WAR HERO'S TRAGIC FAREWELL

NZ Truth, Issue 1239, 29 August 1929, Page 5

WAR HERO'S TRAGIC FAREWELL

Up Against It

His War Record

"Ta Ta, Darling, Time's Up" Wrote "Digger" Before Ending His Life

PENNILESS AND ROBBED OF CHILDREN

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Waimate Eepresentative.)

To have survived the hazards of the Great War, to be mentioned m despatches on niore than one occasion and lose an arm while escaping from his captors was the war record of John Emmerson, of Waimate.

He has now joined the ever-increasing host of suicides, and the circumstances leading to his death make sorry reading.

TITHEN Emmerson returned from the j ' " war minus an arm, he brought a bride from England with him. New Zealand was too quiet for her, J however, and she soon returned to the land of her birth. Emmerson let her go without question. Disabled as he was, Emmerson, with a life pension, took what light work he could get, and secured a job as a billiard marker. Four years ago he was offered a position as manager of a billiard-room m Timaru which he accepted. For some time all went well, until one morning Emmerson was confronted with detectives who demanded to know the owner of the saloon. He thought and acted quickly. Holding the opinion that his employers would be placed m an invidious position if he named them, he replied that the saloon was run by him (Emmerson) and that nobody else was interested. Apparently satisfied the detectives said no more, but heaps of trouble was m store for Emmerson.

With no funds, the unfortunate man had to raise a mortgage.

Soon he found the business was impossible; he could not meet the principal and interest of the mortgage. Nearly distracted, Emmerson turned to his former employers.

They advanced the money and, as security, he signed over his war pension.

Shortly afterwards he had to flic his petition m bankruptcy. Since that time Emmerson had to live as best he could. >

' A job m a billiard-room provided the necessaries of life, but with nothing to spare.

As time went on, Emmerson found himself with four young children to keep. With his pension gone and only his small earnings to rely on, he found the going hard, but he contrived to keep his family well-fed and clothed.

Then something m the nature of a bombshell struck their little home.

The Child Welfare Department took the children and committed them to the care of the , State.

That this broke Emmerson's heart is borne out m his last letter.

He may possibly have survived that,

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but what contributed to his decision to take his life by. placing a bag over his head and turning on the gas was the action of the Welfare Department m taking proceedings against his old father for the maintenance of three of the children. ;

The Court made an order against the old man for 5/- per week for each of the children. Their grandfather is an old man who has a family of his 'own to' support, and who, m two years' time, will be able to draw the old age pension.

The Magistrate remarked when mak-

ing the order that it was cruel, but as

the .law stood he had no, option. '

A few days before taking his life, Emmerson told the whole pitiful tale to "Truth's" representative.

Emmerson said he could stand anything except seeing his old dad penalised for the upkeep of the children. In his letter to the woman who was the mother of his children, he wrote: —

"For Dad's sake, -see if they can't take that 15/- off his shoulders. I am the only one to bring disgrace- upon the family."

The coolness with- which Emmerson

met deatti is, perhaps, without exception m the records of suicides m New Zealand. .That it was premeditated is explained m his last letter which reads as follows:— , "9 a.m. Dear Alice, I am writing ; you ..to explain why I have done this. . "9.55.: ! am waiting till 10, keeping quite cool. Just had a good ' smoke and a whisky. Cheer up, dear, you will forget. Ta-ta, darling, time's up. — Jack." •Another letter was found m which he wrote: — "I love you from the bottom of my heart, which has been broken since the kiddies were taken '.from us. If they had only left them with us, till I got my pension back, I would have been quite happy. "I am not doing -this on the spur of the moment. I have been waiting my chance for a long time. At the inquest they will say I am insane."- --• Indignation was expressed on all

sides when. it. was known that the State had ordered an old man to contribute 15/- a week for the three kiddies. •

. In a r book published after the war, entitled: "The New Zealand Division," the writer had this to say of Emmerson: —

"During an enemy raid, Private J. Emmerson was separated from his comrades and taken prisoner. He made a break for freedom, but was recaptured by another parly numbering SO strong.

"Watching his opportunity, Emmerson tripped his guard, tore himself free and sprinted for our lines. He was only a few feet from safety when the German machine-gunners^ opened flre, wounding him severely m the right arm."

A feature of the suicide was that at least one of the members of the Waimate Returned Soldiers' Association was against according Emmerson a military funeral, not thinking it necessary that Emmerson should have the Union Jack draped over the coffin.

Had. it not been for other members, Emmerson would have gone to his grave without the last salutes of his comrades.