"The Last Post"......

Back on 12 November, I posted about my father in law, Gordon Rowland, who served for three years with the New Zealand Division during World War Two. Shortly after the post, his health went downhill and he moved from the family home he had shared with his wife for 65 years into a hospital level retirement village. Unfortunately he continued to fade and soon was not eating very much and then barely able to speak. Over the weekend of 11/12 December. he deteriorated further and at 1am on Tues 15 Dec he passed away, with his wife holding his hand and my wife beside her. The next few days were a flurry of activity and his funeral was yesterday, Friday 18 Dec.

Here are a couple of images I took of the service. My mother in law insisted on a "soldiers funeral" as she knew Gordon would have wanted that. The coffin was draped in the New Zealand Flag and his campaign medals were displayed. At the end of the ceremony, a bugler payed The Last Post (hence the title of this post) and a member of the Returned Services Association recited the ode to the fallen, that is read every year at Anzac Day ceremonies.

I had the honour of doing the Eulogy for Gordon and following is the part relating to his war service

"In January 1942 at the age of 18 Gordon was enlisted into the 21^st battalion of the New Zealand Army. His occupation at the time of his enlistment was recorded as Farm Hand, Karaka. He was stationed at camps at Waikaraka Park, Kaipara Flats, Whangarei and Opaheke before sailing on the troopship Empress of Scotland to Egypt. From there he moved to the campaign in Italy and served with the 2^nd New Zealand Division there between 1943 to 1945, attaining the rank of sergeant, and ending the war in Europe in the far north of Italy at Trieste, where the NZ Division met Titos Yugoslavian Partisan army and prevented the city from being annexed by the communist forces."

After the end of the war in the Pacific, Gordon was transferred from Italy as part of J Force, the British Commonwealth Occupation Force sent to assist in the occupation of Japan. He sailed from Italy via Aden then Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong before arriving in Kure in Japan, where he spent his time with the occupation forces. During his time in Japan, he was promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant Major, and recorded that there were many amusing incidents. After one incident, which he has not left details of, he was demoted back to sergeant again. 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

 A game tomorrow, so I will have something more cheery to post about...