Westminster Abbey

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Lieutenant-General The Right Honourable

ROBERT STEPHENSON SMYTH

BARON BADEN-POWELL OF GILWELL
O.M., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., LL.D.

CHIEF SCOUT

JANUARY 27th, 1941

12.30 p.m.

Order Of Service.

The Opening Sentences of the Burial Service will be sung to Merbecke's music:—

I AM the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he  were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

St. John xi. 25, 26.

I KNOW that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.

Job xix. 25, 26, 27.

WE brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.

1 Tim. vi. 7; Job. i. 21.

PSALM CXXI

Levavi oculos.

I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills: from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh even from the Lord: who hath made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel: shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;

So that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Then shall follow THE LESSON, taken from EPHESIANS VI, 10-18.

FINALLY, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Then shall be sung the following Hymn:

I VOW to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

 Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

 

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

                          Gustav Holst.                                                                Cecil Spring-Rice.

The Congregation shall stand and the Dean shall say:

LET us lift up our hearts unto the Almighty and Everliving God, who lives in all pure and gracious souls;

We praise thee O God and bless thy holy name for all who have witnessed a good confession, the pure of every land and age; For all who have sought to bless men by their service;

For those who have been true and brave in all times and places and who in the world^'s common ways have lived upright and helpful lives.

We praise thee for our friends and kinsfolk now ministering in the spiritual world, whose faces we see no more, but whose love is with us for ever.

And we make earnest supplication that we may ever think of them as with thee, and be sure that, if we order our lives to follow them in their upward way, where they are, there we shall be also.

These praises and prayers we offer, O Lord our God, in the com­munion of the Holy Spirit; together with our beloved who dwell in thy presence and peace; through him who is the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then shall the Precentor say:
Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.  Amen.

 

V.  Blessed are the pure in heart.

R.  For they shall see God.

V.  Blessed are the peacemakers.

R.  For they shall be called the children of God.

V.  Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

R.  For they shall be filled.

And after that the Prayers following:

ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We praise and magnify thy holy Name for Robert Stephenson Smyth, and all thy servants who have finished their course and kept the faith; beseeching thee that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom: that we, with all thy faithful servants, may have our consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and ever-lasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O GOD, the Father of us all, we thank thee for the joy of service in union with thee, and for the fellowship of our beloved Chief Scout and Founder whom thou hast now called to Higher Service. Above all we thank thee for our Master, Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who has led his servant on through life's pilgrimage to dare the quest for Love and Righteousness and Truth, even unto the end. Be pleased to grant us grace to follow faithfully along the sacred way; through the same thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O HEAVENLY Father, who in thy Son Jesus Christ, hast given us a true faith, and a sure hope: Help us, we pray thee, to live as those who believe and trust in the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting, and strengthen this faith and hope in us all the days of our life: through the love of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

And after that shall be sung the following anthem:

THE Lord is my shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing.  He shall feed me in a green pasture, and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort. He shall convert my soul, and shall bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

Henry G. Ley.

Then shall the Dean say the following Prayers:

ALMIGHTY God, whose love is over all thy works in this and every world; into thy hands we commit the souls of those whom thou hast taken into the world of light; beseeching thee to grant unto them the unutterable joys of thine eternal Kingdom, and unto all who mourn them grace to abide thy will in fortitude of spirit and in perfect faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

GRANT, O Lord, that keeping in glad remembrance those who have gone before, who have stood by us and helped us, who have cheered us by their sympathy and strengthened us by their example, we may seize every opportunity of life, and rejoice in the promise of a glorious resurrection with them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O GOD Almighty and Everlasting, who holdest the nations in the hollow of thy hand, to thee at this time we commend our King and all his Dominions, the Counsellors of the King, and all leaders of the people. Give protection and victory to all who through perils of war are serving this nation, and grant that our realm being always devoted to thy glory may ever be defended by thy power, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HE who would valiant be
'Gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy

Follow the Master.

 

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent

    To be a pilgrim.

 

Who so beset him round

With dismal stories,

Do but themselves confound—

His strength the more is.

 

No foes shall stay his might,

Though he with giants fight:

He will make good his right

    To be a pilgrim.

 

Since, Lord, thou dost defend
Us with thy Spirit,

We know we at the end

Shall life inherit.
 

Then fancies flee away !
I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labour night and day

To be a pilgrim.

                                       Traditional.                                         John Bunyan.

THE BLESSING.

The Congregation are requested to remain in their seats until directed by the Stewards to move.