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Saturday's Anzac Day M arch and commemoration ser
vice at West Wyalong were m^rk-ed by increased ; and in
tense interest of ex-serviqemfen -and ex-servicewomen and
the public.
l ne march was one of the
biggest ever Been in West
Wyalong.
?Older residents said they had
never seen so many ex-service
men and ex-service women lake
part.
The march was an impressive
ope. Jt \ya^ led by the West
WyqlQiig Town Band, and in
cluded members of the West
Wyalong Junior lt£d Cross, the
llpy Scouts, Cubs, and the large
nunjber of returned soldiers.
The West Wyalong Guides ?
and Brownies formed a guard
ol" honor outsldo the cenotaph.,
There was a good crowd of |
citizens on both sides of Main
Street, as the procession swung
down the street. ? j
In front of the cenotaph In |
the foyer of the Memorial Hail,
the march helled, and wreaths |
were laid by the president of j
the West Wyalong ? sub-branch I
of the H8R aud A1LA (Mr. R. !
G. Rultentihitw), ihe president
of the United Services Club
(Mr A. Mnxham), and other
bodies and organisations.
Bv the end of the day, the j
cenotaph was covered with |
beautiful wreaths and flowers.
Wreaths, were laid by the
Bland Shire Council, the It.S.S.;
iand AILA, the United Services
Club, the West Wyalong branch
of the Red Cross Society, West
Wyalong Junior "R«<1 Cross, Girl
Guides and the Brownie pack.
After Bugler Mr. Fred But
cher had sounded . (the Last Post
the Reveille, the px-service
personnel and m«n*>c-ns of th<»
public moved iutoT tile Tivoli
Theatre to;- the commemora
tion service.
The organisers of the march
were v<5ry pleased with its suc
cess. They said that usually,
ex-servicemen marched three
abreast, but because of the
large number on Saturday they
marched six abreast.
Tivoli Theatre Racked
The Tivofi Theatre iras
packed for an inspiring com
memoration service, conducted
by the clergy.
The Rev. It Campbell and
Canon W, E. Butler conducted
the service, and the address
was given by Lieut. V. H.
llennet;.
Lieut, Bennett commenced
has address with the quotation,
"From the morning till the go
ing down of the sun, we will
remember them."
"My soul hath them still in
remembrance, and is humbled j
in me." (Lamentations 3:2«>.
"Once aagin, as Anzac comes
around, the people fit this
Dominion will do honor to tlie
brave men who gave their lives
uaginst the forces which were
threatening our freedom. j
"With grateful remembrance i
we sing- j
"OvaKant hearts who to your:
glory came, " - . j
Through duet and conflict and;
through battle flame j
'Tranquil you lie. your knightly.,
valour proved..j
Your memory hallowed iti^thpj
land you love.* .
.. "The epic of Anzac mar}t*d:
ifa? .
years of bereavement-' which'
touched almost every , , house'*
hold in the lehd, visiting un
tmely death maimed youth,
and fears and anguish upon
their kith and kin.
''Itupert Brooke, who served1
in the Gallfpoli campaign, and
died in that zone of war finely
sensed the spiritual significance
of that sacrifice of youth yhen
lio wrote
'These h >V3 s^en movement
and heard music known.
Plumber and waking; loved;
gone proudly
Felt the quick stir of wonder;
sa". alone;
Touched flowers'and furs and
cheeks,
All this is ended.'
"As this event has receded
into the perspective of time,
woundB have healed, scars have
become fainter and bitterness
and sorrow have given place to
<)uiet remembrance. Perhaps
for some, Aneac Day stirs up
old bitternss, opens up old
wounds-all this liecause of
the last war.
MUST HAVE CALL
"Anzac pay not only re
vives "memories sacred and
sorrowful, QlorioUs and In
spiring, but it has and must
have a call from ? the men
who Have gone to the men
of today, as vyel! as the
men of to-morrow.
"What do they require of
us? Surely that we qf today
shall to the. uttermost . of our
i abiilty strive, everi at real sac
j vifice* to bring about, and make
a reality, the peace, the liberty,
the justice, and fair play to
every man-to every man by
every map. This "was the ideal
for 'which they gave them
selves.
CAU6E OF MISERY
"What it) the root cause
the misery which , we
hate so much? It Is sel
fishness.
"We recognise the existence
of selfishness all around us
among pur business associates,
In our churches, and. sad to
! say, ih our bomep-yes, in our
own hearts; and seeing it only
in the narrow proportions of
our own lives,' lye ignore it,
and treat is a? a necessary
evil. But whet 'ts treacherous
hand has grown to such a size
that it bring* about a na
tional pr ^orld-wlde calamity
when it mgkes us into un
willing slaves . and we writhe
beneath its cruel lash; when it
payp Jts wages ,fn such coin
us sorrow, suffering and death;
wUpn we riBB and an<;
snias{i ftp eyij power.
"Our men anil women arise
and give themselves in the
cause of righteousness. Why
muBt they give themselves?
