PUKEKOHE WAR MEMORIAL

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 682, 8 November 1921, Page 5

PUKEKOHE WAR MEMORIAL

Ct ;! EILED BY PRIME MiNISTER. [ IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY. i Memorial Gates, erected by :ription from the inhabitants of kerne, at the entrance to the c park, to perpetuate the tnemof soldiers from the Pukekohe ici who fell in the Great War, unveiled by the Prime Minister, lon. W. F. Massey, member for klin, on Sunday afternoon in the ;nce of about 3000 people, e park, of which the Memorial s form the entrance, was donato the citizens of Pukekohe by Villiam Roulston. ortly after one o’clock members le Band, .firing party, Returned [ers, Mounted Rifles, Infantry ils, Senior Cadets, and Fire Briassembled, and formed a proon which, under the command of t. A. R. Hatt, sub. area officer, headed by the Municipal Band, :hed to the park, where, on areach unit took up its respective

fcion. ilitary units and the number on de were : Firing party, furnished \ Company, 4th Battalion AuckInfantry, 1,2 ; Returned' Third Auckland Mounted Rifles, 4th Battalion Auckland Infantry, Senior Cadets, Including Pdke- ; High School Platoon, 120; ;ts from Auckland Grammar >ol, 4; Cadets from Auckland mical College, 2. Total on par--293, exclusive of good musters he Band and Fire Brigade, le military arrangements were ied out to perfection by Lieut, t, whoi s deserving of a special d of praise for the tact and jitive displayed. ie Prime Minister and party ard at 20 minutes past two o’clock, were received, by the Mayor, Mr i Rouitly, and members of the norial Committee, consisting of srs G. H. Armstrong, R. Bilkey, lonner. T. Brownlee, C. Cooper, A. >aysh, H. Dell, S. H. Gallagher, D. Hamilton, J. H. Heyworth, -J. H. th, J. Kennellv, C. K. Lawrie, F. J. •row, R. H. McGough, J. Patterson, Erkins, V. S. Roberts, R. F. Wsb- •, G. T. Witt. Among those pret were jthe Premier, Hon. C. J. r (Minister of Education), Sir liam Herries (member for Tau?a), Sir Thomas Mackenzie, M.L.C., dligh Commissioner), members ol Pukekohe Borough Council, FrankCounjfy Council, Tuakau, Fapakura 1 Waiuku Town Boards, and Pukee Chamber of Commerce. Mr 1. rhompson, private secretary to the rnier,, also the private secretary the Minister of Education. L dias erected on the southern 3 of the gaftes, was occupied by distinguished visitors, the clergy, irmen of the various local Jodies. [ Messrs Joe Wilson, D.C.M. and ink Graham, two well-known local urned wounded soldfers, Mr L. AlMr and Mrs W. Roulston, Miss Webster. 0.8.E1, and Mr C. K.

vrie, ex-Mayor. ’roceedings commenced with tne crinq of the National Anthem, folded by the hymn “O God, our Help Past ” prayprs led by Rev. Captain A. Thomas, and Scripture - lesson by Rev. \v. ihTchairman, the Mayor, Mr John utlv, said that they had gatheron a memorable occasion, an oc:ion which formed part of She se>l of the world-wide war. They re .there to commemorate the ;ds and to perpetuate the memory the glorious dead. Some ot the dest young men who had: jus*, seen ; light in this locality had given nr livps in the great cause, and he c rdad to stand there to do honr to .'their glorious names. Iheir npathies were extended to the reft ones. They had xorgotten 0 soldiers, nor would, their ** eds be forgotten. There stood here them a line lot of young men in iform, and it was for them to mlate the deeds of the fallen. iese young soldiers were loyal to tension to duty, and to their mructions, and were indeed a ~redrt themselves and their instructor, the dav ever came he was sanine they would acquit themselves :e men. They had in their midst soldier who had borne the beat and irden of three campaigns. He had Structed just on 50 of the men who ould never return. He referred to te trim appearance of the Cadets id the Firing Party. The cemtaph id been raised as the Borough meorial, 'and it stood to commemore .the sacrifice of the dead an Lose who had contribuitted to its conS«. He referred to the work ' the Ladies’ Patriotic Guild, and entioned that this body had con■ibuted £6O towards the erection of Le gates. Mr Routly appealed to t hearers to salute the monument henever they passed at least once rery day. Whenever anyone passed casually they should never fail to ilute therefore showing chat they forgetful of the glorious TWre were some names that were rnitted from the marble slabs, but • anyone knew of any names that ic|ld be inscribed, it was their dtv to communicate thieir names to he Town Clerk. In conclusion he pressed upon them the duty Ito ever fail to honour the glorious ead, never forget the s°ld.ers, and Ut but not ! east ' . never , ‘ accour them in a time of need. The Prime Minister, who was reeived with applause, congratulated hikekohe and surrounding district on 1- effort to perpetuate the memory f the men who^had fallen in fhe Use of liberty and freedom. The lames of the men w ho paid the vmreme sacrifice, not only tron hkekohe, but from the whole of New CS oq PIUOM pußißjZ iheir heroic deeds would ever renain fresh in the minds °f the p de whom they laid down their lives or, in orier thaj: they might enjoy ibertvtf.-He was pleased to near the Wayofh>Sferks urging ail who passed the.gates to salute in memory ot he glorious dtead. Mr Massey referred to the cenitaph erected at

