IMPRESSIVE MILITARY FUNERAL.
Full military honors were accorded the late Sergt.-Pilot J. Morrison, R.A.A.F., at his funeral in the Presbyterian section of the Grafton cemetery yesterday. The funeral, one of the largest ever seen in the Grafton district, was also one of the most impressive, an added poignancy being given to the occasion by the fact that - Sergt.-Pilot Morrison was the first man who had seen service overseas in the present war to be buried in Grafton.
Practically every prominent citizen of Grafton and district was represented at the graveside, and the attendance of members of the Grafton Swimming Club and Yamba Life Saving Club testified to the esteem in which deceased had been held. A special lorry was necessary to carry the floral tributes.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, was filled to capacity and many, unable to gain admittance, waited outside whilst the service in the church was conducted by Rev. Dr. John Craig. Following the singing of the hymn, "Nearer, My God To Thee," Dr. Craig, speaking with simple sincerity, gave a brief resume of Sergt.-Pilot Morrison's service overseas.
"He, only recently," said Dr. Craig, "spent a very happy leave in Grafton with his young wife, child and parents and friends. He left for the north in perfect health and in great spirits. Before the war Sergt.-Pilot Morrison was a student of the Grafton High School, and was very prominent in football and swimming circles. He was a prominent member of the Grafton Swimming Club and Yamba Surf Club, and was popular in those circles.
"Before Mr. D. W. Morrison was stricken with illness, he and Mrs. Morrison were energetic workers for and supporters of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and Jack and his brothers were brought up in the Sunday School and the Church.
"Sergt.-Pilot Morrison is survived by his young wife and small child, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Morrison, and five brothers and other relatives, to all we extend our heartfelt sympathy. In this church next Sunday at 7.30 p.m. there will be a memorial service for Sergt.-Pilot Morrison, at which the Last Post will be sounded."
Mrs. E. Curwood Fisher, a close friend of the Morrison family, officiated at the organ, and as the cortege moved from the church played Chopin's Funeral March most impressively.
At the conclusion of the service, 20 members of the 37th Squadron, Air Training Corps, R.A.A.F., under Squadron-Leader E. Farmer, carrying wreaths, formed a guard of honor in the church and followed the casket simply draped with the Union Jack. After them came a contingent of some 50 members of the R.S.S. and A.I.L.A., wearing red poppies, and including Col Walley, and Majors Richards and Masterton. At the door of the church two pipers played "Lord Lovat's Lament" as the casket was carried out through the lines of a military guard of honor, who then moved off at the head of the procession at the traditional slow march. They were followed by the returned soldiers contingent and Air Force cadets and by more than fifty cars.
At the graveside the Rev. Dr John Craig read the burial service, following which Mr. F. M V. Earle, president of the Grafton branch of the R.S.S. and A.I.L.A., conducted the simple and effective ceremony of the organisation.
"We will," he said, "throw a poppy on the grave as a symbol of a life given in the service of our country. “It will be a link between a comrade who has gone and we who remain behind. We place it there in remembrance."
One by one the returned men present filed past, the grave and each one paid his tribute of a poppy to their young comrade. Pipers at the head of the grave played "The Land of the Leal,” after which three buglers sounded the impressive notes of "The Last Post," while a guard of honor stood at the present with fixed bayonets. The firing of three volleys over the grave and the sounding of "Reveille" by the buglers brought to a close a ceremony that, in its simple dignity and impressiveness, was both touching and inspiring.
Besides a large number of floral tributes from friends of deceased and his family, the following organisations sent wreaths: —
37th Squadron Air Training Corps, Grafton; Clarence River Patriotic and War Fund; Returned Soldiers' Women's Auxiliary; Members of Chatsworth C.W.A., Commanding officers and members of 15th Regiment; Grafton branch of Red Cross; Grafton branch C.W.A.; Yamba Surf Club; Presbyterian Women's Guild; Matron and staff Grafton District Hospital; Music Lovers' Club; 1st Grafton Scouts Troop; Waratah Football Club; Yamba "Cobbers"; Grafton Patriotic Women's Auxiliary; Grafton sub-branch of R.S.S.A.I.L.A., and Ladies of Red Cross House. – The Daily Examiner, Grafton, issue dated Thursday July 2, 1942.
