Day of Memories

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 818, 12 November 1929, Page 11

Day of Memories

BRITAIN’S HOMAGE TO DEAD Nation United in Mourning TOUCHING SERVICE AT CENOTAPH (Unilid i’.l. —By TcU-jrafh — Uovyrx-jh: I Received 10.5 a.m. LONDON. Monday. ATYPICAL grey November morning, accompanied by a drizzle during the Silence, was the setting of the Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph. Whitehall was densely thronged. It was a touching service. The Prince of Wales, in the uniform of a colonel of the Welsh Guards, represented his Majesty.

The most notable incident was the ' procession of 300 holders of the \ it - tori'a Cross to deposit a huge wreath \ of poppies in the form of a Victoria Cross on the Cenotaph. Sir James Parr. High Commissioner j for New Zealand, on behalf of the j Dominion, placed a wreath among the j others. The Union Jack, for the first time, for ten years, flew over Rotlierhitlie : Town Hall, displacing the red flag. It ] is believed some young men. tracers-j ing the root tops last night, climbed the pole, tore down, the Red Flag, and | hoisted the Union Jack, cut the hal- j yards and greased the pole. The Union Jack was still fluttering during the two minutes’ silence. Wearing two Victoria Crosses won by her dead sons, Mrs. A. M. Bradford was among the scores placing wreaths on the Folkestone war memorial. A third son won the Military Cross and died of wounds. A fourth | won the D.S.O. A wreath was placed on the Ceno- : taph by Dr. Mary Booth, on behalf i of the Anzac Fellowship of Women. KING’S REPRESENTATIVE PRINCE PLACES WREATH ON MEMORIAL LONG PILGRIMAGE BEGiNS British Official Wireless Reed. 10.3 S a.m. RUGBY, Monday. The anniversary of the Armistice was commemorated today by services in the churches of all denominations throughout the country. The point of national observance was the Cenotaph ceremony. Shortly before 11 o’clock the Prince of Wales placed the King’s wreath on the Cenotaph, and tributes were also laid by the Duke of York and other members of the Royal Family, who then took_ up their positions round the memorial. .Other wreaths were then deposited on behalf of the British Government, the Dominions, India and the colonics and protectorates. The Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, and members of the Cabinet, former Ministers and other distinguished servants of the State, occupied places near the Cenotaph. From a window in the Home Office the Queen, accompanied by Princess Mary, the Duchess of York, and others, took part in the ceremony, which opened with an impressive two minutes’ silence, for which the signal was given by the firing of guns on the Horse Guards’ Parade. As the silence ended, the notes of “The Hast Post” sounded, and then the crowds, led by choirs and (he massed bands of the Guards, sang ”0 God Our Help in Ages Past.” The Bishop of London, Dr. A. F. Winnington Ingram, led the service, which consisted of (he Lord’s Prayer and blessing, and “The Reveille” was ! sounded by buglers, and one verse of the National Anthem was sung. The long pilgrimage to the Cenotaph began immediately afterward, and will continue throughout the day. In London streets this morning, It was impossible to find anyone, of whatever age. sex, or station, who was not wearing the Flanders poppy. Throughout (he country, the Empire and file British colonies. The sales of these flowers, the manufacture of

which keeps hundreds of disabled j ex-servicemen in permanent occupa- j t ion. have each year produced a great • sum for the Fail Haig Fund on behalf ! of necessitous ex-servicemen. and j the widows and dependents of the j war dead. In the British Forces, j 1.069,825 men laid down their lives. ‘ There are 148,000 war widows, and 204,000 orphans, 35,000 who lost j limbs, and 35,000 who contracted consumption during the war services. It is notable that each year since the war. the sum raised by the sale of j poppies has steadily increased, until last year £ 579,000 was obtained. The British Broadcasting Corporation’s broadcast of this morning’s j Armistice Day service at the Cenotaph ■ was successfully relayed by beam tele- I phony to Canada, and rebroadcast by a chain of stations throughout the j Dominion. On the advice of his doctors, the King this morning in Buckingham Palace observed the two minutes’ silence in his own rooms. It was his wish that his observance should be exactly the same as that of an ordinary man in his own house, consequently no official statement was issued from the Palace. The Queen, accompanied by Prin- ; cess Mary arid the Duchess of York, was in the Home Office in Whitehall, looking down on the Cenotaph. The march of holders of the Victoria Cross past the Cenotaph after the service was the most impressive feature. Captain Sir Bushcroft Towse, a blinded hero of the South African War, was led to the Cenotaph, and placed a cross of red poppies at the foot of it. Then lie bowed in reverence, and was led back to the ranks of the heroes. Admiral Lord Jellicoe led the march past, amid the cheers of the multitude. The band of V.C.’s was in the middle. Army men in silk hats and frock coats marched beside men in rough clothes bought in the mining villages. Men shattered by wounds were wheeled by tall bronzed men from overseas, and blind men linked arms with their neighbours.

GRIM COST OF WAR TWENTY MILLION LIVES LOST BY NATIONS HISTORIAN’S ESTIMATE Reed. 9.15 a.m. SYDNEY. Today. j The Commonwealth War Historian. ! Captain C. 15. W. Bean, addressing the | Constitutional Association, said that j from the statistical information avail- j able more than 10,000,000 men were j killed in the war, and since the war I 10,000,000 had died from war effects. : The capital cost of the war was well j over £10,000,000, apart from the j losses due to disturbance of trade and j industries. Australia lost over 60,000 killed, and an additional 200,000 had since died i from war effects. Great Britain lost ; 750,000 men killed at the war, and I other parts of the British Empire lost j 950,000. The Allies as a whole lost- j about, 6.000,000 killed, and the enemy j forces lost approximately 4,000,000, I AUSTRALIA’S TRIBUTE VAST CROWD AT THE SYDNEY CENOTAPH SIMPLE SERVICE HELD SYDNEY, Monday. i In commemoration of Armistice Day Australia today paid tribute to ; her gallant dead and living. I A simple service was held at th? | Cenotaph in Sydney, when the crowd j was so great that it was difficult to * move. The hymn, “O God, Our Help j in Ages Past,” was sung, the voices being led by a massed choir of public ; schoolboys. A two minutes’ silence was observed - at 11 a.m., when work ceased, heads j were bared, and trumpeters sounded 1 tlie “Last Post.” - Among those on the platform at the | J Cenotaph service were (he Governor of New South Wales, Sir Dudley de Chair, Viscount and Viscountess Craig- • . a von and Sir Murchison Fletcher, Gov-ernor-Designate of Fiji. The Cenotaph was completely ob- , soured by wreaths. The Australian * , Navy’s respects. as in past years, ; . ay ere expressed by the ringing of the ; ’ ship’s bell of the first cruiser Ausr tralia, which now is in the War Mem-! 5 orial Museum. The bell was tolled 11 I - times at 11 a.m. Fourteen holders of tl l Cross had luncheon with the Governor , and Lady de Chair. } j There were similar observances in - ; the other States. The Uovernor-Gen--1 ; oral. Lord Stonehaven, attended the , ; Melbourne ceremony, which was held * ! in front of Parliament Buildings. The i Prime Minister. Mr. J. H. Scullih. ats ; tended the gathering at Canberra. MOST NOVEL SERVICE 1 t ! HELD IN TUNNEL BENEATH 1 j MERSEY r j Reed. 9.15 a.m. LONDON', Mondav. a | s Perhaps the most novel Armistice n i Day service was held in a tunnel which is now being made beneath the f , i Mersey. Four hundred navvies gatli- >. j cred at the deepest point, and a ser- ; vice was conducted by tlieir mis- ’ sioner.