Dunoon Presbyterian Great War Honor Rolls

About

There are two honor rolls for the First World War inside St Matthew's Anglican Church at Dunoon. The earlier version is made of white marble. It has a decorative scroll pattern and floral carvings at the top, and the names are listed below the inscriptions across two columns. The inscriptions and names are incised into the marble and blackened. The second version is made of timber, featuring two panels joined vertically down the middle. Each panel has a simple decorative finial on the top. The names are painted on the panels in black, below the inscriptions painted in gold. Both rolls list the same names in the same order, which is not alphabetical. The marble roll was unveiled on Wednesday 17 January 1917 by Mrs Munro and Mrs McKinnon, who each had sons listed on the roll. James Ross, secretary of the Dunoon Presbyterian Church, had published an invitation in the Northern Star on 13 January to parents and friends of those serving to attend the ceremony. The same newspaper reported on the event in their issue of 20 January. It explained the memorial was established by Catherine E. Currie in memory of her mother and the men who were at the front. The Rev. J. Yates presided over the unveiling. In his address he spoke on the importance of mothers to the war effort, saying: They thanked God that there were such women as these in their midst—mothers who were willing to stay behind and toil and work while their sons were at the front fighting for their country, so that truth and righteousness might prevail. The timber roll was made at a later date. Both were moved to St Matthew's for safekeeping following the closure of Dunoon Presbyterian in the village. Access to the memorials is restricted by the opening hours of the church.

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