ANZAC DAY.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 7, 30 April 1920, Page 13

ANZAC DAY.

LEST WE FORGET. Five years ago yesterday the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps had its first rea: taste of war, and the word "Anzac" had its heginning although none knew it at the time. Shortly afterwards, through the demand for a telegraphic code, the hero of the Gallipoli campaign created this word which long gince has taken its place amcngst t-he magic immortelles of thc Antipocles' vocabulary. "Hc was an "Anzac" cne mi.ght say of a rnan, and there are few who would ask further questions. It is true that it cannot be claimed that ihe Anzacs were more courageous than tbose who followed after tbem, but to them belongs the glory of the first great effort — they were the pioneers of the armies from the southern q-utposts oi the Enipire. What more fitting then, than tlifi t the anniversary oi the day when thesei nxe-n fh"st faced the fpo-wning precipices of Gallipoli in the i'acc of shot and sbeh should be set apart as a day for reealling to mind the deeds of all tbose from these parts who answered the ca-11 of the Motherla-nd in the hour of her heed ? In the past Anzuc Day ha-s been celebrated under municipal and Govemment auspices but 011 this occasion the returned sokliers of the dominion resolved to conduct the obaervances. And it cannot hc denied that, if the local effort on Sun day can be taken as a criterion for t-he rest oi the countrv, there is much to be said in favour of the departure. The R.S.A. resolved that the day was one for remcmbran.ee — remembrance of their comrades vvhose dead bodies "mark the f ronti-ef line." Looked at from the standpoint of a Christlan people, Sun day is a day eminentiy suitable for this purpose. and ihe succe.,s of the attempt- was such as to prove memorahle to ali who took part in it- and also to the onlookers. The local observances took the form of an.extended burial service and what could have been more impressive? The whole affair pa-ssed off without a hitch — a fact which, considering the complicity of detail cqnnected with it, reflects no gmall credit on Mr A. Glass, by whom it was organised. Even the elements were in harmony with the tone of thc observances. It was a dull day without a breath of wind to clisturb the reverential and peaceful "atmosphere" that was so successfully attained. Tbe parade of returned soldiers, which included about a dozen South African war veterans, fell in at tlie Drill Hali to the numher of 245, but before the Municipal Theatre was reached ovpr 300 rren were marching. C-aptain N. M. D. Weir was officer in charge, by invitation. Eirst came the firing party, with arms roversed, under Captain D. M. Rae, then ths Hibernian Band and trumpeters, the gun carriage covered witii wreatlis and attended by wreath bearers, then the troops, the uniformed men heing outnumbered by those in mufti. , However,

there was no raggedness on this account the uniformed being separated from the others. As the parade marched to the theatre (taking the route from the Drili Iiall to Dee street, thence round Tay street) the Band played the Dead March from Saul, hv which the pace was regulated. The sight was' pregnant with a solemn grandeur and it is to be deplored that the air «of mourning lent to the town was not deepened by the presenc.e of fla-gs halfmasted from the prominent buildings. In fact except for one or two flag§ llown from private residenc-.es in obscure localities, the Soldier's Club standard was tlie only one seen flying the Union Jack. There were large crowds all along the route. The theatre was reached almost on schedule time. Long before the arrival of the parade, the public had crowded the circlo and the gallery, the stalls being reserved for the parade. As soon as they were thrown open to the people, they, too V

were packed and the building must have held over 1300 by the time the service began. There wrere also many unable to gain admission. When the curtain rose it revealed a biilliant scene in appcarance, but one that in meaning was more profound than anything available to the physical eye. Outlining the front of the platform was a gaxland of evergreens (in which the symbols of remembrance and victory rosemary and laurel were prominent). Behind this sprigs of cypress and the great array of wreaths which, having been removed from the gun carriage, reposed in orderly pro. fusion on and about two dais which were toppecl by floral crosses. The wreaths were all heautiful, and, besides those with a more or less public interest, numbers were sent in by bereaved relatives. The main wreaths were presenied by : — The ReJ Cross Centre,' Mr T. J. Daniels ("in memory of Nurse Cavell and the Nurses"), R.S.A. (in memory of Sergeant Travis, V.C.), New Zealand Artillerv, First and Second Otago Companies, Otago Mounted Rifles ("in memory cf Colonel Baucho-p"), N.Z. Rifle Brigade, Machine Gun Corps, Hibernian Band, C. Bat-tery, Staff Ofncerg (■n memory of deceased officers and men of the staff), R.S.A. ("in memory of the South African dead") and South African Veterans, Gift Society, and a very appropriate one from Mrs T. Ilide, lanrel and rosemary. On th,6 platform were Captain R. R. Caws and Chaplains H. MacLean, H. Gil1 ert and H. Barata. In the rear was the choir, under Mr Charles Gray, and t-he

