Bilambil First World War Honor Board

About

The Bilambil First World War Honor Board is a photographic honour roll made of timber. It is a long, rectangular design decorated with the crossed Union Jack and Australian flags, flanking the letters 'AIF'. In the centre are spaces for the photos of seven men from the area who died in service, alongside their names. The names of those who served are printed on the left and right sides of the board.  As occurred in many Australian communities, a War Memorial Committee was formed in Bilambil, who would have been involved in the creation of the honor board. A dance was held in the Bilambil Hall on 21 June 1921 to raise funds for the project and on 20 October 1921, another function was held in the hall for the unveiling.  A detailed description of the event, including the board and machine gun trophy, was published in the Tweed Daily, 26 October 1921. Some 200 people attended the ceremony, that was presided over by Mr A.C. Robinson, president of the hall committee. The unveiling was performed by Mrs D. Ford and speeches were given by the Reverend H. Lilley, Reverend G.E. Evans and Mr W. Balfour, who offered a toast to Mr J. Suter who had made the board and the case for the machine gun free of charge. The event later moved outside for games and sports for the children. The machine gun had been captured by the 41st Battalion and was placed in a large glass case along with the honor board. Photos of them could be seen at Simpson and Bells at Tweed Heads. It is not known if the machine gun is still located in the hall.

Photos