Armistice 90th ‘remembered here’

SOME of the ranks of returned servicepeople who paraded at the Cenotaph on Tuesday. TC131108GJ01

BY GRANT JOHNSTON

Te Awamutu Returned Services personnel did their predecessors proud when they turned out in force to mark the 90th Armistice Day on Tuesday.

They gathered on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to remember that historic occasion at the same time 90 years ago when arms were laid down along the Western Front, marking the cessation of hostilities from World War I.

While, not unexpectedly, Tuesday’s crowd size could not go close to matching normal Anzac Day turnouts at Te Awamutu Cenotaph, the number of veterans who paraded was certainly not far off at over 90. The event was, as has come to be expected, well organised by Te Awamutu RSA.

Mike Subritzky performed the role of parade marshall, while former Te Awamutu RSA president Don Hallett was master of ceremonies. When current Te Awamutu RSA president, David Haberfield, a talented bugle player, gave his rendition of ‘The Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’ time seemed to stand still. Also observed was the ‘Ode to the Fallen’ read by Terry Findlay. RSA Padre, Rev. George Allanson, gave the benediction and later led the crowd in prayer and in singing.

Mayor Alan Livingston reminded the gathering, which included about 100 members of the public, that 42% of New Zealand men of military age at the time of the 1914-18 war served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces — 103,000 (excluding those in British and other Dominion Forces) from a total population of just over a million. There were 16,697 New Zealanders killed and 41,317 injured—a 58% casualty rate.

‘‘We remember those who fought, those who died and those who survived,’’ Mr Livingston said.

And New Zealand Post has joined forces with its Australian and Belgian counterparts to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War 1. New Zealand Post and Australia Post have issued a combined pack to remember those who died in the service of the two countries. It consists of a New Zealand miniature sheet and an Australian miniature sheet, presented in a pack featuring the Lone Pine memorial at Gallipoli. The New Zealand miniature sheet features the Armistice Day parade along Queen Street, Auckland, with insets of the ANZAC commemorative stamps issued by New Zealand Post in April this year. A Belgium Post miniature sheet, which shows three images of memorials and poppies against a WW1 battlefield photograph, is included in a separate pack which also contains the NZ miniature sheet and first day cover.