1918 Wickham Public School Honour Roll
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW), 25 July 1918.
“An honour roll, containing the names of former scholars of the Wickham Superior Public School, was yesterday completed by Messrs. Meldrum and Markey, the contractors. The roll is of white Italian marble, and the main tablet, on which the names of the soldiers are inscribed, is of one slab of beautiful polished marble, measuring 11ft x 4ft. There are two grey granite polished columns in the polished bases, and carved Corinthian caps on either side support the pediment of rich moulding and entablature.
“The crest of the Australian Imperial Forces, richly carved on the apex, is supported by scrolls, on which are embossed the Emu and the Kangaroo, a flaming torch, and a set of scales, emblematical of Australia fighting for liberty and justice. The whole structure measures 11ft 6in x 8ft 6in, and it is probably the finest memorial of its kind in the district. The roll has been placed in the main entrance to the boys’ school. The unveiling will take place on Saturday. The names inscribed on the roll number 265; the asterisk denoting those who have given their lives for the cause for which the allies are fighting.”
Given the above report and the actual date of the unveiling of the roll of honour was July 1918 (the month is actually shown on the memorial as its month of its unveiling) presents an anomaly with the current memorial which shows the years 1914-1919 on it. It seems probable the memorial was subsequently modified after the war and improved upon. No one In July 1918 would have been prescient enough to predict that the year of the official end of the war would be 1919.
Source: Families and Friends of the First AIF’s post (Facebook)
The Newcastle Sun, 27 July 1918.
“WICKHAM HONOR ROLL
“Public School Memorial
“The unveiling of the honor roll erected in the Wickham Superior Public School to the memory of the old boys who have taken part in the present war took place this afternoon. The ceremony was performed by the Mayor of Wickham (Alderman Bond).
The roll, one of the most handsome in the district, is situated at the main entrance to the boys’ school, and is of white Italian marble. The principal tablet, on which the names of the soldiers are inscribed, is of one slab of polished marble, measuring 11ft x 4ft. There are two grey granite polished columns in the bases, and carved Corinthian caps on either side support the pediment of rich moulding and entablature. The crest of the Australian Imperial Forces, richly carved on the apex, is supported by scrolls, on which are embossed the emu and the kangaroo, a flaming torch, and a set of scales, emblematical of Australia fighting for liberty and justice. The memorial is 11ft. 6in. long and 8ft. 6in. high.
“The roll contains over 260 names, and out of that number 40 have been killed in action. Since it was decided to have an honor roll several concerts and musical evenings have been promoted by the Wickham Parents and Citizens’ Association, and good results were achieved. A bazaar was held in the Railway Institute, from which a very satisfactory sum was secured. The executive officers of the association are:- President, Mr. J. L. Fegan; vice-presidents, Messrs. Bond and Toll; secretary, Mr. S. Brown; treasurer, Mr. Barrack. Another prominent worker in the movement was Mr. Neal, the principal of the school.
“At the unveiling a programme of music was rendered by the Railway and Tramway Institute Band, assisted by the pupils of the school.”
1989 Newcastle Earthquake
After the Newcastle Earthquake in 1989, Wickham Public School was closed. The honour roll was removed and stored at the City of Newcastle Works Depot.
In 1994 the honour roll was transferred to Newcastle Regional Museum for inclusion within the museum’s semi-permanent First World War exhibition. Local monumental stone masons R.F. Gaites cleaned, pinned and reassembled the memorial. In 1994, the Newcastle Regional Museum was located in the city’s West End, in the old Castlemaine Brewery building on Hunter Street. (This building is now the Quest Newcastle West Apartment Hotel.)
In 2007 the Newcastle Regional Museum closed with the exhibits placed in storage until the new facility in the former Honeysuckle railway workshops was opened on 4 August 2011. However, the 1.2 tonne honour roll, now disassembled into 48 pieces, did not make it to the new museum location. It was feared lost until GLOW tracked it down to a shed at City of Newcastle Works Depot on Turton Road Waratah.
