Page 476 - Reading Mercury

Australia they would go straight to their jobs. No special clothes were required; any
clothes they might have by them were sufficient. The money required was a sum of £3
which had to be deposited in England and was handed to the emigrant when he
landed.
Many questions were put to Mr. Barnes by intending emigrants and others, which he
answered fully, and it was not difficult to see that he made a considerable impression
on his hearers.
Councillor Barrett proposed a cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Barnes, which was
seconded by the Mayor and on being put was carried with much applause.
Mr. Barnes in reply stated that if any boy from Wokingham were near his residence
in Australia he should be pleased to see him, and he would do what he could to give
him any assistance locally.
The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Mayor on the proposition of the
lecturer.

1922

th
Sat 28 Jan
THE UNEMPLOYED
The streets of Wokingham on Tuesday resounded to the unusual strains of “The Red
Flag,” while a red banner, followed by a drum and bugle band, was borne aloft. The
occasion was a visit of the Reading unemployed to give the local men a lead in the
parade to the Board Room of the Guardians and District Council, to whom the local
men wished to send a deputation. The visitors marched from Reading. An escort of
local police received the column at the boundary, and escorted it thither again in the
afternoon. The Board of Guardians received a deputation, as reported elsewhere.

ST PAUL’S WAR MEMORIAL
The unveiling and dedication of the war memorial tablet at St. Paul’s Church, in
honour of the men of that parish who fell in the Great War, was impressively carried
out on Sunday afternoon. There was a very large congregation, among whom were the
Mayor of Wokingham (Alderman M. Blake) and many relatives of the men
commemorated. The Rector (the Rev. H.M. Walter) officiated, assisted by the Rev. C.
Nightingale. The service commenced with the hymn “O God our help in ages past.”
Mr. A. H. Lusty, A.R.C.O., was at the organ. Psalm xxiii was chanted, and the lesson
St. John v. 21-25, was read. The Archdeacon of Berks, with the clergy and choir then
proceeded to the memorial tablet at the west-end of the church. The unveiling was
performed by Lieut.-Colonel C.H. Villiers, L.D. (H.M. Bodyguard, late Royal Horse
Guards), who released the Union Jack with which the tablet had been draped.
Colonel Villiers said he felt it a very great honour to be asked to unveil that
memorial. He did so with great sympathy for the relatives of the men who were
commemorated. He should never forget when in 1914 he received orders to march
with his regiment the first night out of London, they slept in a field at Bear Wood,
within sight of the church wherein they were now assembled; a regiment of young
Englishmen drawn from every station in life, full of hope and eagerness to see service
for their country. Many of them became officers, many of them laid down their lives
for their country. None remained behind, and they were all of the same type as those
Wokingham lads whose memory they and their children would honour for all time.
The task undertaken by these young men could never be ended as long as the British

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