MEMORIAL PLAQUE IS UNVEILED BY THE REV. KEITH ELLIOT, V.C.

Wanganui Chronicle, 17 October 1950, Page 8

MEMORIAL PLAQUE IS UNVEILED BY THE REV. KEITH ELLIOT, V.C.

Simplicity and sincerity were the key-notes of the address given by the Rev. K.. Elliot, V.C., at dedication service, and unveiling of the Memorial Plaque at the Taihape War Memorial on Sunday afternoon. The service was preceded by a parade led by the Taihape Municipal Band, and comprised returned servicemen, fire brigadesmen, Scouts and Guides. The Mayor of Taihape, Mr. E. Loader, presided. The hymn “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” was followed by a prayer by the Rev. Mr Parr, C. F. K-Force. “I wish to thank the Mayor for his invitation to be present here today, said the Rev K. Elliot, “because I met many men from Taihape who served with me in the Second World War, and two of them who were with me were killed in action.” He said thax on an Anzac Day recently he had been in “The Square” in Christchurch, when he heard a man refer to the observance of Anzac Day as hypocrisy. The speaker had promptly asked if the man had ever served his country, or if he had a son who had served his country or died for it. He found chat the answer was “no,” and in reply to such assertions, he would say that there were more memorials throughout this country to servicemen than for any other cause, and they were dedicatee? to God. That was because we believed in God, and knew that these men gave their lives in the cause of neace. He believed that we were nearer to that peace now than ever before, but he would remind listeners that whenever the peace was threatened it was the servicemen who come forward to serve. So he appealed to his hearers not to let a day go past without giving thought to the men who sprang from this soil, and gave their lives in the cause of peace. When they heard the “Last Post” that day, they must regard it as symbolic. “Receille” signified the rising from the dead, and as Christians we must not think of the men as dead, but that they will arise again. That was the great hope or mankind, and at the reunion with those who had fallen we must be able to look them in the eye and assure them that we had at least upheld their sacrifice.

The Mayor then called upon the president of the JLS.A. to lay the first wreath. Other floral tributes were offered on behalf of the Borough Council, next-of-kin, the women’s section of R.S.A., Red Cross nurses, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts ,and other organisations and individuals. The “Last Post” was sounded and the hymn “Abide With Me” sung. After the National Anthem, the Rpv. K. Elliot pronounced the Benediction.