, were responsible for restoring the town of Le Quesnoy to France, and in gratitude to them the priests of the town composed a Hymn of Deliverance. This was sung by Miss Millicent Jennings. The subject of the lecture was one which affected closely tens of thousands of people in New Zealand, said the Mayor (Mr J. K. Archer) who presided. The lecturer, he added, had had unique opportunities of studying his subject, for he had visited the scenes of all the memorials, and had assisted in their erection. Sir Heaton Rhodes (chairman of the War Graves Committee), said that New Zealand was greatly indebted to Mr Hurst-Seager for his work. He said that no memorial was too good for the 18,000 men whom New Zealand had lost. “LANDING IS A CLASSIC."

“The landing at Gallipoli has become a classic,” said the lecturer, in speaking of the map of the Gallipoli Peninsula. “There is therefore no need to repeat the glorious story.” A monument for the missing men was erected at Cape Helles, where it could be seen from all points, and at Chunuk-Bair there was a battle-exploits memorial. It was originally intended that only one monument to the exploits of the New Zealanders and Australians should be erected, but it was felt that the scheme on Gallipoli would not be complete without some form to mark the place where the Anzacs landed. At Suvla Bay there was a simple, though very dignified, monument, inscribed to the memory of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps; and here also had been held Anzac Day services since the singing of the Armistice.

Round the monument at Chunuk-Bair were crosses to mark the last resting place of many of the New Zealand soldiers. On the monument itself was an inscription to the Australians and New Zealanders, dated August 8, 1915, and below it was written a phrase from Isaiah: “From the uttermost parts of the earth.” The Lone Pine Cemetery was dedicated to the Australians, who had won fame in that locality. Cape Helles memorial was a striking one, and that erected on the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, was grand in its simple massiveness.

The method of erection was dealt with. There were nineteen different nationalities at work in carrying the heavy blocks of stone from the beaches to the points of vantage. An aerial railway was employed at one stage, but most of the carrying work had to be done by manual labour. All the memorials on Gallipoli and in France were made of white marble stone taken from an old Roman quarry near Trieste, which was very durable. MEMORIALS IN FRANCE. Turning to the headstones erected in France by the Imperial War Graves Commission, the lecturer pointed out their simplicity and uniformity in contrast with the intricate designs on those for French soldiers. There was near the village of Longuval a monument to New Zealanders who had fallen in the battles of the Somme, 1916-18. An effort to establish New Zealand flora about the monument was fairly successful. In order to forestall the possibility of the monument at Messines being hidden by buildings the New Zealand Government had bought the land surrounding it. Striking pictures were shown of the unveiling at Ypres by King Albert of Belgium, with Sir James Allen and General Godiey also present. The capture of Gravenstafel by the New Zealanders on October 4, 1917, as part of the general advance towards Paschendaele, was perpetuated by a striking column; and the retaking of Amiens was recalled by views of the beautiful and historic Cathedral, which has been repaired since being damaged in the war. In this remarkable building, probably the most beautiful in the world, are tablets and flags to the memory of New Zealanders.

The fortifications of Le Quesnoy. on the boundary between Belgium and France, were shown in all their massiveness. When retaking the town the New Zealanders scaled the walls of the fortifications by means of a single ladder. A memorial was erected in the town in a Garden of Memory, to which entrance was given by an archway made in the massive walls. A marble platform opposite the wall gave a stage from which to view the sculpture laid in the fortifications at the point where the New Zealanders clambered over. The inlaid sculpture depicts strikingly the retaking of the town and the heralding of victorious peace. Mr Hurst-Seager was accorded a vote of thanks. His lecture will be repeated on Monday evening.