Rob Whelan Secretary Churchill and District Community Association PO Box 191 CHURCHILL VIC 3842 2 March 2010 Dear Rob, Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board I refer to the Minutes of Committee meetings dated 27 January 2010 and 24 February 2010 of the Churchill and District Community Association and I am responding to the Committee's decision to seek opinions relating to the future of the Hazelwood South Honor Board. The Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board is one of five that was compiled to honour servicemen and women from Hazelwood. Each of these Honour Boards targets a specific group of service personnel. The first of the Honour Boards were initially established around 1922 and after World War II, names of WWII veterans were added to some of the Boards. The initiators of the WWI Honour Boards did not give high priority to the correctness or completeness of the names listed and ninety years later, it can be difficult to identify the people whose name is listed. In relation to the Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board for World War I, the names were taken from the Hazelwood South State School Honour Board with the added names of Medew, J and Mackey, T but neither attended that school. The duplication of the WWI veterans has resulted in a few veterans being listed on the Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board even though they did not live in the district then known as Hazelwood South. Two of the soldiers have been given incorrect initials. The Honour Board identifies four WWI servicemen as being killed-in-action but service records reveal two of the soldiers died while on active service and not from KIA. Another one of the soldiers who was KIA (but did not live in Hazelwood South) was KIA and a sixth soldier (again who did not live in Hazelwood South) died while on active service. The statement at the bottom of the Honour Board should read Died while on active service. The Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board was restored in 1971 and again in 1996. The Board is located centrally on the western wall of the hall and is kept away from direct sun light. The attached photo shows the Honour Board as being in good condition. The Honour Board is not in need of refurbishment but if it was, then I recommend the correction of initials and the correct identification of those that died while on active service. As the names were placed on the Honour Board with good intentions, I am opposed to any names being deleted or added. Because of inaccuracies on the Honour Board, I reject any suggestion of duplicating the names as they are currently listed for the purpose of commemorating these names elsewhere. Local veterans Tom Lawless and John Holtman are the two people who have taken the initiative in compiling and/or restoring this Honour Board and any further refurbishment of this Board should be done with their consent. The Honour Board has been entrusted into the care of the Hazelwood and Churchill Girl Guide District as they are the lessees of the Hazelwood South Hall. I submit that as the Honour Board was compiled with the intention to acknowledge the veterans of Hazelwood South, then the Hazelwood South Hall has been and still is the appropriate location for this Honour Board and should remain in the hall while the hall is in use whether it is by the Guides or another community organization(s). However, I do accept the point that the existence of this Honour Board is not well known by the local community but the same is true of the other Hazelwood Honour Boards. My own vision is for the commemoration of servicemen and women from Hazelwood. The following is the current scope of the project- Hazelwood and Churchill's Wall of Honour acknowledges those who served full-time in the Australian, allied or colonial forces and either before or after their military service, lived in the Parish of Hazelwood which includes Churchill. This scope includes those who served in non-combatant roles and those who did not serve in any conflict but excludes current serving military personnel at the time of completion of the project and civilians who have served or are serving in the defence forces. The scope includes Hazelwood's Boer War soldiers, service personnel from recent conflicts and those from WWI and WWII who are not listed on any of Hazelwood's Honour Boards. However, it will exclude those who are listed on existing Honour Boards but never lived at Hazelwood. I envisage a permanent public photographic display and an accompanying booklet. The project will identify servicemen and women by their full-name, their rank, the conflict in which they served, bravery medals and prisoners of war. I am in the process of identifying the servicemen and women who are encompassed by the project's definition and acquiring their portrait photographs. I have obtained many such photographs and there are many more to acquire. My intention is for the project to be a joint project of the Morwell RSL Sub-Branch and the Morwell Historical Society but I am not advanced enough in the research to seek their respective commitment. However, in 2009 I had an exchange of correspondence via Darren Chester MHR on the project's scope with the Minister for Defence Personnel, Material and Science. Anyone that is desirous of commemorating Hazelwood and Churchill's servicemen and women may wish to assist by identifying service personnel who are encompassed by the scope of this project. In summary, the Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board is in no immediate need of refurbishment, its present location is the most appropriate and research is in progress to commemorate Hazelwood and Churchill's servicemen and women of any era. Yours sincerely Robert A de Souza-Daw JP 23 Manuka Street CHURCHILL 3842 Cc CDCA committee members- Margaret Guthrie, Peter McShane, Alan Scarlett, Daniel Jordan, Ian Gibson, Michael Tynan Hazelwood and Churchill Girl Guide District Mal Bugg, Morwell RSL Sub-Branch Morwell Historical Society Councillor Darrell White John Holtman, Churchill Tom Lawless, Hazelwood South Attachment Photo of Hazelwood South Hall Honour Board |
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