Honour Boards

Honour boards recording the names of all persons who enlisted can be found in Shire Offices,Town Halls and other public buildings throughout the State. the larger commercial businesses also had Honour Boards constructed to record the war service of their employees. The following contemporary newspaper report describes the one erected in Boans Department Store* in Hay Street,Perth:

The Honor Board recently erected by Messrs.Boan Bros.,containing the names of some 100 of the firm's employees who have enlisted for active service, is an extremely artistic and beautifully designed piece of work. It is designed to accomodate some 150 names on two highly polished tablets of Jarrah. These are surrounded by a very massive frame, at the base of which are erected two handsomely carved trusses supporting two heavy fluted columns carrying each a richly carved Ionic cape. Above this is constructed a very massive moulded canopy and frieze on which are the words in large block gilded letters "For King and Country'"Added to this canopy is a pediment of a very massive nature , embellished by some very fine emblematical carving, consisting of the Union Jack and Australian flags. A pyramid, encircled with a wreath of laurel and other martial emblems, in front of which is a carved shield bearing the words in block gilded letters "Roll of Honor". Below the tablet are the words "Employees of Boan Bros. who have volunteered for active service"in gold letters. The whole is a very creditable piece of workmanship executed by Mr. G Stirzaker of the West Perth Cabinet Works. The writing is by Meston and Walters. The Board in all weighs over one ton , and has been hung in a prominent position on the ground floor

In the refurbishment of the Store after the sale to Meyers in the late 1980s the Board was stored in their Cannington warehouse,having received some damage in it's removal from the Store.Recently, 2004, the Cannington Districts Historical Society,who had been storing the Board for sometime, succesfully applied to the State Govt. for a renovation grant. This work was carried out by Talbot Walsh & Co. of Welshpool and was completed in May,2005. The Board is now housed in the Army Museum, Fremantle where it will be on permanent display.WW1 Boards are quite often of elaborate copper repousse' whilst WW2 Boards are generally in wood.The examples shown below are from six towns and Boan's Store and cover WW1 & WW2,click on to enlarge. It is believed that the repousse' Boards were manufactured by a Melbourne Coy.,Wunderlich.In many if not all cases the American version of the word 'Honour' is used on these Boards. This spelling would not have been taught in the schools, it remains a mystery as to why it was used.

( click on photo to enlarge )