Warwick & District Railwaymen Honour BoardPrint Page

WARWICK, Sunday, — The Commissioner for Railways, Mr. J. W. Davidson, yesterday unveiled an honour board at the Warwick railway station in honour of the railwaymen from Warwick and district who served in the Great War. The memorial has been constructed in handsome marble, and possesses 101 names, some of which are marked " killed." Mr. Davidson, when performing the ceremony, mentioned that over 3000 railway men from Queensland had enlisted, of whom 10 percent had made the supreme sacrifice. This was a record of which any body of men might be proud, and the list on the Warwick board showed that the men of Warwick contributed in no mean way to that enviable record. The Commissioner went on to speak of the importance that railwaymen were called upon to play in the war, both in the matter of transport at home and military operations on the other side.

Many of the Queensland railwaymen, he said, were called upon to utilise their experience in the railways of France and elsewhere, but by far the greater number of them took their place in the front firing lines. The loss of 300 young railway officers was sad to relate, but his audience would join with him in reverent respect for the glorious dead. To the bereaved relatives and other dear ones, the deepest sympathy was extended, and he hoped that the Great Healer was the building up broken hearts and enabling them to realise with pride the great honour which came to them by the patriotism the bravery, and self-sacrifice of those they held so dear. Sympathy had also to be given to those who were injured and returned maimed, perhaps disfigured, but beautiful in character. A greatful country should surely see that these men were provided for according to their needs, and that provision should be on a generous scale.

The railwaymen of .Queensland had not forgotten their comrades who were away, as during the war nearly £40,000 had been contributed to the Railway Patriotic Fund, besides large sums by railwayman and their families to other funds. He concluded by pointing out that the erection of an honour board was an outward sign of the community's feelings, but they should show by their daily lives how they appreciated what had been done for them. They had glorious country, the development of which was in their own hands. He asked them to try and make it a land worthy of the great sacrifices which their comrades had made, a land where earnest work should be ennobled, and where, by mutual help, they would brothers be.
Daily Mail (Brisbane), 13 February 1922.