A Reform Jewish memorial service was held this afternoon in the West London Synagogue for the Marquess of Reading, who died Monday at the age of 75. High government officials and members of the diplomatic corps were present, including Robert W. Bingham, United States Ambassador at the Court of St. James.
Captain Anthony Eden, Foreign Secretary, attended the services. Others present included Dino Grandi, Italian Ambassador; Sir Austen Chamberlain, Countess Oxford-Asquith, Megan Lloyd George, and the mayor of Dover.
The Earl of Munster represented King George. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Prince Arthur of Connaught were also represented. The Sergeant-at-Arms was present for the House of Commons.
The service was conducted by Rabbis Reinhart, Simons and Perlzweig.
Viscount Erleigh, the new Marquess of Reading, recited “kaddish” (memorial prayer for the dead) in Hebrew.
In a letter to the London Times today, Sir Charles Grant Robertson, vice-chancellor of Birmingham University, takes occasion to rebuke the German Government’s anti-Jewish policy.
“It is worth remembering,” he writes, “when the nation mourns the loss of a great public servant that if Lord Reading had been born a German citizen, he would have rendered the same services as to Great Britain and then would have been hounded from the country he had served to become a penniless and broken-hearted exile.”
Lord Reading was cremated yesterday in the presence of a distinguished gathering of leaders in every walk of life including Sir Herbert Samuel, first Palestine High Commissioner, and Lord Melchett.
The Daily Express reports that Lord Reading died a comparatively poor man, estimating his estate at about $500,000. His services to his country consumed his wealth, the Express explains.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
