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Five trees commemorate the men of the District who died in service or were killed in action in World War Two. An additional tree was planted in honour of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill.
The first tree planted took place in memory of Private Sweetman on the 30th September 1943. Additional trees were planted to Flight-Sergeant Grosvenor and Sergeant Anwyl on the 9th August 1944 and Flight-Lieutenant Kirk, Private Lindo and Sir Winston Churchill on the 7th October 1945.
Arbour Day was celebrated in Memory Grove for several years and additional trees were planted by schoolchildren.
Shortly after his son was killed in action at El Alamein in July of last year, Mr. F. T. Sweetman, of Karoonda, expressed a wish that a tree be planted in this district in memory of his boy. The Sweetman family are among the oldest settled in the South, the great grandfather of the deceased soldier having settled at Inman Valley in 1853. On Friday last a tree was planted adjacent the Lower Inman Hall, and the impressive ceremony was largely attended; returned soldiers from the last war being strongly in evidence. The chairman of the district council of Eucounter Bay (Mr. G. Battye) presided. Appropriate remarks were made by the chairman, Col. H. M. Parsons, who planted the tree, Lieut.-Commander W. Gregory, and Mr. F. C. Keen. The inscription on the board placed alongside the tree is as follows : "In memoriam. 5X9831 Private Donald Frederick Sweetman, killed in action 19/7/42." After the ceremony the children attending the Middle Inman and Back Valley schools each placed a bunch of violets around the tree. Similar expressions of remembrance were in evidence fiom the Victor Harbour sub-branch of the R.S.S. and A.I. L. A.
Victor Harbour Times (SA), 6 August 1943.
In recent months two young airmen from the Inman Valley district (Flight Sergt. R A. Grosvenor and Sergeant P. I. Anwyl) lost their lives in aircraft accidents while serving in the R.A.A.F. To perpetuate their memories, trees of remembrance will be planted near the Lower Inman Hall on Wednesday next. 9th August, at 3 30 pm., close to where a tree was planted last year to honour the late Private D. P. Sweetman who was killed at El Alamein two years ago The ceremony on Wednesday will be of a public nature, and the chairman of the District Council of Encounter Bay (Mr. G. Battye) will preside.
Victor Harbour Times (SA), 4 August 1944.
There was a large attendance at Memory Grove, Lower Inman Valley, on Sunday afternoon last, when trees were planted in honour of the late Flight-Lieut. L. A. Kirk and Private R. A. Lindo. Flt.-Lt. Kirk, who was the son of Mr. and Mrs.J. Kirk, of Back Valley, was killed in an aircraft accident last month in Borneo, and Private Lindo, who married Miss Roma Cakebread, of Encounter Bay, was killed in action in New Guinea in February, 1943. Flt.-Lt. Kirk married Miss Peg Smithe, of Malvern, last December. The memorial trees were planted by members of the respective families, and Lieut.-Commander W. Gregory planted one in honour of Britain's war-time Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill. The chairman of the District Council of Encounter Bay, Mr. G. Battye, introduced the Rev. A. Clifford Jones, who addressed the assembly.
Victor Harbour Times (SA.), 12 October 1945.
Location
Address: | Inman Valley Road & Memory Grove Road, Lower Inman Valley, 5211 |
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State: | SA |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.528871 Long: 138.559339 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Trees |
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Monument Theme: | Conflict |
Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Thursday 30th September, 1943 |
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Plaque :
Memory Grove
These trees were planted to the memory of the men of this District who gave their lives for their country in the 1939 - 1945 War
Pte. D. F. Sweetman, A.I.F.
Sgt. R. A. Grosvenor, R.A.A.F.
Sgt. P. I. Anwyl, R.A.A.F.
Flt. Lt. L. A. Kirk, R.A.A.F.
Pte. R. H. Lindo, A.I.F.