From the News

Dated: December 6, 1933

SIR ARTHUR CURRIE'S FUNERAL
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
MONTREAL, DEC. 5

To-day General Sir Arthur Currie was laid to rest on the snowclad slopes of the Mount Royal Cemetery- amid the mourning of the nation.

Early this morning, under grey skies with a windy thaw tempering the cold, crowds began to gather outside the cathedral, and by II o'clock representatives of every section of Canadian life, headed by the Governor-General, -who represented the King, were arriving.

The chief mourners were Lady Currie, Mr. Garnet Currie (son), Mrs. Galt Durnford (daughter), Mr. John Currie (brother) and Miss Ethel Currie (sister). Among those present were Mr. Bennett, the Prime Minister, and many members of the Cabinet, Mr. Mackenzie King, the Leader of the Opposition, and other Liberal leaders, Mr. Taschereau, the Premier of Quebec, and his Cabinet, all the Governors of McGill University except Mr. Beatty. the Chancellor, who was representatives of all the Provinces and sister Universities in Canada, most of the Diplomatic Corps from Ottawa, and heads of ex-soldiers' organizations

After the funeral service, which was conducted by the Bishop of Montreal and the Rev. Arthur Carlisle, the coffin was escorted by an academic and state procession through University Street to the Arts Building of McGill University, into which it was carried by undergraduates. From there it was taken on a gun-carriage to the cemetery, escorted by six squadrons of cavalry and detachments of infantry.

Behind the gun-carriage came eight General officers as pallbearers, Sir Arthur's charger, and two former members of his staff bearing his decorations. They were followed by the chief mourners. Then came the Governor-General and an imposing procession of official representatives, academic and civic dignitaries, and veterans. The rear detachment was provided by the 2nd Montreal Regiment and the Canadian Artillery. A salute of 17 guns was fired as the procession started from the McGill Campus and moved along Sherbrooke Street and Park Avenue to the Cartier Monument at Fletchersfield, where it halted at 2.15 p.m., and the mourners in uniform, undergraduates, and veterans marched past the coffin.

The procession then moved on to the cemetery on the slopes of Mount Royal amid the booming of guns. The body was committed to the grave about 4:10 p.m. by the Bishop of Montreal and Archdeacon Almond, of the Canadian Overseas Army, and the Last Post, followed by the Reveille, were sounded.

It was, by common consent, the most impressive funeral ever seen at Montreal.