Whitehall, one of the busiest parts of London. From dawn till dark thousands and thousands passed the cenitaph and not one ever failed to salute or take off his hat. He had passed it night and had noticed hundreds round' it, and hundreds of wreaths. London would never forget, nor would New Zealand ever forget her fallen heroes. Mr Massey asked who would have thought that when war was declared that this little country of ours, 13,000 miles away from the heart of the Empire, would send over 100,000 men. One hundred thousand went with t.ie Expeditionary Force, but there wisre numbers who went rto England 1 and Australia and enlisted there. Tnere were the men who preferred the sea. He spoke from personal knowledge when he stated that there was no great battle during the war in which some New Zealanders did not take part. Our boys were admired for tl«e part they played in the war. They displayed signs of cheerfulness on every occasion, no master the circumstances. He had personally seen them in hospitals, in their winter quarters, and all the time there was a smile on their faces and an expression of cheerfulness. He had seen them leaving Wellington on the troopships for the front. Ino doubt there were some sore hearts, but they presented smiling faces; He had seen them in England, Ireland and Sccftland on furlough,- and they were always happv and smiling. Their conduct all through was exemplary, in fac* it was such that their fellow citizens had every reason to feel proud of them. They adied as soldiers and as gentlemen, and! won the hearts of the people of England. He referred to the part played by t-he nursing staff and the splendid work they had performed.

At the windiag up of ‘the Imperial Conference, Mr Lloyd George speaking with the fullest knowledge of the subject, stated that .the armies from overseas had saved them defeat. They , could not have averted it wihltout' the assistacne of the one million men from overseas, and the one mililon men from India. Mr Massey then gave a general review of the war from the day of the Kaiser’s boast that he would have his Christmas dinner in Pans, when the German hordes were driven back from the gates of Paris by the 150,000 old contemptibles. (He added that he would believe anything else that it was an act of Providence that prevented the Germans breaking through at this time). The interveninig years o± victory on one • side and then on the othei, the great German offensive in March and the Allied counter-at-tack in July. He said he would never forget the Easter Monday when his Cabinet colleagues were away on holidays and he was on duty. He received two cables from the British Premier disclosinig the awful peril the Empire and the Allies were in. He called in the general in charge, and he ordered Jtwo ship loads of men away. When his colleagues returned! he explained the position and his action was approved, and they opined with him that New Zealand should take the lead in every part the Empire took. He then touched on the period of the war when the Germans attacked the weakest spot in the British lines and the subsequent break through, and then Field Marshall s Haig’s order to “Stand fast.” The New Zealadners were there. The loss was 300,000 men killed and wounded, besides quantities of guns and ammunition. The men ind guns were replaced. He was in England and was called to breakfast with the, British Premier. The Germans had attacked and the fight was going on. He waited. The attack failed, and from that day ii July until November 11th the driving back of the Germans never .-.topped H,e hoped there* would never be another such war, but added that, the £ime might come when the British Empire would have to fight again. There would be no war for a long time to come, not in the time of the present generation. Referring to the unrest in India, Egypt, Ireland, and the events on the European Continent, Mr Massey said there was a world-wide conspiracy inexistence to smash the British Empire. It was the plain duty of the citizens to discourage in every possible way anything in the way of disloyalty to the British Empire. Although the war had been won for the time being! it was still encumbent on all to help to keep the Empire intact. He was speaking on behalf of a loyal and patriotic people, in faefi there was not a more loyal section of the British Empire than New Zealand. They had taken up a responsibiliy't which they had never realised. A united Empire was wanted. He referred to the British Dominions, Colonies and States, the population and their value as valued exporting countries. The Empire was responsible for Ithe protection of these, also the protection of their citizens. Each was entitled to claim the protection of the Empire. Britain, continued Mr Massey, wanted peace when the end of the war came. She still desired peace and had set the world an example by reducing the personnel of her navy from over half a million to 140,000 men. Scores of ships had been scrapped. He hoped (the Disarmament Conference, to be held shortly a,t Washington would be crowned with success!, for if it was there would be peace for a long time to come. He wanted an honourable peace for ever. The British Empire was the greatest the world had ever seen. The past Empire’s were small and insignificant as compare:! with the Empire of to-day. Britain wouiu never go to war again for the sake oi territorial ngrandisement or loot, but the fact could be overlot j<ed that Britain nk.iit lie compiled to fight to protect its cwr. pe, pie and teirilory He believed in trie League of N -i »• *- ■ that it could dictate peace to the world. The time was not ye* at hand, but he hoped it would materialise. Mr Massey touched on the fact that at

