MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED AND DEDICATED

The evening service at St. Aidan’s Church on Sunday last took the form of a War Memorial service, the silver tablet bearing the names of the members of the congregation who fell in the war, being unveiled and dedicated. This tablet has been affixed to the front of the handsome oak pulpit which the pipe organ has been placed along with in the Church as a Memorial. The organ was opened in the end of August last year by Dr Ross, Edinburgh, and is one of the latest type, with an exhaust pneumatic action, which gives the greatest effect and makes the touch on the keyboard of the detached console very light. The pulpit was dedicated a few weeks later, and now that the tablet has been added, the memorial is complete. On Sunday the pulpit was draped with black and purple hangings, and a vase of white chrysanthemums placed between graceful palms on the table in front lent an added artistic touch.

During the service, the Rev. J. M. Miller gave a short address, based on words “It was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch,” taken from John 10, verses 22 and 23. St. Aidan’s had, said Mr Miller, given 20 men in the sacrifice for freedom that we might go about in comfort and peace. That was a great contribution, which we and generations unborn, would greatly appreciate. The tablet was unveiled and dedicated by the Rev. J. M. Miller, who before reading out the names, removed the covering Union Jack. Then followed the “Last Post,” sounded from outside, followed by an interval of two minutes’ reverent silence broken by “Reveille.” The congregation remained standing throughout the unveiling ceremony, and after joining in the National Anthem, listened to the “Dead march in Saul” rendered in fine manner by Mr Marshall, organist of the Church.

The names on the tablet are :- Robert Bell, Robert Bremner, Christopher Burns, Thomas Crosbie, George Henry Evans, James Evans, Adam Gladstone, Thomas Grieve, William Grieve, Thomas Heslop, William Heslop, George Hogg, Thomas Logan, George Macleod, Thomas Laing Robson, John S. Scott, Richard Scott, Strafford Wilson, Hugh White, John R. White.

The tablet is of polished silver mounted on oak, and the inscription reads: – “St Aidan’s English Presbyterian Church, Berwick-on-Tweed. To the honour and glory of God, and in proud memory of the men of the congregation who fell in the great European War, 1914-1919, the organ of this Church is dedicated.” Afterwards follow the names, and at the foot are the words;- “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”

FELLING A RAILWAY BRIDGE AT BERWICK STATION

On Sunday morning about 8 o’clock, the old bridge over the railway at Berwick Station which has been stripped lately ready for felling to make way for the new bridge which is being erected was reduced to a pile of stone and mortar. The news that the key-stones of the bridge were going to be pulled by the St. Margaret’s crane having leaked out, there were large crowds of townspeople near the bridge when the operations commenced.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is High-Greens.jpg — This image shows the High Greens area of Berwick, which in 1920 felt the shock waves from the demolition of the nearby railway bridge. © James Allan, Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2,0).

The initial work was gone through smartly and at ten minutes to eight, when the big railway crane had drawn the key-stone on the arch over the north lie, the structure came down with a crash, which shook the houses situated in the High Greens, Garden City, and Railway Street.

The “piling cranes” erected at each side of the bridge immediately got to work with their heavy steel rammers, knocking down the portion of arch which still remained, and a large gang of workmen were engaged meantime in clearing up the debris, which was trimmed into steel buckets and raised by the cranes to be tipped into wagons.

All day long the work continued, the traffic being run on the single line system. The 8.20 p.m. express from Edinburgh was brought down the “lie” behind the station and shunted back to the platform. The lines were clear in the early hours of Monday morning, but workmen were still busy trimming off the broken masonry from the side pillars.

DR PHILIP MACLAGAN ON “HOUSING AND TOWN PLANNING.!

Members of Wallace Green Literary Society were privileged on Monday night to have the subject of “Housing and Town Planning” explained to them by the Medical Officer of Health for the Borough. Naturally there was a large and interested audience. “The fact of the matter is, “said Dr Maclagan, “that the housing question is by far the most serious matter before the country at the present moment , and I am afraid must remain so for many a long day. The size of the question may be indicated by the example of Northumberland and Durham. In 1901, there were in the two counties 20,928 one0roomed houses and 99,156 of two rooms. Again, of 70,000 working-class houses in the same area, nearly 5,000 were occupied by two or more families. When one realises the size of the rooms and the type of house so occupied, the effect on the health, comfort, and morals of the community may be imagined. I have no hesitation in saying that the main cause of the labour unrest and of the deterioration in moral character, which has been so evident during the last few years, is largely to be found in the unhealthy, uncomfortable, dark and inconvenient houses of the working classes. To a certain extent, the people who live in them make the houses what they are as regards dirt and lack of comfort; but, on the other hand, anyone who is constantly in the houses of the poor will be struck by the great, and more or less successful effort which many of these people make to render their homes habitable. What can you expect the housewife with a large and growing family to make of some of the small dark rooms of the closes and alleys of Berwick?”

