THE ANZAC BEQUEST

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 96, 26 April 1940, Page 4

THE ANZAC BEQUEST

“ALL THE NATION STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER” UNITY AND UNSELFISHNESS THE WORTHWHILE THINGS OF THE WAR In an address at the Civic Service in Wanganui yesterday, to commemorate Anzac Day, held on Cook’s Gardens, the speaker, Rev. J. H. Datson, C.F., of Aramoho, opened with a quotation from John Oxenham’s "All’s .Well' “Hail and farewell. All honour give to those who nobly striving, nobly fell, tiiat we might live.” “And that is the reason we are here this afternoon, to give honour to those who, nobly striving, nobly fell, that we might live,” said the speaker. "It seems good that year by year we should set aside a day to pay honour to those who fell, but it is not necessary for us to observe it with the playing of sol-.v music and lugubrious memories of those who went into battle with a song on then lips. It is good also to remember those other men who fought side by side with those who fell, men who were returned shattered for the reH of their mortal life; it is good for, in thinking of others, we look away from ourselves, and it is always good to look away from ourselves, because we get a broader vision and a wider outlook.

Reverent Remembrance. “Now, to those who have counted the cost of victory in the iast war, Anzac Day will always be regarded as a day of reverent remembrance, rather than in the light oi a public holiday. It stands as a milestone on the highway of great acnievemen.L, as well as New Zealand's baptism in U<e travail and self-sacrifice-o, a common struggle for the principles er . :gi u - ousness. It created a tradition which will ever be our proudest possession. Not only is it pregnant .villi the memories of that wonderful land : nj at Gallipoli, but it is embiamalic cl ,>.? supreme sacrifices which were made in the great struggle lor woricl-wide peace. And so to-day, we are gathered together to remember before God those who laid down their lives on the slopes of Gaba Tepe and in other theatres of the Great War. “But the character and purpose c our commemoration are different from what they have been in previous years. For not only are we remembering those who made the Great Sacrifice over 20 years ago, but wc have in our thoughts those of our own day who have fallen. Thirty-eight or so of that gallant band of young men joined the Royal Air Force, and those who took part in the epic naval engagement between the Achilles and the Graf Spee. We are thinking, too, of those of the First Echelon, who are now sharers in another great struggle in which Britain and France are engaged against the same enemy. This second war is against lawlessness ol the most virulent and persistent kind. To quote the words of the Britisn Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain: ‘lt is an evil thing we are lighting against, brute force, bad faith, oppression, injustice and persecution.’ And from other sources we get 1.. s statement amplified: ‘An evil in terms ol broken promises, persecution of Christian people, torturing of Jews, denial of freedom, suppression of truth, imprisonment of pastors, and the training of little children’s minds to worship the idols of force and a pagan state.’

Christians Have No Option. “When strident Godlessness, truculent cruelty and brutal aggressiveness threaten the very existence of the kingdom of spiritual liberty,. of righteousness and peace, we, as Christians, have no option but to put the weight of our Christian influence Behind the determination to resist the spread of an evil contagion. So to-day, while we remember in our thoughts and prayers, those who have suffered and died, we pray, too, that our cause, which we most emphatically believe to be a just cause, may prevail, and that liberty, justice, freedom and rigliteusness, may be established in the world, and that God in His infinite grace and mercy may defend lhe right. “What is it that should rise into our minds as we think of the Anzacs today?—in the first place we, as a people, have to defeat the blinding superstition that they are deac. ihey are not dead, they have merely joined the great cloud of witnesses, who have fought a good fight and finished an earthly course, leaving behind a bequest, which, if taken up and cherished, shall accomplish the purpost of their sacrifice. And v.hat are they saying to us as a nation .’—Their message is: ’Look to yourselves that ye lose not that which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward.' “In those days men stood shoulder to shoulder, irrespective of religion,

politics, soical standing, united in a common cause, and throughout unity and tlic spirit of selflessness prevailed. Friendships Were Formed. “Do you wonder that friendships have been formed which will iast beyond all earthly ties? Gan you wonder that the spirit of comradeship will bind men as no other bond could bind'.’ Perhaps the one good thing that emanated from the confict is the bond of comradeship, never to be broken. Another thing the men learned was the great lesson or g.ve anu take; in other words, sharing. That was the spirit of our men. During the Gallipoli campaign, when it was difficult to feed the troops, 1 have known men share their last dog biscuit- , don't know whether they give them dog biscuits to-day—their iasi tin of buliy beef and that most clierkiie... possession, their last ’lag.’ This spirit

was characteristic of our men on every front. In hardship ano dangers, in joys and sorrows, in temptations and difficulties, men stood by each other, sharing, advising, protecting, encouraging, inspiring, and were, in the highest sense of the word, puls.

‘They found themselves caught In a cause far greater than anything they had ever known, far exceeoing the cause of seif, far exceeding the cause of section, party or group— a cause big enough to lose themselves in, and to lose their lives to find them again. And this is what they found—a Worldwide Cause.

“Men found a new brotherhood and fellowship, far wider than they had ever experienced, bigger and wider than the fellowship of class, group against group —a fellowsnip with a sing.e interest, a brotherhood big

enough to embrace all, rich and poor of all classes and groups. To Recapture Their Unity, "Again I say it is good to set aside a day, if only to remind ourselves of Hie great necessity of recapturing that spirit of fellowship on a national sense, of giving more than getting, ol shaiing more than withholding, and, especially at this time, reincarnate their nature. "It was during the end / 'he last war tiiat we, as a nation. ~.una outsell cs and we taught wherein the true worth of mankind consists. It was revealed to us that for man, life is not commerce or industiy, not material wealth ot splendour, not comfort or length of days, riches or fame, out Loyalty, living or dying, lo the service ol' God's freedom, God’s justice and truth. And in tnose days, when we lound ourselves, the national characteristic was unsellisu giving, unselfish service, unselfish sacrifice. “And so to-day, when we remember the things the Anzacs wreugnt, lei us re-dedicate ourselves to the sei vice of our God, our King and our Country, the face of a common enemy who stands for perfidy against sincerity; the metnuj of the concentration and the Gestapo against freedom, robbery in high places as against justice; let ustand shoulder to shoulutr, united m mind, believing our cause to be just, united in intention, determined to resist the spread of an evil contagion, united in purpose—not tc sell to any man, not lo deny to any man, either justice or right.

“That is the Anzac bequest. Da;.-e we lay it down and leave unacaomplasheu the purpose of their sacrifice? To do so would be treason to then memory, treason to their sacrifice. To the Youth of To-day. “To the young people here this afternoon I would say; ’Remember the significance of this commemoration. Cherish' the traditions made by young men nearly a quarter of a century ago. Try to realise that they depend upon you to carry on the task of making this world safe for demociacy, a world in which liberty and justice, freedom and riehteosuness may live.’ ”