Ashford Shire First and Second World Wars Roll of Honour

About

The Ashford Shire First and Second World Wars Roll of Honour is a large timber board. It is a simple but elegant memorial, with decorative carved beading at the top and carved timber columns at the sides. Within the main body of the board are four panels, made of oak, which formed the original board. At a later stage, two timber wings were added, attached to the board on its left and right sides.  The roll, consisting of the four-panel design, was originally unveiled on 21 April 1917 by Mrs George Phiffer. The ceremony took place following the opening of Ashford's new Shire Offices, where the roll resided for several decades. The Inverell Times, 24 April 1917, described the function in detail and included the various family names listed on the roll. At the time, only 130 names had been recorded and it was thought it could reach 150 or 200 by the war's end.  Early in the Second World War, a War Functions Association was formed in the Ashford Shire. By July 1940, a roll was being prepared and was to be completed by the end of the war. The association further discussed the roll in October 1942 but did not take any action (Inverell Time, 24 July 1940; 14 October 1942). In December 1947, the Women's Auxiliary of the Ashford RSL asked Ashford Shire for permission to move the First World War roll to the Ashford Memorial Hall, which had been opened in 1938. It was obviously decided to record the names of those who served in the Second World War on the existing roll (Warialda Standard and Northern Districts' Advertiser, 22 December 1947). In its current form, the roll remains in the memorial hall and now contains 256 names, which includes a separate column for women who served with the Australian Women's Army Service (A.W.A.S.) in the Second World War. Access to the view the roll is restricted to the hall's opening hours.