“In any housing scheme, it will be necessary to ensure that the houses are of sufficient size, are comfortable, easily worked, light and well ventilated. If unlimited financial means and unlimited space were available, the question would be easy. All that a Local Authority would have to do would be to build sufficient houses on a new site, then close and demolish all the unhealthy houses in their area and rebuild at their leisure.”

SCREMERSTON

The second of a short series of lantern services was held in St. Peter’s Church, Scremerston, on Sunday evening, and was as largely attended as on the previous Sunday night. The subject of the lecture was “The Message of the Church Bell,” the various aspects of worship, prayer, thanksgiving, penitence, meditation, and praise all being dealt with.

The illustrations were explained, and their suggestive appeals voiced by the Vicar, who spoke not from the pulpit but from among the congregation. The varied scenes shown were very clearly depicted, and included both reproductions of great paintings, representing the Gospel story, and also scenes from common life, on which the subject of the lecture threw an interesting and helpful light. Tissot, Millais, Plockhorst, T. Faed, de la Roche, and Pettie were some of the artists represented. Suitable hymns were shown on the screen and sung by the congregation, whose interest in the service was evidenced by the excellent order maintained throughout the night.

SCOTCH CHURCH 200TH ANNIVERSARY

DEDICATION OF MEMORIALS AT ST. ANDREWS

MAYOR AND COUNCIL ATTEND THE SERVICE

More than usual interest centred round the services of the Church of Scotland at Berwick on Sunday last, when after having been decorated and enhanced by the installation of electric light, the Church celebrated its 200th anniversary. Occasion was also taken to unveil memorial tablets to the members of the congregation who had fallen in the war, the Officers, N.C.O.’s and men of the K.O.S.B., and of the 2/10th Royal Scots, who during their stay in Berwick had worshipped in the Church.

THE UNVEILING

The ceremony was performed by Major McAlester who, in the course of his address, said there were three tablets to be unveiled that day to the glory of God and in memory of those had fallen. The first was in memory of the officers, N.C.O’s and men of the 2/10th Royal Scots who had fallen in the war: the second or central tablet in honour to those members of the congregation who had laid down their lives; and the third in memory of the officers, N.C.O.’s and men of the K.O.S.B. Of the Royal Scots he felt that he did not need to say more than that they were a Lowland Regiment, the first regiment of the line, with a long and honourable history of which the nation was proud. Of the 2/10^th battalion he could speak.

Still standing, St Andrew’s church (Church of Scotland), Wallace Green, Berwick-upon-Tweed. © Author: mattbuck, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

On the 22nd October, 1914, this Battalion was raised at Bathgate, and from thence they proceeded to Berwick. They were in Berwick for three Christmases, and had the proud boast that of all the new battalions of this country’s Armies they were the best behaved. They had hoped to go overseas as a Battalion, but this was not to be, the battalion becoming a feeder. During the war they sent no less than 42 officers and 2,000 men to the fighting line. Many had gained honours in the war, and many, alas, had not returned, having fallen in the cause of Justice and Freedom. The second tablet was raised to the memory of the fallen of the congregation, those who had answered to call and returned not. In the list were the names of fathers, brothers, and sons of the congregation, and their loss had brought painfully home the calamity of war. It was no longer a fight in a foreign country. They had struggled for the existence of their own country and right- and right had triumphed.

ORD

Ord War Memorial Fund benefitted to the extent of £16 by a Block Test, in which competitors on payment of one shilling, were asked to guess the weight of a fat bullock fed by Mr Hogg, East Ord. The bullock, which weighed 83 stone 8lbs. was on exhibition in Sandgate, Berwick, on Saturday. There were four guesses within one pound of the weight. Mr John Turnbull, Berrington Lough, guessed 83st. 9lbs, 1lb. over, and Messrs M. Kirkup (Ord Moor) Geo. Douglas (East Ord), and C. J. Dixon ( Ord Gardens), all guessed 83st. 7lbs., 1 lb. under correct weight. Prizes of £3, £2, and £1 offered will be divided between these four, each getting 30s.

