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84-year-old veteran Leslie Coutts soaked in the occasion – and wild weather – of the day.
In the face of a rolling Wellington storm, attendees at a navy tribute service battened down the hatches.
Les Coutts arrived an hour early, taking his spot on the sodden grass of the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.
Unbothered by the wild weather, the 84-year-old veteran soaked it all in. The squally winds recalled a gusty sea spray, and earlier days. “All that’s missing is the bloody ship,” he later quipped.
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About 60 other people soon joined him for the service, which changed course at the last moment, moving indoors to avoid the rain.
The conditions of the day were inescapable; wind rattling the windows like waves buffeting a ship’s cabin.
The annual event pays tribute to all seafarers and ships lost during both World Wars.
Coutts attends with his younger brother every year, paying respects to their late father, Ben Coutts, an able seaman for the navy.
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About 60 people attended the commemorative service, which moved indoors at the last moment to escape the rain.
More than 140 New Zealand merchant seafarers died between 1939 and 1945, most while sailing on British ships in the Atlantic.
The date, September 3, marks the sinking of a British merchant ship just hours after the outbreak of WWII in 1939.
Veterans Minister Meka Whaitiri gave special mention to sacrifices of the young in her commemorative address. “The passing of time does not diminish the cruelty of their lives cut so short,” she said.
The service ended with a rendition of The Last Post.
Juan Zarama Perini/Stuff
A van conveyed a smaller group up to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the service’s end, where wreaths were laid.
Reverend Lance Lukin sent away those gathered with metaphor, connecting rain to the vastness of the ocean and tears for the fallen. “As you go from this place today, the rain will fall gently upon you – I hope.”
Afterwards, a van conveyed a smaller group to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior to lay wreaths.
Thousands of New Zealanders served in the Royal Merchant Navy during WWI and WWII, sailing the ships that moved military equipment, troops and food across seas.
The fleet wasn’t given recognition as the fourth service, alongside the army, air force and navy, until 2010 – and didn’t receive official recognition by the Queen until 2015.
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