Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

"IN FLANDERS FIELDS THE POPPIES BLOW,"
YANPARAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO ARMISTICE DAY.
1 1 , v. . . ..
Inspiring - Address by R.S.S.I.L.A. Secretary.
On Saturday last Poppy Day was observed at Ynndnrnn, when
the annual appeal for recognition and assistance was most con
vineihgly-daundiod by Mr C. S. Trudginn, Secretary <if th6
.Gympie sub-branch, 'nnd' honorary secretary' of the Wide -Bay csis.
trict branch of the 'R.S.S LL.A The function was organised and
"supervised by the members of- the -Yniidaran sub-branch -of the
R.S.S 1.1/ A., of- which body Mr. D 'HelmoreJ junr., is President,
Mr. F. Bray secretary, and .Messrs G. Bailey, W.. Alberts, E L.
Eggnr, J. Ryan, II. Cooper and It. Francks are committee
members.
LADIES PLAY THEIR PART.
The Ladies' Auxiliary. Committee,
comprising MesdameA G. Bailey
(President), ,1. Bryee (Secretary), ,1.
Wilkinson, F. Bray, II. Cooper and
Mfob Mb- Gantlin, were als'o greatly
to the fore during the afternoon in
rendering valued assistance towards
the entertainment of the visitors, for
whom they provided afternoon tea
and refreshments.
Attractions for the .Juveniles were,
provided, a' number of foot running
event's- being arranged for them, alfo
a Ricky dip stall. ' An Aunt Sally
shy in charge of Mr. G. Bailey pro
vided recreation for others than Ju
veniles. Miss M. Gamlin and Miss
McAulcy (Taroom) were in charge
of the sale of the Red Poppies, ard
were successful in claiming the gen
eral .patronage of the assembly of
visitors.
1 EVENTS FOR CHILDREN.
The results of the running events,
which were confined to the children
\ver0 as follows: —
Tiny Tots. — HcntAcr Morrison 1.
E. Morrison 2.
Girls Under 10. — Ruth Field 1, F.
Gudge 2.
Boys Race. — S. Jorgenson 1, R- J.
Buchbnck 2.
Consolation Event. — Katie Watson
1, Nancy Bennett 2, II. Morrison 3.
Adults Stepping, 100 yards. — M\
! Suraski 1.
j Messrs. A. W. Bauer, F. Bray and
D. Helmore, jnj\. were in charge. ef
the sporting events, with Messrs. R.
J. Rooke and A. March as judges.
The' proceedings were continued
during the evening when a dance was
hpld in the hall, which was well pat
ronised. The hall was nicely decor
ated for the occasion, with a display'
of Denison crepe streamers, the artis
tic arrangement of which was the
handiwork of the Ladies' Committee,
Who alsb during the evening provid
ed the delectable refreshments that
wore supplied to the visitors. ' :
The dance music was supplied by
Mr. T. Bray, and Mr. E. L. Eggar
was an efficient and capable M.C. The
lantern lecture delivered by Mr. C.
S. Trudgian was an interesting fea
ture of the evening's entertainment.
. , The Speeches.
' ' WHAT THE DAY MEANS.
, In the. presence, of a -gathering- of
tKc' -local' residents. that perhaps wiu
disappointing in lack of numbers, the
proceedings that marked the obser
vance of Poppy Day, were opened by
Mr. R. J. Rooke, who addressed the
gathering from the verandah of the
public hall. During the course of his
remarks Mr. Rooke said that they
were' assembled to celebrate the
eighth anniversary of Armistice Day,
although they were unable to meet
oh the actual 'date of the anniversary.
lie thought it 'was' a great
dayto commemorate, when the great
est relief to the civilised "world "was
experienced, and men ceased (lying
when -the guns of war ceased firing.
When thoy looked hack the number
. of men that- were killed in the-war:
was a staggering one. j
It was sad to realise- that -many
of those men who - had made the
greatest .sacrifices for their country,
on their return were the worst ofT. 1
In other countries there were thou- i
sands of men who had to be fed at
the cost of the community. In our
lands we had openings for these men!
who would help to build up our tuition j
lie was pleased to have with'them to.
day Mr. 'Trudgian, who had the cause
of the returned soldiers at heart.
He himself was a member of the
Returned Soldiers' Fathers' Associa
tion. nnd was sorry to say the only I
one in the district. This association
had been instrumental in rendering i
relief in eaVos of distress; and in
numbers of such cases lip to 2000, and
financial assistance to the extent of!
£414 had been rendered. !
AN INAUSPICIOUS TIME. . !
Mr. C; S. Trudgian in-his- opening!
remarks said that it was his pleasure
to lie in their midst, although it was
not a happy time to come v/hen con
ditions were so bad. He was sorry
'to see so lew present, but knew that
the unfavourable seasons demanded
attention elsewhere.:
After apologising for holding the
observance of Poppy -Day on the
wrong day, he went on to say that
he would first of all explain the ob
jects of- Poppy Day, and then outline
the ' ideals and workings of the
Ti-S.S.I.L.A.
The objects of 'the appeal are
primarily to raise funds for the relief
of distress amongst soldiers, and de-l
pendents of deceased soldiers who are
'suffering now as a result of the war.