LOCAL NEWS

Under the new Education Act the duties in regard to the physical care and development of school children will be considerably enlarged. There are many recommendations as to how the physical welfare of the children might be secured. One of these is playgrounds for organised games; and some part of the playground attached to every school to be cemented or tar-paved for the purpose of physical exercises in the open air. Another suggestion is that in country schools, where the children mostly come from distant places, there should be some place provided where they could take meals under civilised conditions. At present, as far as children in elementary schools are concerned, we now spend in Northumberland over £200,000 per annum to supply teachers, and only £4,000 upon the physical welfare of the children. The establishment of clinics or dispensaries is also regarded as being necessary. At these clinics, in addition to such minor ailments as sore eyes, ringworm, scabies, and verminous conditions, attention would also be given to defective teeth, defects in eyesight, and diseases of the throat, nose and ear. It is further suggested that the county should be divided into districts and clinics established at certain centres, such as Alnwick, with sub-centres at such places in the northern part of the county as Berwick, Cornhill, Belford, and Wooler. The closest co-operation is also advocated between Child Welfare Committees and Health Visitors and School Medical Officers. By these means it is hoped to remedy physical defects in children, and so render their mental development more efficient. There is no doubt that children physically unfit cannot derive the same benefit from school attendance as those who are perfectly fit.

RESUSCITATION OF SHEPHERDS’ SUPPER

For several years prior to the war it was the custom to hold an annual supper in connection with the Belford Union and District Show, but if memory serves us right, this important function has been suspended since 1913. However, the Committee, having become pretty hopeful of the awful carnage being over, decided to resuscitate the supper, and on Thursday evening of last week this event took place in the Blue Hotel Assembly Room, when a company numbering approximately one hundred and twenty assembled in the old Hostelry to partake of the excellent supper catered by Mr and Mrs Davison. The room was beautifully decorated for the occasion, and the tables were tastefully set out with floral and other decorations which, on entering, thrilled one with pleasure. Dr. Macdonald presided, and the first item on the programme being the supper. He wasted no time in opening the way for a commencement with the good things provided. After supper had been partaken of the Chairman proposed the toast of the King, and this was responded to by the singing of the National Anthem. A concertina solo by Mr Moody was next given, which called forth an encore. The toast of the Army, Navy, and Air Force was given and responded to by Mr Ross.

Then followed songs by Messrs Mountjoy and Moody. The toast of the Shepherds was given by the Chairman, and this Mr T. Hall responded to. Mr Mountjoy gave another song, and then Mr T. Hall, one of the joint secretaries read the financial report of the Show, which showed that there was a balance of £130 in hand. Mr Moody gave selections on the concertina, one-stringed fiddle, and mouth organ. Mr J. Guthrie followed with the toast of the Judges, and this was responded to by Mr H. Bowmer. A monologue, “The Coster’s Conversion,” was next given by Mr Mountjoy, and was followed by a toast, “The Farmers,” by Mr J. Clark, which was responded to by Mr Summerfeld. Mr J. Robinson gave “The Strangers,” and Mr Davison responded. An innovation, which caused no small degree of merriment, was given by Messrs Moody and Summerfield with a dancing dolly. By request, the Chairman proposed the health of the returned soldiers and sailors, and the toast was responded to by Mr D. Elliott. The Chairman then proposed votes of thanks to Mrs Davison, her staff of willing assistants, and all others who had taken part in making the event such a great success. The closing items were the singing of “God Save the King,” and “Auld Lang Syne.”

SPORT NEWS

A COMPLAINT FROM HOLY ISLAND

We have received a long letter from “Fairplay” in regard to the Holy Island – Rangers match protesting against the inference which he draws from our report on the game that Holy Island were guilty of rough play. He informs us “that the Islanders as a rule are very considerate in their play, and no doubt being young and strong, their strength has been taken for rough play instead of their being allowed full justice for their zeal and interest in the game.”

We accept the statement of our contributor that this may be partly responsible for the impression left with the majority who attended the match, but would point out to him that the rules of football are now specially framed to protect less strenuous players from the attacks of zealots whose strength over-balances their good judgment. A few of the islanders, just like members of other teams, are too prone to “take the man” when tackling, and this once introduced into a match leads to incidents which are not in the best interest of the game. As our correspondent “Fairplay” remarks, “they are young and strong,” and we trust with age they will learn to use the strength with which they are endowed legitimately. Holy Island, like many other young teams, would improve greatly in developing along scientific lines instead of following the doctrine of the survival of the fittest.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 26 NOVEMBER 1920