band. Proceedings were opened by the band playing Chopin's Funeral March, tlie audienc,e gtanding while the firing party entered. "God of our Fathers," as it was kncwn to the soldiers on the field, or, as the public know it, "The Reeessional," was then sung, the presence of the choir making for a harmony and strength seldom met with at public gatherings. The chairman then addressed the ineetirg. He expiained that Anzac Day had a much wider significance to returned soldiers than merely as the day on which the nvn from New Zealand had first taken up ihe real turden of war. It was a day on which they wished to pay a tribute to the memory of their comrades who had d ed in the Great War. There was not- a bctter day on which the civilians could ntcet Ihe soldiers unitedly t-o pay a tribute

tc the memory of their dear ones who had fnllen no matter in what sphere of action. But, it seemed to- the R.S-.A. that such a tribute would not be complete unless it wag extended to the South African dead, -ard, at the ciose of the service. the parade would march t-o the Troopers' Memorial ar.d there leave t-he wreaths they saw before them. Tho Rev. Hector Maclean then lead in prayer, which he followed by a Script-ure reading. He read of the heginning of the friendship of the two soldiers, David and Janothan, and of the lament of David, when the latter and his father fell in battle. The Rev Gilbert next addressed the gathering. He spoke in a simple and straightforward manner with an eloquer.ee that impressed one as having its orio'ii in the heart — a soldier's speech. Nearly two thousand years ago, he told his hearers, at' the heginning of Christianity, thct Greatest of Men — to put Him on the lowest possi'olc plane — had seen fit to inspire Christianity on the foundation of remembrance. And, although the speaker had no wish to d raw a parallel hetween the sacrifice He made, and that made by the soldiers, he would make a common ground — that of remembrance. They would pay a tribute of respect to those who had

made ihe sacrifice. That was called Anzac Day, but they sought to pay an affectionate tribute of respect to all others who had fallen as w-ell as the last-. It seemed only yesterday when they mixed with those men in the everyday walks of life. To day t-hey were missed. It seemed that their comrades could see them swinging in from the parade ground strong and sturdy and brown ; could see them leaving the bathing pool waving their towels and shouting at the top of their voices in the high spirits of their full-blcoded life. Tliat day the audience would look back and pay respect to those men who were now no i mere, of this life. Then there were others to whom respect must be paid. "They also j scrve who stand and wait." And perha-ps j oue of the heaviest burdens of the war ha ! been borne by those who had waited tbroughout t-he long days and nights of t-he confiict— waited with a cheerful face ami a hleeding heart. He would not intrude on the sacredness of the great loss of such people, but might He who made tbe Great Sacrifice be very near to them. But above all they would pay tribute to those who had not returned. So they had gathered flowers together — those beautiful swift fading emblems of Man's mortaiity — and had placed them on the Cross. It was the Cross that the son of the sonth had lived under, it was the cross that ha ? V

had seen on mounds so often in Picardy in France, and it was the lit-tle crosg that his comrades had placed above his ov.n head when death came. So he would prav that these men might be received by God and that He might make those left he hind worthy of the great sacrifice. Father in Thy tender keeping Leave we now our comrades sleeping. "For All the Saints" having been sung the Dead March was b.egun, and the firing party entered the stage in two squads from the wings. There they stooil with iowered headg and arms reversed while tbe Rev. Patata read the burial service. Tlie firing party then fired tiiree volleys eac.h being followed by t-he roll of the drums. j Le jbast Post was sounded and the actual service was at an end. The choir sang "Elesh are t-he Departed." At the completion of the anthem the Rev. Giibert led in prayer. "0 God Our Help in Ages Past," the Rev. Maclean pronounced the Benediction and a service that will long livo in the memories of those privileged to attend came then to an end. The parade next marched to the South African Tloopers' Memorial, and th© wreaths were placed on the monument by Mr Caws. This ceremony was followed by a short prayer and benediction by the Rev. Paratu. The parade wxs dismissed, anc the fifth anniversary of Anzac Day iiac br.en fittingly observed in Invercargill.