LAST JOURNEY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 203, 29 August 1942, Page 5

LAST JOURNEY

DUKE OF KENT’S EODf AT WINDSOR CAS'iLE AIR FORCE HONOURS . (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Reed, y p.m.) London, Aug. 27. The Duke of Kent's body, in an oak coffin draped with a Hag ol Air Force blue on which there was a single wreatn of muiti-coioured flowers, was brought to London py train to-day from the north ol Scotland. Aircraftmen guarded the coffin throughout the night at Dunrobin Castle, the Duke of Sutherland’s Highland seat. Two special coaches carried the bodies of the other victims from farther north. The Duke of Kent’s coffin was placed beside them at Dunrobin station, where 30 members of : the Air Force lined the platform and presented arms in a guard of honour. . Country folk from the Highlands stood silent and bareheaded, paying their last respects. The Duke of Kent’s body will lie . in the Albert Memorial Chapel, Windsor Castle, until the funeral in St. 1 George’s Chapel, Windsor. The Queen vis’.red the Duchess of Kent at her home to-day and had a . long talk with her. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor will attend a memorial service at Nassau on Sunday. A message from Nassau (Bahamas) states that the Duke of Windsor is not going to England to attend the funeral of his brother. The Lord Chamberlain announced that donations to the Naval Amenities Fund or the Army and Air Forces’ comfort funds would be appreciated instead of floral tributes. The Times points out that the ordinary rules of succession apply to the Dukedom of Kent, meaning that Prince Edward succeeds as the second Duke of Kent. FLAGS HALF-MAST TO-DAY (P.A.) Wellington, Aug. 28. Instructions have been issued by the acting-Prime Minister, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, that flags shall be flown at half-mast on all Government buildings throughout the Dominion tomorrow, on the occasion of the Duke of Kent's funeral. Mr. Sullivan also invited local authorities and citizens generally where possible to do likewise. SECOND PILOT WAS N.Z. AIRMAN (P.A.) Wellington, Aug. 28. New Zealand Air Headquarters have received advice from the Air Ministry, London, that the second pilot of the Duke of Kent’s plane, who also was killed in the crash, was Tem-porary/Flight-Sergeant Edward Francis Blacklock, whose mother is Mrs. M. C. Blacklock, Dunedin. Flight-Sergeant Blacklock was born in Dunedin in 1912, and at the time of his enlistment was employed by the New Zealand Railways. SYMPATHY OF FREE FRENCH (P.A.) Wellington, Aug. 28. Deep sympathy in the tragic bereavement suffered by the Royal Family is expressed by M. de la Tribouille, delegate o£ the French National Committee in .New Zealand, in a message to the acting-Prime Minister, the Hon. D, G. sullivan. The message adds that grief is shared by all the Fighting French who, together with their profound admiration for the Duke of Kent, now feel the deepest sympathy with tne Duchess, who for so long was a resident, in France.