Medals and awards

LEITH CYCLIST VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FRONT.

HONOURING THE LEITH SERVICE VOLUNTEERS.

PUBLIC DINNER AND CONCERT.

Last night the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of Leith gave a dinner in the Queen’s Hotel in honour of the officers and men of the 5th V.B. the Royal Scots on their return from the war in South Africa, and after the dinner a concert was given by the Town Council in the Drill Hall, Dalmeny Street, at which medals were presented to the men.

THE CONCERT AND PRESENTATION.

At the Drill Hall a huge audience assembled, and for the occasion the spacious building was decorated with numerous flags. The Provost presided, and had on the platform with him most of the gentlemen who were on the right and left of the chair at the dinner.

……. The Provost said they were met that night for the purpose of celebrating in a fitting way the safe return of the members of the battalion who lately served with the Field Force in South Africa, and he believed he was interpreting their desires as well as his own in making the first words spoken there that night words of congratulation to their comrades upon the happy termination of their adventures. (Applause). They had seen much arduous service and passed through many perils and hardships, and now that they had returned once more to civic life they wished to assure them that not only the members of their own families and their friends but every man of all ranks in their battalion, from the commanding officer downwards, and every fellow-townsman of their own in Leith was delighted to have them in their midst again, and was proud of the honours they had won. (Applause). The checks and reverses of the earlier part of the war were among those things which memory would not willingly revive; but it was impossible for them to forget the spirited and spontaneous response that came from our citizen soldiers all over the country, and the ready alacrity with which they answered the call to arms. Had it been necessary to double or quadruple the numbers asked from the local corps they could have done it without the slightest trouble, and there were none more envied among their fellows than those who were so fortunate as to be selected for the most hazardous service.

The keen competition that took place for the chance of going to the front clearly showed that the men who are wearing the uniforms of the 5th V.B.R.S. today are worthy of the very best traditions of the regiment, and that in their hands the reputation of the battalion is safe. (Applause). The war happily is now over, and it has been finished in a way that reflects great credit and honour on both parties. Our late enemies, now our fellow-subjects, have shown themselves to be men of valour and resolution, and have fought their fight with a dogged perseverance that cannot fail to command respect. Their inclusion in the bounds of our Empire, he hoped, added another element of strength and stability. But, the war being now over, they would, he trusted, do their best to forget the passions and the animosities by which it was unavoidably accompanied. There have been some lessons connected with the war which, it might be hoped, will not be readily forgotten. We have learned that war at the best is a dreadful and costly affair, and that the best way to secure peace is to be thoroughly prepared for war. We have learned the true value of some Continental opinion on us and on our deeds; we have learned that in times of stress and trial the true allies for Britain are her sons across the seas, and we have learned that when the need arises we have in our auxiliary forces and especially the Volunteers, a strong and efficient body of men whose courage is not inferior to that of the best troops in the world, and whose patriotism is equal to every call that can be made upon it. It will be long before these lessons are forgotten. It would. he hoped, be longer before the services of those who went from our midst at the call of duty are allowed to fade from the public memory. (Applause). They have proved themselves good men and true, they have brought honour to themselves, to their town, and to their regiment, and we are proud and happy to have them with us tonight. To commemorate their public-spirited devotion they were about to present them with medals on which their services were appropriately recorded. No decorations have ever been more worthily earned, and he hoped they may be long spared to wear them and may hand them down to their children’s children to be prized and treasured as a unique heirloom and as an interesting memento of a never-to-be-forgotten incident in our national history in which they bore an honourable part. (Applause).

After the Provost’s speech the men of the three service companies, who were drawn up on the right of the platform, were presented with the medals, which had been provided by public subscription.