Rain on the way

A cross for fallen soldier Private Francis Thomas lies under a double rainbow in Otekaieke just east of Kurow on State Highway 83, as dark clouds loom yesterday morning.

The cross is by one of the Memorial Oaks which were first planted in North Otago in 1919 to mark all of the soldiers who died in World War 1.

Pte Thomas was the son of Richard and Mary Thomas, of Otekaieke, and died in France on May 19, 1916. Aged 20, he was buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery in France.