THE community of Antwerp will unveil its first First World War honour board to recognise the region’s soldiers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Antwerp Hall committee member Ann Jensz said although the community had a Second World War honour board, one had never been made for the First World War.
“This is despite the fact that a complaint appeared in the Dimboola Banner in 1920,” she said.
The complaint published in the paper read “Something is wanting in Antwerp-where is Antwerp’s Honour Board? Wake up Antwerp! It only needs a start at the earliest date!”.
Ms Jensz said the Antwerp Hall committee decided something needed to be done to rectify the oversight.
“The committee of the Antwerp Hall has finally decided to rectify this in the 100th year since the end of that war,” she said.
“With the help of the Dimboola Historical Society we have the names of 29 men who served overseas and have connections with Antwerp.”
She said the committee faced a number of challenges while compiling names for the honour board.
“Our biggest problem was how to come up with criteria as to who should be included. After discussion it was decided to include those born in Antwerp, as well as those who grew up or worked there,” she said.
“But how to define Antwerp? For instance where does Antwerp end and Arkona or Tarranyurk begin? Another problem we faced was the fact that some who enrolled did not end up serving due to various reasons particularly medical ones.
“In the end we decided to only include the names of those who served overseas on the Honour Roll, while others will be mentioned in the booklet we propose to publish along will photos and information about all the men on the honour roll.”
The honour board will be unveiled on Sunday, November 11 from 2.30pm at the Antwerp Town Hall. There will be a short visual presentation before the unveiling, with afternoon tea to follow.
The booklet will be available for purchase on the day of dedication.
Some of the men included on the honour board:
- Laurence Binns
- Alfred and Willie Coombs
- Frederick Harrison
- James Hook
- James Johnson
- Alfred Kuhne
- John Edward Starick
- Walter Herbert Scholz
- Albert Birch
- Archie MacKenzie