Balingup War Memorial, Balingup, Western Australia

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Balingup, Western Australia, Australia

Contents 1 Balingup War Memorial 1.1 Tributes of Honour 1.1.1 The Great War 1.1.2 World War II 1.2 History 2 Research Notes 3 Sources

Balingup War Memorial

Balingup War Memorial was built to honour those residents of the town and surrounding area who served in the two World Wars in 1914-18 and in 1939-45, and who died in service. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

It illustrates the enormous human sacrifice made by the small regional communities and commemorates the renowned fighting spirit of the Anzacs.

Tributes of Honour

The Great War

Died on Service 1914-1918

Name	Born	Service Number	Rank	Unit	Fate	AWM	NAA	AIFP	BAH
Armstrong, Roy Bunbury	1892	2799	Private	15th LHR	DOD Syria	AWM	NAA	AIFP
Blackett, Wilfred	1886	947, 6776	Private	4th Trop Fce, 28th Btn	Returned MU	AWM	NAA	AIFP
Boyland, Harry	1889	3274	Private	11th Btn	KIA France	AWM	NAA	AIFP	BAH
Brennan, James	1880	5062	Private	11th Btn	DOW France			AIFP	BAH
Brennan.P.
Brennan, Samuel Thomas	1889	5063	Private	11th Btn	KIA France			AIFP	BAH
Bretherton, Alfred George	1890	4467	Private	51st Btn	Returned MU			AIFP	BAH
Cheesman, John		1686	Private	28th Btn	KIA			AIFP
Cook.L.
Delaporte, Richard		272	Private	28th Btn, B Co	DOD Gallipoli			AIFP
Harper, Wilfred Lukin	1890	114	Trooper	10th LHR	KIA Gallipoli			AIFP	BAH
Hockin, Stuart Ray Luxmoore	1895	622	Private	10th LHR	DoD Gallipoli			AIFP
Jacques, Gordon	1894	1129	Private	Returned			AIFP
Jones, Charles Edward John		3554	Private	28th Btn	Missing France			AIFP
Jones, Frederick George Sweeney		3557	Private	28th Btn	Missing France			AIFP
MacLaren, Duncan Mark		1182	Private	10th LHR 8th Reinf	DOW			AIFP
Maslin, George Wilfred		4477	Private	28th Btn	KIA Belgium			AIFP	BAH
Maslin, Thomas James		1082	Private	51st Btn	KIA France		NAA	AIFP	BAH
Melrose, Wilson	1890	950	Corporal	12th Btn	KIA France			AIFP
Moore, Cecil	1898	2129	Private	44th Btn	KIA France			AIFP
Moore, Felix		3955	Private	16th Btn, 12th Reinf	KIA France			AIFP
Moore, Julius Victor	1887	2128	Private	44th Btn	KIA Belgium				BAH
Morgan, George	1872	5152	Private	16th Btn	Returned MU			AIFP	BAH
Morrell, Raymond Martin	1892	3891	Private	28th Batn	DOW France			AIFP	BAH
Murphy.W.
Myles, George	1893	2483	Private	51st Btn	KIA France				BAH
Parmenter.W.H.J.
'Savage, Alfred Fordham		481	Sgt	11th Btn	KIA France			AIFP
Townsend, Thomas	1882	1894	Temp Sgt.	12th Field Artillery	Returned				BAH
Tutton, Reginald	1897	4308	Private	11th Btn	DOW France			AIFP	BAH
Tutton, Edwin John		3642	Private	28th Btn	KIA France			AIFP
Waddingham, Francis Henry	1894	1152	2nd Lieut	7th Mach Gun	DoW France			AIFP	BAH
Wright, Raymond Hamilton		4028	Private	48th Btn	KIA France			AIFP
Young, Thomas	1889	2496	Private	51st Btn	KIA France			AIFP	BAH

Additional eligible names from RSL: ^[4]

• CUMMINGS, Allan; 790; KIA 15 Jun 1915; Age 23
• GUNN, William; 2567; Wounds; 1 Sep 1916; Age 25
• MARTIN, John; 3189; KIA; 1 Oct 1917; Age 49
• WILLIAMSON, Francis; 441; Illness (Pneumonia); 3 Apr 1915; Age 18

World War II

Died on Service 1939-1945

Name	Born	Service Number	Rank	Unit	Fate	DVA	NAA	AH	VM
Baile.B.
Bailey.W.R
Brazier.A.M
Collins.H.
Dore.G.
Hawter.E.H.
Hawter.K.J
Lavery.J
Negri.P.
Paterson, George		WX8277			PoW At Sea
Todd.A
Ward, Charles Lenard		WX13761			Accident
Withers.K.
Yarwood.H.