The red poppy sold in conjunction
with the appeal is a replica of that
'which is growing on and around the
graves of our soldiers who have fal-|
len on Flanders fields and other pla-j
ccs in the war zone. |
This appeal is launched throughout
"the British Empire annually, on Ar-|
misticc Day. That the Red Poppy
might encircle the Globe is the
'thought uppermost in the minds pf!
the organiseps, for it is impossible
to think of the Red- Poppy without:
thinking of the graves upon which
they are growing and blowing. i
MUST NOT BREAK FAITII.
The thought expressed in Col Mac
rae's poem on Flanders fields ade-
quately bespeaks the aim of the np-j
peal.- We cannot break faith with!
those who have died so nobly, and
look after their dependents we must!
The poppy Jieing sold at one shilling,
magnificent funds will be collected
throughout the Commonwealth for
the carrying out of .the wonderfully
humane ideal of the R.S.S.I.L.A.
The speaker pointed out that tho
promise made by the, community gen-
orally to tho Di.ojior to tho otToot thai
he and his would not want as a re
sult- of their sacrifice is being given
effect to, through the medium of the
1 Soldiers' League. The soldiers them
selves at verv much inconvenience
and self sacrifice haw grappled with
the situation, and are nobly siriinung
every endeavour to relieve the im
mediate necessity of those financially,
movally, and physically embarrassed
as a result of the war-
'Apparently the R.S.S.I.L.A. is the
only organisation that is doing this
Wbrk and doing it well indeed, and
is deserving of a hundred per'- cent-
support on the part of the public,
Avho.se interests have been protected
at such a cost as that of G0,000 lives,
and suffering untold.
. THE DEAD SINCE PEACE.
It is not geiieWlly known that
20,000 pensioners have died since re
turn. and this number would be even
greater if the Department had a re
cord of men who had died not in re
ceipt of pensions. So it will be clear
ly seen the war for the returned sol
dier is not nearly over, for as already
toUl one third of as many who were
killed or died on service have suc
cumbed to war sickness, aiu scores
of-cases are being revealed daily, un
deniably caused by active service.
These cases have to be proved to
the satisfaction of the Department,
indeed it is difficult to prove such,
and it is in this direction that the
League" particularly functions. The
speaker was glad to announce that
the most cordial relations exist be
tween the Wide Bay League and the
Repatriation Department, and that
kindly consideration is given to all re
quests 'from the League. All le
gitimate cases in the district have
been satisfactorily adjusted.
The speaker urged the people pre
sent to purchase Poppies for it served
as a link with the fallen, and would
constitute a medium or a channel
through which they could find access
to the needs of the 'many appealing
for help.
There were an astonishing num
ber of cases daily coming to light of
returned men suffering from diseases.
mainly T-B. and gastric ulcer cases,
! both the results of gassing. ;Many
had their nervous system shattered,
with the power of resistance reduced
to such an extent, that they fell; easy
prey to all forms of temptation.
MORAL DERELICTS' CLAIMS.
These moral derelicts were as' much
a public charge as a broken body.
Mr. Trudgian went on to say that he
wished it to be clearly understood
that whilst we 'could not help ex
pressing' our gratitude towards those
making .world peace possible, but who
made the supreme sacrifice, in
achieving such, this was a time for
rejoicing oveV 'the. cessation of hos
tilities; "and1 ah 'end '-to that dreadful
war. Hp apologised for the late
launching of - the appeal, the delay
was due tp' the fact of the opening
of the Iriibil ' Memorial Hall taking
place on- Armistice-Day., the date set
down 'for the appeal here.
At the- 'conclusion of Mr. Trudgi-
an's address- Miss M. Alder recited
with sympathetic expression, Col-
Macrae's poem, .written on Flanders
fields.
In . Flanderk" Fields the Poppies
blow
Between the crosses row on row;
They mark, our place and in the
sky
The larks, still bravely singing,
fly
Scarce heard amid the guns be
low. :'
We are the dead. Short day ago
We lived, /felt dawn, saw sunset
glow,'
Loved and were loved, and now
we lie \ i
In Flanders' Fields.
Take up- our work for as we go.
To you from failing hands, wo
"throw
The "torch/ Be yours to lift it _
high!
If ye break faith with us who
die
We shall not sleep, tho' Poppies
blow J |
In Flanders' Fields.
WAR'S STORY TOLD. .
- During the evening at the hall Mr.
Trudgian delivered n lantern lecture.
He interested his auditors with' a
graphic description of the fighting
that took place on the Western' front
during tho Great War, where the sol
diers bf Australia were so consistent
ly and conspicuously in action.
With the aid of- lantern slidcs: he
showed pictures of weapons of war
fare, not previously shown to the
public, and explained for the first
time many ' subjects and aspects of
the War. The King of England's
pilgrimage through the cemeteries of
France and Belgium, in which forty
cemeteries were visited was also
shown in pictures. Views of the Un
known Warrior's tomb, and the uni
form headstones of the British sol
diers graves '.were shown, also scenes
of the landing at Gallipoli, and of the
first armistice showing Turlc nnd
Anzacs in No Man's Land bearing
away their dead.
A number of pictures of fallen sol
diers' memorials in various parts of
the Wide Bay districts, as well as
other interesting spots of natural
beauty were also shown.
Appropriate to the subject of the
lecture the poems "The Kings' Pil
grimage" and "For the Fallen", were
recited by Miss M. Alder.
Printed and Published for the Bundn-
b«?rg Newspaper Company, Ltd.,
by . Sidney H. Barton, at the
"Daily News" Office, Targo St.,
Bundaberg, Queensland.
$