Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 20 July 1901, page 33


ODS ILLUSTRATIONS

THE LATE LIEUTENANT REID

Stanley Spencer Reid, whose deafti from wounds received in the Transvaal

war, was recently announced', and whose <portrait in clerical garb is reproduced in this issue, was bora in Victoria twentynine years ago. He was the third »un of the Rev. J-. B. Reid, who at that time was stationed in the Swan Hill district in that State. From an early- age young Reid evinced a desire to follow in his fa-ther's faith and calling, and after matric-ulating went to the Melbourne Univer-sity to study to that end. After taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts, he left to take up clerical work, and shortly af-terwards came West. He was sent on trial to St. George's Church, Boulder City. In all classes of manly sports he hau taken an active part when at school, and continued to take a part in contests .'.after his arrival in this State. He went to the Boulder \teth the clear knowledge that he had an uphill fight before him. Other clergymen had tried the place be-fore him, and after a short though earn-est effort, had been forced to apply to the Presby teri.-.n Assembly for a transfer. The Boulder then was hardly such a set-tled place as it is now, and! when Rev. 'Stanley Reid took possession, he was wel-comed oh* his first Sunday by a congrega-tion cf a dozen people or so. He asked tike reason, and was'told that there were no Presbyterians there, and that there had never been much of a Congregation at the church. He determined that there must be a few more who at one tims or other gave allegiance to the "auld kirk," and resolved to find them out. And he did/ Week after week the congregation increased in numbers, and eventually he had crowded gatherings on Sunday evac-u inge, but all bis influence could not pre-vail on one half of the people to attend the morning services. It was often re-marked that his congregations were com-posed almost entirely of young men, and, without doubt, be had almost, if not quite as much, sway with the young folk as the Rev. T. Allen, who then had charge of the Boulder Wesleyan Church. As has been indicated before ,the late Rev. Mr. Reid joined heartily in the various sport-ing contests in his district, and he and the Rev. Mr. Allen often-met in friendly contests in the cricket field. In Decem-ber, 1899. he volunteered-for and was ac-cepted as a trooper with thetJecond Con-tingent for the South African war, and his application for leavé of;absence -tc the managing body-drew forth some ra-ther harsh comments from some of thc members. What^used'biav to take:tbis action wül doubtless now never be known, fie had been ia iii health,-knocked up by the continuous strain,. ana was doubtless worried by the«fa;lure of a^mval^car-v ried forward for the purpose,pr.releasing theißhüreb from a debt ittcûried . before he*>e^^ One who knew- bim very, intimately thought =-» might have'been due to a lack of confid-ence in himself to carry on the sacred calling he had adopted. Whatever the reason, his action in volunteering brought upon hun condemnation in all

quarters: The many he had befriended, ' those to whom in tbeiv poverty and pek^ ness he had taken little comforts and had* cheered, seemed to» have joined in the change in public opinion'.'One man. how-ever, -stood trae to him, the Rev. T. Al-; lari. "Ahl" said he, 'I knew Stanleys Knew hw straggles and his loneness, i ^pjä, déiplí^íi they bav© said, he^v^F

tlwavs h*4 "ic ja . «ince 1 have known mm,3

much more of a Christian than those who are criticising him With me it is dif-ferent, I have a dozen yoting men willing, and abie to take my place should I desire it, but Stanley has had no such support."

For himself, the late Mr. Reid 6aid to the ! writer "That he had gone to God on ike subject, in prayer, and knew that he bad taken the right course." Men who fought side by side with him spoke on their return of his bravery, and of ths great influence he had over his comrades in the field. His popularity appealed to be unbounded amongst those who shared with hip the perils on the veldt. Had-ing written rather scathingly to his bro-ther of one of the West Australian offi-cers, and the letter having by some mis-chance found its way into a newspaper. Trooper Reid was put on the black list for trial on his return, and at his owe request, to avoid the insults of this offi-cer, asked to be placed under arrest on the transport. This was done, and the world soon learnt that the Rev. Stanley Reid had been brought back under ar-rest. It was fully expected that he would be court-martialled. but, as the days

passed and no action was taken. Mr. Reid demanded that an inquiry should foe held. It wasxhen learnt that other evidence, much stronger than that stated by Mr. Reid, had been: brought forward, and that the military authorities accordingly

had decided1 to take no action. Meanwhile the "world" had learnt that thc rev. trooper haad been brought hack a pris-oner, but as it could not be satisfactorily explained why he was not charged or that his charge had been upheld, a commission was offered to Mr, Reid, which he accepted ia order to clear his name in this way. He had seen quite en-ough of the horrors of war to last him a lif e<time, but accepted a lieutenancy as the only way to prove to thc world that the military authorities had confidence itt him. So he returned to the front; and on May 16 he was shat through the stom-ach at Vlakfontein, whilst, removing a wounded comrade, in the same engage-ment in whioh Lieutenant Forrest and others were killed. To judge from his letter to Mr. Philip Cantor, written a few days after he was wounded, and lat-er on, according to Captain Campbell's report, Lieutenant Reid made good pro-gress for a fortnight, but evidently he re? sumed duty too soon, as his death was announced by cable on July fi. Of him Lord Roberts said, "He is one of the best men on the field of battle." In his home lifo he was ever courteous, generous, and thoughtful, and his death has caused sorrom in many a home. At an "In Memorian" service, held at Boulder on Sun-day, many Roman Catholics and «copie

of other denominations attended to show

their respect to the memory of one who had proved himself a man among men.