Penrith City Local History - Memories of war - We remember - Penrith Methodist Church
Penrith Methodist Church Memorial Tablet and Honour Roll
The Penrith Methodist Church unveiled three Honour Rolls during the 1914-1918 war commemorating the service and sacrifice of members of its congregation.
On 23 May 1915, the first Roll of Honour, a brass tablet commemorating the names of the first group of volunteers of the Methodist community to enlist was unveiled by Miss Tarn. The tablet was inscribed with:
Roll of Honour. The Great War, 1914-1915. Brave sons of our Church. God Save the King.
Names appearing on this tablet:
*killed in action
| *Fred Messer | Fletcher Collum |
| Percy Seach | Harry Moore |
| *John Syme | George Mitchell |
| Cecil Dukes | Sydney Squires |
| Darcy Evans | Wilfred Jones |
| Wesley Collum | A. Gardiner |
A supplementary Roll of Honour containing the names of an additional 24 soldiers who had enlisted since the inauguration of the original Roll of Honour was unveiled by Alderman A Judges on 12 March 1916. The supplementary Roll of Honour, mounted on the western wall of the church, was a tablet of polished cedar, with gold block lettering. The Roll was headed:
Great War 1914-16. Soldiers of the Empire from our Church. God Save the King.
The names appearing on the supplementary roll were:
| Charles Werner | Lincoln Hall |
| Bertie Field | Harold Costello |
| Kenneth Stanton | Alfred Costello |
| Joseph T Tarn | Walter Hollier |
| Percy Baker | Ernest Field |
| *William J Starling | Frank Dukes |
| Charles Newman | Rupert Roberts |
| John Newman | Edgar Franks |
| Frederick Newman | Theo Muscio |
| Reginald Rawson | John Morrison |
| Garnet Hollier | John Walker |
| Benjamin Hollier | *John C Collum |
On 24 June 1917 a marble tablet dedicated to the memory of the late Signaller William Joseph James Starling, who died of wounds on 7 August 1916. The memorial, supplied by Mrs John Price and Son, consisted of two pieces. The base was constructed from black Springhill marble and the block containing the inscription from Italian marble. Above the inscription were two crossed flags (the Union Jack and the Australian flag) in gold. The inscription contained the following words:
Semper Paratus (Always ready)
“In loving memory of Signaller W J J Starling, 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, Australian Imperial Forces, oldest son of W B R Starling and M E Starling; died of wounds 7th August 1916, received in battle of Pozieres, France, during the great European War; aged 19 years. Erected by the members of his family. He did his duty.”
An additional honour roll on which eleven additional names have been placed, was also unveiled by Alderman A Judges. The additional names were:
| H. Victor Andrews | Cecil Shadlow |
| Percy Seach | Lorrie A. Stuckey |
| *John Syme | *Victor Frank Stuckey |
| Cecil Dukes | Fred Williams |
| Darcy Evans | *Thomas Williams |
Albert W. Honey |
Source:
“Roll of Honour”, Nepean Times, 29 May 1915, p3 c3
“Unveiling Supplementary Roll of Honor”, Nepean Times, 18 March 1916, p4
“Unveiling Memorial Tablet and Honor Roll’, Nepean Times, 23 June 1917, p4 c3
“Unveiling Memorial Tablet and Honor Roll’, Nepean Times, 30 June 1917, p5 c1