Because they know that sel
fishness in invincible, except
wlien the weapon of self sacri
fice is wielded against it.
SACRIFICE «Ei.F
"To overcome and com
bat selfishness, we must
sacrifice self.
"The purpose of our gather
ing together on Anzac Day is,
that we should remember and j
revere the bravery, the honor. |
the glorious sacrifice of our ;
departed heroes. Can we plead
that bravery, honor, and right
eousness and. sacrifice shall npt
rmain merely a glorious mem
ory of li.vgone days, but they
shall become fixed and living
principles in your life and
mine! v Dp you think that be
cause (here is no vile, hideous
%#r, thai the ropt of war,
&j)ichls Bel£ishne6s,;i6 dead? i
ValWAp^AtWAYS RAGING
' ts always' raging. :
^sjfJiflHtv^ahd wron^ are still :
sAMttle ;js««I^Vi/agtd vylth
* Tob'ruk, ' the- islands, and
in Korea.
"Which, side are you (fight
ing? Christ today sends a chal
lenge to all to rally to the
banner q* universal' liberty, and
eternal righteousness. He calls
upon every man and woman to
give up their lives for truth
and purity and honor and
?right. lie Himself leads on
His army with the gleaming
banner of the cross.
"Principles of war are un
altered? Right v wrong. There
is only one weapon that can
conquer selfishness-that is
self sacrifice. Jesus never used
j any other weapon to conquer
| selfishness.
I "If 1 you join the ranks of
I Jesus Christ it will not be
amidst a cheering crowd-the
[way wlU be lonely-the fighting
| will be as fierce as any field
i where bullets fly, and blood
L flows. But you will be doing
right. Will you not. lieed Hifi
,call, Take up thy cross and
follow Me."
"Memories up and down our
lands and other lands tell a
story of sacrifice. Can we
point to them as stepping
stones to peace? The long lists
of names thereon tell their
tale.
"There are those H'-ho would
leave those days of remem
brance to the past; They coun
cil lis not to keep such days
in the, nation's history; but to
forget our' sorrows; but this is
the council that leads to a
repetition of former' failure.
"Let us stopand remember
: the unreasonableness, the
j w&ste, and the -inefficiency of
war as a means io BOlve in
ternational problems.
"'What we waiit ,!to<Jay is a
grettftir love of peace through j
JesuB Christ .the giver of
peace. We want to take a look
at these* memorials leiwn I
why, they were there, and tjien
consecrate pijrBelves laj^sh- to
thg furthering of peace 'among
men for . whom Christ' Wied, in
order that 1 they , might have
power ' to loye one .another.
These stone memorials are to.
remind us arid future genera
tions of our brave men. In 'our
hearts can We forget? Their
memory shall-remain. What
? -would- these dead heroes have
us learn? What would they
? say to us 11 they could speak?
"Don't let their sacrifice.be in
i vain. Don't keep .on . the old I
way of selfishness and greed.'
but bring In the better way !
; of love in place. of force.flnd
i hate.
"Are ve going to .-take tlie
leason? Let us /turn to God
with all ? our sorrows and
troubles, and rememhet- that
'Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down IiIB
life for his friends'"
Lieut. Bennett finished with
a poem by Lieut. Col. Walls:
entitled "Men of Anzac".
At the conclusoin of the ser
vice, Mr. Buttenshaw thanked
all those who had helped to
wards Uie success of the march
'and service.
He particularly thanked Mr.
Con Bylos for making his
theatre available for the ser
vice.
EARLY SERVICE
There was a short but im
pressive service earlier in the
day.
At approximately 7 a.m., Mr
R. G. Buttenshaw placed a
wreath.-on.the cenotaph on be
half of the RSL.
. Mr. Fred Butcher, sounded
the Last .Post and the Re
veille. ?
SUCCESSFUL LUNCHEON |
The A&eac ? Day re-union '
lMncheou iB the Masonic Hall ,
was -a great success, and was'
atteniied by -oyer-fft" ^x-ser-1
Visitors were welcomed by ;
the president of the United
Services Ciub, Mr. Alan Mox- j
ham- i
Mr. Moxham thanked the1
Ladies' Auxiliary who had as- ;!
sisted with the catering, and
Mr. Lou Sharrock who was in
charge of the dinner. j
He also thanked all the do
nors of foodstuffs and those
who had helped to prepare the |
repast.
Mr. Buttenshaw responded on
behalf of those present, thank'
inc their hosts, and the United
Services Club, for the spjendid
entertainment.
Community singing under the
direction of Mr. John Douglas
brought the1 dinner to n close;
SICK NOT FORGOTTEN
Later in the day. menjberp of
the R.S.L. and U.S.C. distribu
ted poultry, beer and cigarettes
to sick ex-servicemen ;whp are
patients in the Wyalong and
District Hospital.
The league was also very ap
preciative of the action of the
West Wyalong Golf Club in
allowing their club course and
premises to be used for social
activities later in the day.
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