Additional eligible names from RSL: ^[5]

• ELLIOTT, James Frederick; WX8277; Illness 17 Sep 1941

History

Post-World War II (1939-45), the Balingup branch of the Returned Services League (R.S.L.) formed a War Memorial Committee to work towards erecting a memorial to citizens of the district who had served in the war. In late 1950, the State Housing Commission granted permission to erect the proposed memorial, which was to be ‘of brick construction, surmounted by a clock’ (West Australian 9 Dec. 1950). There was some debate in the community about the suitability of a memorial in this form. The women’s auxiliary of the local R.S.L. considered ‘a swimming pool with bordering land grassed and made into a park and playground for children would be a more fitting and lasting memorial’, and more widely supported than that proposed by the War Memorial Committee (West Australian 21 Dec. 1950). They requested a door to door petition to ascertain the views of local residents including many who had come to settle in the district since the Committee was formed.

Balingup War Memorial, a red brick tower style memorial, surmounted by a clock, was duly erected. Three bronze plaques were affixed to the memorial, inscribed as follows:

• To Those Who Served;
• Died on Service 1914 to 1918, recording 34 names; and
• Died on Service 1939 to 1945, recording 14 names.

According to a 1991 survey, the occurrence of a clock memorial post World War One is very rare in Australian and New Zealand. Clock memorials constitute only 2.4% of all World War One memorial types ^[6]

Thereafter Balingup War Memorial was the venue for ANZAC Day services in the district.

Balingup War Memorial had been ‘unwittingly’ erected on part of the railway reserve. This was pointed out to Ross Hutchinson, M.L.A., Minister for Works, when he came to Balingup to open the water supply in December 1965. He took the matter in hand and the R.S.L. was granted a lease of the site at a peppercorn rental.

By the late 1970s, the Balingup Sub-Branch of the R.S.L. had ceased to exist; the clock no longer functioned and has remained un-working.

In 2012, Balingup War Memorial continues to be highly valued by the local community and it is well maintained.

Research Notes

• All names at https://highgate-rsl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Balingup_WM.pdf and extras at https://highgate-rsl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Balingup_RoH_AWMDVA.pdf
• Armstrong, R could be:
  • Roy Bunbury 2799 - Greenbushes
• Brennan, P could be :
  • Peter Aloysius 13685 -returned?
  • Peter 15146 -returned?
• Cook, L could be COOKE, Leonard Charles MC
• Jacques.G. could be
  • Gordon 1129 - returned?
• Moore, G could be
  • Alfred George returned?
• Tutton
  • Frank 2461 returned?

Missing:

• BICKERSTETH, Robert

Sources

1. ↑ Virtual War Memorial Australia, Balingup War Memorial Clock, https://vwma.org.au/explore/memorials/2335
2. ↑ Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, Balingup War Memorial Clock, https://placesofpride.awm.gov.au/memorials/189576
3. ↑ “Balingup War Memorial Clock.” inHerit. Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, January 22, 1997. Accessed 6 Oct 2021.
4. ↑ Highgate RSL; Western Australian War Memorials Balingup Roll of Honour; Accessed at https://highgate-rsl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Balingup_RoH_AWMDVA.pdf on 4 Mar 2024
5. ↑ Highgate RSL; Western Australian War Memorials Balingup Roll of Honour; Accessed at https://highgate-rsl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Balingup_RoH_AWMDVA.pdf on 4 Mar 2024
6. ↑ Inglis, K.S., & Phillips, J, ‘War Memorials in Australia and New Zealand’ in Rickard, J. & Spearitt, P. (eds.) (1991), Packaging the Past? Public Histories, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, pp. 186-87.