Fallen comrade lived for the Army

Veteran Sidney Maguire, who died at the Auckland Domain Anzac Day service yesterday, lived for the Army.

Veteran Sidney Maguire wore his service number 314185 tattooed boldly on his arm. He was staunch about his Army record and proud to have served his country.

He spent Monday night polishing his medals and shining his shoes.

Yesterday he stood at attention in pelting rain at Auckland's Anzac Day dawn service.

As company commander, he led a small party of former soldiers as they marched during the ceremony.

But the 62-year-old Malaya veteran did not live to see out the service he felt so honoured to be part of.

Just as his party came to a halt, Sid Maguire's heart failed.

He stumbled, and although ambulance staff were still frantically working on him many minutes later, he did not respond. By the time the final bars of the Last Post were played, he had succumbed to cardiac arrest.

Last night, his shocked family remembered their husband and father as a staunch Army man and RSA member. Anzac Day commemorations meant everything to him, his 25-year-old son, Hirini Maguire, told the Herald.

Medals and shoes polished, his father had been practising his moves, Mr Maguire said.

"He was up early in the morning, just keen to get there He was just going over what he had to do. It was an honour for him."

During his time in the military Sid Maguire rose to the rank of staff sergeant. Remembering those he fought with and those who had fallen was always important, his son said.

Sid Maguire, who worked for Allied Workforce, was national secretary of the Malayan Veterans' Association. Some 1300 New Zealanders served as part of a Commonwealth force in Malaya between 1949 and 1960 to resist a Communist guerrilla uprising.

Mr Maguire's devotion to his military career was obvious - he had his service "dog-tags", including his number, tattooed on his bicep. Tattoos on his arms also recorded the places he served, Malaya and Borneo.

In his civilian years Mr Maguire had developed heart trouble and underwent a triple bypass about 15 years ago. Yesterday, the heart trouble caught up with him.

Hirini Maguire said he had decided "out of the blue" to accompany his father to the dawn service with his 34-year-old sister, Wikitoria.

Afterwards, instead of sharing memories with other veterans at the RSA, the siblings spent the day with their brother Tamiti and their mother, Te Mauri Mei Maguire.

Manurewa RSA member Bob Carter said he had spoken to Sid Maguire less than a week ago.

The two men, friends for over 40 years, were to attend a meeting this Sunday night to try to save the beleaguered Eden-Roskill RSA.

Now Mr Carter will be going alone.

"I am really upset he is gone. He was a bloody straight guy, who stood by his word. "

And Mr Maguire's sudden death made a sad day even sadder for one old soldier at the other end of the country.

Bruce Henderson was about to attend a mid-morning parade in Bluff when he heard about the death of his fellow Malaya veteran.

"It sort of made me feel a wee bit sick inside," he said yesterday.

He did not know Mr Maguire while they were serving but had got to know him in later years, through battalion reunions.

"When you are in a battalion, you are a very close-knit bunch. As years go by you become more close because you rely more on each other."

Mr Maguire's body was to be returned to his Manurewa home today, and a service at Manurewa RSA is planned for tomorrow.

His body will then be transported to Mangatoatoa Marae, near Te Awamutu, where he was marae committee chairman.

Some of the crowd who saw Mr Maguire fall were distressed about what seemed a long time before the ambulance staff arrived.

But Alan Pine of St John said a medic was at Mr Maguire's side moments after his collapse and another officer carrying a backpack was there soon after.

"There were some delays as they had to push through a crowd. They [the crowd] just would not shift for them."

- additional reporting: Stuart Dye