Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW: 1888 – 1950), Saturday 30 November 1918, page 8
A.I.F. MEMORIAL.
Beecroft and Cheltenham residents turned up in force to a public meeting in the Beecroft School of Arts on Tuesday to consider what steps should be taken to erect a suitable permanent memorial to those soldiers who had enlisted from this district.
Mr. R. Vicars moved that steps be taken to set up a permanent record to those gallant men who enlisted from this district to serve their country, and particularly those who had laid down their lives in the cause of liberty. They had erected a temporary honor board and had inscribed on it the names of all those men who had enlisted from this district as far as it was possible to collect those names; but now that the war was to all intents and purposes, he considered that a permanent memorial should be erected.
It was regrettable that any memorial should be necessary, but when peace became established and they became engrossed again in their ordinary business and preoccupations, they would be prone to forget. “Lest we forget” we should take care that we should never forget what we owe to these men. They went at the call of the Empire at first; until later it was at the call of the world. Australia has given nearly as freely of our men as any part of the world except the European countries, and all of those men were worthy of honor. Councillor Chapman seconded the motion, and he urged the most united action possible so that a memorial worthy of the occasion might be erected. The district had contributed most generously to all the various war funds, and he felt assured that this memorial fund would receive liberal support. He suggested that arrangements should be made to provide a fund to maintain the memorial when erected. The motion was carried unanimously, and a large committee was appointed to take charge of the matter. Over £100 was subscribed in the room towards the fund, and the ladies of the Red Cross kindly undertook to make a house-to-house collection.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 – 1954), Monday 12 November 1928, page 12
WAR MEMORIAL.
UNVEILED AT BEECROFT.
The Beecroft-Cheltenham war memorial, which has been erected opposite the School of Arts, Beecroft, was unveiled yesterday afternoon in the presence of several hundred residents. The memorial is in the form of a cenotaph and has been constructed of Hawkesbury sandstone at a cost of £550. Sealed within Is a list of the names of all the residents of the district who volunteered. The names of those who died have been cut Into
the stone.
“Australia should be proud of those men she sent away.” said Major-General C. F. Cox, performing the opening ceremony. “They formed the only volunteer army in the world, and, although they may not have been all angels, they were the bravest things that ever breathed. In Syria and Palestine I have known them go without water for 50 hours at a time, and win a battle at the end of it. The majority of those who came back will be dead within another 15 or 20 years. I beg you to keep their names ever before you, and never to let them want, if you can help them.”
Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW: 1883 – 1930), Monday 12 November 1928, page 4
BEECROFT-CHELTENHAM MEMORIAL
A memorial bearing the names of men of the Beecroft- Cheltenham district who fell in the war was unveiled by Major-General Senator C. F. Cox, at Beecroft, yesterday afternoon. The monument is of Hawkesbury sandstone and takes the form of an eighteenth-century cenotaph. Mr. Robert Vicars (chairman of the memorial committee) presided. Major-General Cox paid a tribute to the A.I.F. — the only volunteer army in the war.
Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW: 1883 – 1930), Tuesday 13 November 1928, page 8
