UNVEILING CERMEONY.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 September 1921, Page 4

UNVEILING CERMEONY.

I,Mi EISYTEKIAN CHURCH SERVICE ,\t the Rresbylcrian Church yostorday forenoon, tlic Westland Scots -Memo,ini Tablet to the memory of local fallen soldiers was unveiled. There yvns a large and reverent congregation present, including many of ' the relatives and friends of local soldiers who fell in the war. and several returned soldiers. The Rcvd. I‘. B. Eraser, \| A. was the pastor, and conducted au impressive service, flic singing was led by the choir. Miss M. Moore being

organist. The memorial tablet which was made at lircymouth, is of ornate design, made of Westland woods. The mottled pieces of silver pine, totara, birch, ami red pine are all highly polished, presenting a, rich surface, in contrast tothe black ground in the body on the tablet whereon is inscribed in gilt lettering some forty names of the fallen, particulars of which appeared in an earlier issue id this paper. A Inigo photograph of the memorial tablet is being presented by the C-hurdi Committe to the next of kin of the fallen whose names appear on the tablet. The service, (luring which special hymns were sung, appropriate prayers offered, and portions of scripture rend, lasted about an hour, and was closely followed by the congregation. The memorial address by the Rcvd. Fraser was in special reference to the occasion for the assemblage. He took bis text from Deuteronomy 49: ‘Only take heed to thy self, and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget_ the tilings which thin,, eyes have seen.” The reverend preacher traced the. ri=o of protestaliism and its struggles for freedom and liberty. He spoke of the necessity of memorials to remind us of the deeds done in the past for too national salvation. There could net In' too many memorials to call to memory the sacrifices of those who served. Ihe greatness of a native might he mea-uir-cd bv its memorials. He spokd of the gallantry of the (irooiau pi'ovineos whereof the deeds of Marathon and Thermoplin wer,. still a proud ,eer.rd. Then came the period when the iron hoc! of the Roman Empire ravaged tlie world, and liutcln-red that it inighi make holiday. From 313 A.D for nearly a thousand years a er.rri.pt Christianity pervaded Europe, and then with the rise of protestalltism their own nation began to struggle l.ai-k In liberty and freedom. The reign of Queen Elizabeth, followed by t lie government of Oliver Cromwell saw great advancement, which eentinned till the nineteenth century when with the Victorian era. the greatest ad. vaneement of nil was made. Tlie conditions leading up 10 the

great war were enumerated. and in the hour of tesL and crisis it was tlie great ire.- British nation which stood lietv oen tin enemy ami dostru. "‘ion. Without that si eel hand of free men ready to present themselves f>• r sacrifice. the AIMI s alone could tint lave stood against the invading hordes. With i hose free men went I heir sons from overseas, those countries which were the bulwarks of the Empire. In til..-" legions were great numtiers of Scots, whose services and renown in I lie great war are among the brightest pages of the war’s dread history. Those services and the sacrifices should not he forgotten. They conveyed a lesson to all. and it was meet and proper their names should he kept in honor and revered. And so it was thought fling to roar a memorial tablet and reminded of what it stood for. In the fulness of time the tablet voidd have a prominent’ place in the in w church they were to build as a memorial of the war itself, hut in the meantime I, would remain in the present place of worship, and serve the worthy purpose for which it was designed. I'Xpe. dully. the preacher Imped (lie, memorial would lie a reminder to the young people who would take the story of their kinsmen’s sacrifice to heart, and hirbor it there for all lime a- a guiding principle for their own net ions in fulfilling their plain duties as iiioii and women of the world. Referring to the names tabulated on the memorial, the Rcvd. Eraser remarked that, they were the names oT those whom they knew well. It was lifting that (be name of Nurse Jamiesen should appear at the head of the list, for it. was a reminder that in all the dangers of warfare, the women played a part no loss noble and heroic than that of the soldiers. Indeed, it was dill, to the nurses and the medical profession that so many of the men had been spared to return home. Of the forty names on the tablet, no less than eight had died on Gallipoli. 'I lie remainder died in various fields of action, and all served equally. On such an occasion they could hut offer grateful sympathy to the bereaved relatives, and in some small measure Mr Fraser hoped the memorial as a recognition of the services of file fallen, would bo >niiie small comfort to the bereaved. The congregation stood while Mr Fraser read the names of tlie fallen, and at the request of (lie Church Oommiltoo lie called upon Mrs Fraser to unveil the memorial. Mrs Fraser then drew the cord, and the Union Jack fell away revealing the memorial tablet. — tlie congregation standing in respectful silence. The hymn “Tliy Will he Done." was then sung, followed by the | singing of the National Anthem. The pronouncing of the Benediction rinsed the service, and the congregation dispersed.