2017 Newcastle Interchange
Newcastle Herald, 12 October 2017
“Honour roll at interchange
“A unique relic of Newcastle’s local history has taken pride of place at the Newcastle Interchange.
“The Wickham World War I honour roll, originally installed at Wickham Superior Public School in 1918, is a memorial to the school’s 326 staff and students who served in the war.
“The 3.5 by 2.5 metre, 1.2 tonne, ornate marble and granite memorial was delivered to site in 48 pieces and installed by a specialist team of stonemasons on the main concourse at a cost of $110,000.”
A founding member of GLOW, Joyce Foster, is interviewed by Tony Cottrill of NBN News on 16 October 2017. See the 1:23 minute interview here: Interchange to Feature a Piece of Local History. Joyce starts the interview saying:
“A few years back now, we went looking for this monument. We knew it existed. It had been taken out of the school and we went looking for it. It was found in pieces in a council shed at Waratah. We started a campaign to have it restored.”
(Wickham Station was the original name for the heavy rail station in Wickham. It was changed to Newcastle Interchange as part of the interchange project.)
On 10 November 2017, GLOW organised the dedication of the honour role in its new home on Platform 1 at the Newcastle Interchange. Brain McDermott, then publican of the Albion Hotel, commenced proceedings, saying:
“… at one stage it was feared lost. But with dedication and tenacity of a very special group of Wickham residents, Great Lifestyle of Wickham, or GLOW, led by formidable campaigner Lyn Kilby, have contacted, lobbied, harassed, begged and negotiated with the relevant authorities over several years, and the result is this. Congratulations GLOW.
“This is also due to the Newcastle City Council, particularly Ken Liddell and Frank Cordingly, and Transport for New South Wales Interchange for their expertise and willingness to help make this a reality. … Credit is also due to the engineers from Laing O’Rourke for the restoration of this venue; it’s been done thoughtfully and with great skill.”
Lyn Kilby and Rob Wilce then read out every name on the honour roll, followed by a minute silence.
2018 Face to a Name
Each name on the Wickham Public School Great War Honour Roll represents a real person with a story. Historian and educator Bronwyn Law has researched the lives behind each name and says the project was a continuation of a teaching program implemented in local public schools over the past four years.
“I sourced the personal, home and military details of those listed from the National Archives and Australian War Memorial and ADFA sites,” Mrs Law said.
“Each person is documented individually and most who enlisted who attended the school still lived in Wickham at the outbreak of the war in 1914. The memorial listed only an initial so I’ve had to use a variety of sources to ensure the right person has been identified. Spelling, dates and names vary within hand-written records, so educated guesses through other sources, such as newspapers, census and voting records, have been made.”
See also the Virtual War Memorial Australia – People at Wickham Public School Great War Honour Roll.
One notable old boy is Lieutenant Colonel William Cheeseman D.S.O., M.C., M.I.D., Croix de Chevalier., Legion d’ Honneur.
William was born at Throsby Street, Wickham, New South Wales on the 12th January 1894 to Joseph Ernest and Annie Amelia Cheeseman nee Wells (reside at Belmont, N.S.W.); husband of Marguerite Ruperta Tracy (Trix) Cheeseman nee Scott (born 24.5.1924, married 1915, Marrickville, N.S.W., died 30.1.1968, Newtown, N.S.W.).
Educated at Islington Public School and Wickham Superior Public School.
William enlisted October 1915 with the 30th Battalion at Sydney, N.S.W.
William was mentioned no less than four times in Sir Douglas Haig’s dispatches for his gallantry and was awarded the Military Cross at Bapaume in 1916, and the French Legion of Honour at Beaumetz and the Distinguished Service Order at Bullecourt in 1917.
This veteran of the 1916 battle of Fromelles (where he commanded a rifle company in the 53rd Battalion AIF) later became commanding officer of the 53rd Battalion when his predecessor was killed in action at Polygon Wood in 1917. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel aged 23, making him one of the youngest battalion commanders in the A.I.F. He was gassed at Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918, but returned safely home in 1919. He later was elected president of the 53rd Battalion Association. He died in 1938, and is one of the “Sandgate Boys” buried in the cemetery of that name in NSW.