New Colours Handed to Auckland Troops

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 644, 22 April 1929, Page 14

New Colours Handed to Auckland Troops

HIGH MILITARY POMP j VICE-REGAL ADDRESS Bayonets fingering aloft on the ] rifles of nearly 800 troops of the | First Battalion of the Auckland < Regiment caught occasional messages from the sun, and flashed them to the clustering crowds on the slopes of the Domain, while slow-pacing guards moved to the strains of military marches. At a full ceremonial displaj' yesterday afternoon, the Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, presented the new King’s and regimental colours — shimmering silken emblems —to the regiment. Solemn prayer was conducted by the Primate, Archbishop Averill. It was the first time in 30 years that the regiment received new j colours. Ten thousand spectators fol- J lowed every change in an impressive : military spectacle with deep interest. 1 Marches engraved in the musical < heart of the Empire were played by ‘ the battalion band, led by the drum- ; major, Corporal K. H. Young, as it J marched through the grouped com- j < panies. DISTINGUISHED OFFICERS j Then the old colours, held proudly j l aloft, under the escort of four sen- j ( tries, were borne to the saluting base. ’ Here were the Governor-General, who ' was received by Lieut.-Colonel J. E. j Duigan, chief staff officer of the Nor- j .them Command, and Lieutenant R. S. t Judson, Y.C., and his aides, Captain j E. P. O. Boyle, of the Royal Scots t Fusiliers, and Captain E. L. Orr- j Ewing, of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). The Governor-General j was in the uniform of a general. l In front, the battalion was extended <■ in a steady two-line wall, rifles at the l present, and a huge post of sentries i was lined round the rim of the t Domain. 1 The Royal salute blared out —the 1 beginning of the band’s complicated t ceremonial work. Solemn music for the passing of the faded flags pulsed z over the assembly, followed by a * lively air as the band retraced its steps. The escort, commanded by J Captain R. M. Rae, took possession ! of the old flags. ‘ The sun came from behind the \ clouds to tinge the crumpled old colours with gold as they were < trooped for the last time in the l view of the motionless khaki bar- ! 1 rier of the battalion. “Au!d Lang Syne" was played as the old , colours passed. JAUNTY NEW COLOURS Suddenly the new colours flashed into . view. Jauntily held, brilliant, telling their story of the fame of the Auckland Regiment in war, they were handed j by the Governor-General to the guard i of the colours. Meanwhile, the bat- j talion had moved to form three sides j of a square. There was the dedicatory service by the Primate. ‘‘A sign of duty toward our King and country in the sight oi God," he said. “Let us pray that they be unfurled only in the cause of justice and righteousness." “From time immemorial the colours of a regiment have been regarded with peculiar honour, as representing in a tangible form the high ideals of the creed of every soldier —namely, his duty to God, King, and country,” said the Governor-General to the battalion. “In old days the colours were the rallying-point in battle. Men would follow them unhesitatingly in attack, and would shed their last drop of blood in their defence. In modern conditions of war their use has altered, but their meaning remains the same. They speak to us of the loyalty and service whiclr we owe as soldiers of the King, and remind that such loyalty demands from us, not ; only in war, but in daily dutv. the j highest forms of self-sacrifice.” COMRADES’ SACRIFICES “It was by such self-sacrifice, given ! so freely in South Africa, Gallipoli, ; and France, that the history and traditions of your regiment hare been built, up. The ideals for which your comrades fought and died are sym- i bolised in these colours. And so, on behalf of the King, I entrust these colours to your keeping, in the full assurance that you will guard them as a symbol of the honour of the regiment, and of the duty which you as soldiers are pledged to render. Sec. that you never disgrace them, Dut hand them on to your successors unsullied” Lieut.-Colonel T. H. Dawson, battalion commanding officer, who had taken over the troops 1‘ : tant, Captain J. G. C. Wales, when the men had been marched to parade, replied to the Governor-General on behalf of the regiment. Strict ceremony ended with a general salute of the new colours. The companies swung into line for a march past the vice-Regal stand, and cheers were given for Sir Charles Fergusson. The Governor-General congratulated ! Lieut.-Colonel Dawson on the steadi- | ness of the parade. A prominent figure on the ground j was Colonel Major, who was at the I trooping of the colours 50 years ago. The clergymen attending the Pri i | mate were Archdeacon W. J. Simkin. I i Canon H. K. Archdall. the Revs, j' j | M. Beaufort, and R. J. Stanton