An appeal for letters of support
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The existing World War One Cenotaph in Queen Elizabeth Park (first erected in October 1918) names 131 people who died during the war but only names three who returned.
Our committee believes that many of the people who returned, and their families, suffered more than those that died and have just as much right to have their name honoured on a local memorial.
Our committee comprises Col Hunter, president (ex-Lithgow City Councillor), Sue Graves vice-president (the driving force behind Lithgow Tidy Towns), Norm Richardson treasurer (president of the Portland RSL sub-branch), Councillor Steve Ring (council’s duly appointed representative) and myself as secretary (treasurer of the Portland RSL sub-branch).
Over the past three years we have conducted many hundreds of hours of research and have produced nearly 300 pages documenting people where it was proved that they were either born in or had lived and/or worked in the Lithgow district prior to enlistment.
Our project relates to the Lithgow township area. Memorials also exist in Lowther, Meadow Flat, Mount Victoria, Portland, Rydal, Sunny Corner, Tarana and Wallerawang, whilst Honour Boards exist at Capertee and Cullen Bullen.
They name 448 people who returned who WWI and 84 who were killed (total 532). We identified a further 453 people not named on these Memiorials or Honour Boards. We are more than happy to assist these communities to update their Memorials and Honour Boards if they so desire.
For the Lithgow Township area, we identified 768 people who served in WWI, 70 of these died during the war and are not named on the existing Cenotaph. If everything goes to plan, we hope to unveil a plaque to honour these 768 people on November 18, 2018, the Centenary of Armistice Day. It is likely a few more people will be uncovered before placing our final order for the plaque.
By so doing many more Lithgowites will be able to personally associate with the memorial, civic pride in Lithgow is enhanced and there is a greater chance of ‘The Spirit of Anzac’ being kept alive in Lithgow forever more.
Andrew Gee and the Calare Electorate have endorsed $6000 for the project under the Armistice Centenary Grants Program (ACGP). We now have to send an ACGP Application to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. This application must include a project plan and budget, quotes and letters of support.
The more letters of support we can forward the better are our chances. The closing date for applications is February 28, 2018. If you can assist please ensure that your letter is received by us no later than February 25. If you cannot send us an email to buzz1@southernphone.co.au, please contact me to arrange a time and place for me to collect the letter.
Ian Burrett
Hon Secretary