MARCH OF THE V.C.'s

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1920, Page 9

MARCH OF THE V.C.'s

LONDON'S STIRRING TRIBUTE. Both outside the palace and within the grounds, the procession and reception of the 300 V.C.s whom their Majesties'-en-tertained at the garden party liad a magnificent setting (says "E. 1." in the Manchester Guardian). London and the King had seen to that. All the way from Wellington" Barracks, where - the heroes assembled, along the Horse Guards' Parade and up the Mall, the crowds were, dense, and for once the, people, shaken out, of their accustomed reserve by an almost incredible sight,, fairly roared their cheers. There was a great 'deal of personal and regimental pride among the crowd. Friends and relatives of the V.C.s were there and their comrades from battlefields and oceans, many of whom themselves well deserved eheer;i. For instance, at the end of the day, when Captain Nasmitli left the Palace, trying to look inconspicuous, a. young man approached him saying respectively: "May 1 shake hands with you, sir?" The request was repeated thrice before the captain, who could' tackle the perils of Marmora better than lie could face the, plaudits of the crowd, turned, to recognise in the speaker one of his righthand men who had served 'with him through four adventurous years. AN EQUALITY OF BRAVERY. The King and Queen and their children were standing at a side window of the Palace as that ama'/.ing procession turned into the forecourt, the invalid heroes in wheeied chairs and the others, oflicers and men together, walking steadily in step, played in by the band of the Welsh Guards. It was a queer procession too, the men wearing any sort of civilian suit they fancied. One of the most famous was in a light grey Norfolk suit; others looked us if they had come straight from ofliccs or shops or West End clubs. The Scots, still in uiliform, made a gallant appearance, and there were enough brass hats and scarlet tabs to fleck the march with colour.' Meantime the relatives and friends of the V.C.s, to the number of about MO, had assembled in the gsrdens behind'the Palace, into whose stillness those resounding plaudits echoed. They were railged on the lawn in an open square, and in front of them were lettered signposts marking the sections into which the V.C.s we no drafted in order of seniority. Some of the men were wheeled on to the lawn, but nearly all got out of the chairs and waited standing for the King's inspection. The marble steps leading from the terrace to the lawn were tilled with distinguished officers and Ministers and members of the Rival Households. Lord Haig was there, Admiral Colville, Mr. Winston Churchill, and before the King and Queen arrived nearly all the available members of the Royal Family were awaiting them. Queen Mary, in embroidered blue ninon and a pretty toque, and Princess Mary, who looked charming in a white embroidered frock and white hat lined with green, showed a smiling interest in all that went on, and the Princess took care to have a good view of every V.C. AN UNTIMELY SHOWER. First of all the King, with his sons, passed along the double line of V.C.s, stopping once or twice to speak to an individual, and then they came lack across |be lawn. A sharp shower, lasting five minutes, delayed the real work of the afternoon, the presentation of . each V.C. to His Majesty. The King and Queen stood just at the foot of the steps with Princess Mary and the Princes immediately behind, and then the march past began. Sir Douglas Dawson at this moment revealed himself as the bravest mail in England. It was bis task to do what no man in all the world, bad ever done before. He held up those 300 V.C.s. -Standing immediately to the right of the King, he kept his arm extended in front of the file, allowing only one to pass at' a time. Another oflicer of the .'Household as each man advanced, read in a loud clear voice his name, the name of his regiment, and the place and date of the action that won tho medal. Sir Douglas keeping his arm extended, cocked his head and listened smilingly to the conversation that followed. Nothing could have been more cordial than the manner of the King and Queen as they greeted each man. Sir Dight-on Probyn, whose valorous action .dates from 04 years ago, and who led the procession was received efl'eetionntely as an old personal friend. With one exception, t lie King seemed to talk to eacli man. and when some man, rather flustered, forgot that the Queen also wished to shake his hnnd, she stepped forward and said something friendly. SPRIGHTLY VETERANS. Generally one noticed that the higher the rank of tlje oflicer the shorter was the conversation, probably because the officers felt that this was an occasion that the men of the rank and file might, never have again. The first men who passed, the V.Cs, of the fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties, looked like veterans, but it was surprising how young many of those looked who had won their medal -20 or 30 years ago. One felt that they /mist have been mere youths at the time that India, China, or Africa had given, them their chance. A solitary piper stationed on the lawn skirled out a march as a steru-lookiim Scot stepped forward, ft must have been the 'Cock of the North' that lie played, for this was Piper Findlater. who badly wounded, had played his regiment at Dargai to victory with that air. He had to smile at something the Queen said, and passed on, looking less relentless. The South African list was a long one, and the men took a long time to pass, j so leisurelv was the King in his conversation with them. He asked one V.C., who had saved a gun In face of desperate odds, what lie was doing now, and when the man replied that he was a miner, the King said: "That's right, we want more coal." There was a gap after January, 1905, and then a quickening of interest as Captain Donald stepped forward. He was ouc of the first V.C.s of the Great War, one of the heroes of L Battery. Kis distinction was won on September 1, 1!)14. If the names of the men were not always familiar, the names of the places where they distinguished themselves were, and Hie thing became more than ever like a dream as those names conjured up'visions of daily and nigiitly horror and of desperate adventure till it seemed impossible that the adventurers could really be the men now passine before the royalties in this secluded garden. They looked so much like the ordinary hien we see every day. They were typical soldiers and professional men, the c.haidains from France and the F,;st were just such clergymen as evervono knows, tlx men the quietfaced lads who looked though tho.v

were si ill wondering how they had done it, were of all types that went to make up the citizen army, and one felt that their achievements had been a decoration of the whole nation, MUCH-DECORATED MEN. Some of them had a row or rows of medals in addition to the Cross, and the King never failed to notice these. He Happed the starred Military Medal on the breast of a much hemedalled youth, drawing the Queen's attention to it. Then she joined eagerly in the conversation. Captain Towse, who has worked so hard for his Winded comrades, passed with the South African section, and a V.C. of 19J 0, blinded in Mesopotamia,was led Jiy his father, who listened with delight to his long fall; with the King and Queen. The moat disabled men tried to walk gallantly, but it was painful to see their escorts and to notice how, after they had passed the presence, their broken condition became more apparent. The cumulative effect of all the jfresentations became overwhelming. One gradually lost sight of the individual, the well-known names, such as G'Leary, and Jlolbrook, Carpenter, and saw the whole as one unexampled dazzling exhibition of the heroic, and realised that never again could such a wonderful sceneoccur. And then suddenly it all came to an end, the last of the V.C.s was presented, and the whole scene changed from an impressive ceremonial into a garden parly, with comrades of several wars talking among themselves, and the King and Queen making their separate way through groups of guests, congratulating wives, talking to children, and patting babies on the cheek. On the grass family parties settled themselves, picnic fashion, to enjoy strawberries and cream and ices, and ridiculously young V.C. fathers walked about with V.C. babies in their arms. I am not sure that this domestic atmosphere did not make it more than everincredible that these same men were in that quiet garden just because of what they had done ''east of Jordan," in Mesopotamia, |in France, on the Indian frontier. It did not even make it seem real 'when one man, who was asked how lie saved his gun. set an imaginary scene garden itself, asking you to imagine (bat the end of the Conservatory was one enemy position and the Royal T'avilion another, while the gun was just here, and the stream, blocked with another gun, lay there.