ANZAC DAY MEMORIES

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3449, 28 April 1936, Page 5

ANZAC DAY MEMORIES

TWENTY-ONE YEARS AFTER

" "none the less significant

During the twelve months that "have elapsed following the commemoration of Anzac Day in 1935, there arose a feeling among certain. sections of the community that perhaps the Great War of 1914-18 was losing its significance and time had dimmed the memory of the gallant men who fought and died for the great ideal of future peace, to those people, who would have observed Anzac Day with a two-minutes' sil- . ence or a service on the nearest Sunday, it can now be said that the light of remembrance will never fail. Last Saturday in Cambridge, as with most parts of the Dominion,, the attendance at the service was] larger than for many years,, and from the young children to the greyhaired veterans an atmosphere of sincerity prevailed. The address by the Rev. J. M. Beaufort of St. Peter's School, added a new thought of remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice and the ceremony was completed with the laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph and the sounding of the "Last Post." ~J Big Muster of Soldiers ' As usual, a parade was held from the Drill Hall to the Town Hall and the Municipal Band led the proces- • sion which consisted of Ex-Service-men, Territorials, Rangers, Girl Guides, Brownies, Boy r Scouts and Cubs. There were over 120 Returned men on parade,, the largest number for many years. At the memorial, service in the Town Hall, the stage was occupied by the Deputy-Mayor, Mr Edgar James; Mr J. W. Garland, chairman of the Leamington Town Board; Mr Mervyn Wells, chairman of the Cambridge Power Board; Messrs C. Watt and T. H. Hampshire, Cambridge ExServicemen's Association; the Rqvs. J. M. Beaufort, A. C. McLean, C. W. Chandler, Adjutant Bartle and Captain McKinnon. , The Band, under the conductorship of Mr M. McMahon, provided the accompaniments to the hymns. Need for Peace In opening his address, the Rev. "Mr Beaufort stressed that the reason df Anzac Day was not to glorify war, but to bring to the hearts of men and women the need for peace. We were living in dangerous times, he said, and the commemoration could serve a very useful purpose if it brought home the realisation of Lihe horrors of war. I The band, leading the remnants of had stirred many hearts that day, and thoughts turned to those who had passed over, said Mr Beau-i fort. He had recently made a pilgrimage to the battlefields of France and there he had seen a broken figure of Christ, which had conveyed to him a lesson. Those men who went away and did not return were not dead, but still living in the Land of Paradise. And to them Mr Beaufort asked that the prayers of all might be directed. "We are praying for the living whom we hope to meet some day. Let us do what we can as Christians and remember them in our prayers, knowing they are not dead, but are unseen witnesses awaiting the final judgment," concluded Mr Beaufort. Assisting in the service, the Rev. A. C. McLean led the prayer, Adjutant Bartle read the lesson from Revelations 22, 1-8; and the Rev. C. W. Chandler offered the concluding prayer. The hymns, "God Save the King," "0 God, Our Help in Ages Past," "0 Valiant Hearts," and "Soli 'diers of Christ Arise," were sung. V At The Cenotaph

Following the service a large assemblage gathered at the Cenotaph, upon which were placed numerous

wreaths and iloral tributes. Follow-

ing this the Reveille was sounded bv Bandsmen S. Simpson, H. King-

don, S. Arnold, and M. Cubis, and the "Last Post" by Bandmaster McMahon and Bandsmen W. Perrott, 1). Sanders and T. MoWatt. The floral tributes included the

following representative emblems: — Citizens of Cambridge (Mr Edgar

James); Returned Soldiers (Mr C.

Watt); Leamington Town Board (Mr J. W. Garland); Power Board (Mr M. Wells); Town Hall Theatre (Mr S. Dye); Oddfellows' Lodge (Mr F. L. St. John); Mothers' Union (Mesdames W. Haworth and C. W. "Chandler); Cambridge School (D. Chatlield and E. Fletcher); Convent School (M. Oaten and E. Shannon); Rangers, Guides and Brownies (L. Hill); Scouts and Cubs (N. Morrow :and B. Wood); Women's Division. Benefit Picture

The benefit screening of the piclure "Cavalcade" saw the Town Hall

filled to capacity on Anzac Night. As a result the Cambridge ExServicemen's Relief Fund benefited bv the sum of £3(l 3/-.