Rous Public School Great War Roll of Honor

About

The memorial is a large timber roll of honor for the First World War. The main body of the board is surrounded by a solid timber frame, featuring a grooved design. A simple rectangular pediment is attached to its top edge.  The roll lists the names of 45 'Old time pupils' of Rous Public School who served in the war. Their names are expertly printed in gold across two columns. They are not in alphabetical order, which suggests names were added as men enlisted.  In the book They Served Us Well: WW1 Service Personnel of Tintentbar Shire, it is reported the roll was unveiled at the school on 7 October 1915. It was referred to during the school's Anzac Day service in 1917, with speaker Mr F. H. Bartlett saying every time students and others looked upon the roll, they would "think of the boys who had left home and comforts to go thousands and thousands of miles to fight our enemies that our glorious liberties might be preserved" (Northern Star, 2 May 1917).  The roll is located at the Rous Public School and is available for viewing by appointment only. Also on site is the Rous Public School Great War Honor Roll.  Note: Research for this listing and the below veterans was conducted using The A.I.F. Project database, the National Australian Archives military records, and They Served Us Well: WW1 Service Personnel of Tintentbar Shire, by Ian Kirkland and researched by Alison Draper (Alstonville Plateau Historical Society, 2015).

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