the conclusion of hostilities 'two nations had rushed into competition with armaments. It was necessary to see tha Britain not left at he mercy of any nation, and he hoped Sfteps would be taken to defend and protect the Empire. The Premier then recited that pathetic poem “In Flanders’ Fields,” by Lieut.-Colonel John McCrae, of Montreal, and the reply. Continiuing, he said we have learned the lesson of wars, and had paid .the penalty in ithe price of men who had fallen. They were there that duy to perpetuate the memory of ‘those men who had made the supreme sacrifice. He regretted the cause for the necessity of the ceremony, but was pleased to konw that die people he had the pleasure of representing in Parliament were doing their duty as }the “boys” had done theirs. They could dq no more. Mr Massey then drew the flag and the monument was unveiled. THE MEN WHO FELL.

The Mayor then read the following 53 names, which are inscribed on the marble slabs : Adams, G., Baird, W. S., Bayly, R. H. R., Major, Beaton, R., Bilkey, W. 0., Blake, G., Corpl., Boude, W. P., Bowden, J. A., Burgess, T. H., Chambers, C. S., Comrie, P. H., Davy, A C., East, A., Edgar, J., Ellis, W., Erceg, A., Gilroy, F., Gundry, G., Hacker,, A. A., Hughes, A. L., Jacobsen, W., Lauer, T. Corp., Lauer, W., Sergt.-Major, Leek, W. R., Longj S., Lucas, F. W., Madill, A., McCowen, R. 0., McDivett, R(M.M.), McFadden, J., McGovern, J., Lieut., McLean, 0., Neely, A., Pattin, J. W.„ Penny, S., Reynolds, A., Lance-Corp., Rowe, J. C., Scott, G-, Sheredon, A., S,tayte, 0., Sergt. Stewart, R., . Stone, H. J. Stone, H. Talbot, G. W., Tawse, A., Wake, H. L., Corp., White, W. H H., Williams, R-, Wilkinson, A. E.j Captain, Woods, T. G-, Woods, W. H.,, Woulds, G. C., Sergt. Mr Massey, on behalf of Mr William Roulston, then handed over the deeds of the park to the Mayor, as chief representative of the citizens of Pukekohe. The Mayor returned thanks. Mr Massey said they should appreciate the splendid gift by Mr Roulston. It was a beautiful piece of ground, anti wonld be used as a recreation ground by the people when the population of Pukekohe was many times greater than i,t was. Three volleys weile then fired by the firing party, after each the o-eneral salute was sounded on the bugle by S.M. .R. Hewlett. The “Last Post” was sounded ny Bandsmen G. G. Littlejohn and Salter. Mr E. Allan said the monument had been eretced in honour of the memory of the men who had fallen. Monuments were necessary for those who succeeded us. They gave then lives that we might live in peace. Aii our liberties were bmod bought and these men died that ws perpetuate ,this peace. All ought cO be proud oi the country in which we lived. Honour the flag. This was a free country, but if ?n y° n ® did not believe in the flag -.hey had better get out. The motto was : “Fear God and honour the lK gn. The ex-High Commissioner (Sir Thomas Mackenzie, M.L.C.) _ said that Mr Massey had deajlt very fully with the war He was in London curing the time, and he could say the statements were true in every particular. Referring to the soldiers from New Zealand, Mr Mackenzie said that wherever they went .they opened tKe hearts of the people of the Old Country. He was pad oi the opportunity to pay a tribute to the memory of the soldiers from this district who had made the uspreme sacrifice. The hymn “For Our Dead Heroes and the National Anthem terminated a very impressive ceremony. A large number of wreaths for the various local authorities local organisations, and the general public were placed on a ,table at the S& The total collected towards ‘the cost of the erection of the memorial amounts to £5lO.