Over the course of World War One about 350 young men from Bankstown and surrounding suburbs enlisted for service, it is believed 55 of these men died.
This year marks 100 years since the end of World War One and to mark this occasion Federal Member for Blaxland, Jason Clare MP is funding the upgrade of World War One memorials in our local area.
This includes updating the current World War One Memorial Tablets at Bankstown Memorial Oval to include the names of the additional 24 young men who never had their names recorded with the original 31 names already inscribed on these tablets.
“Fifty-five young men went off to fight on the other side of the world and never came home. For some reason only 31 of these Bankstown Boys were recorded on the stone memorial,” Mr Clare said.
“All 55 men deserve to be remembered and we are going to make it happen – hopefully in time for Remembrance Day next month.”
The World War One Memorial Tablets were originally erected at Memorial Oval after the war.
In 1970 they were incorporated into a bigger memorial and relocated to the Court House Reserve. In 2007 this memorial was put in storage at the Bransgrove Road Depot in Panania.
As part of local commemorations of the Anzac Centenary, Mr Clare provided funding to Bankstown RSL and the City of Canterbury Bankstown to restore the World War One Memorial at Memorial Oval.
At this time Mr Clare also commissioned and funded a commemorative book by Adam Courtney which told the story of the 31 young men and lead to the discovery of the additional 24 soldiers whose names will now be included on the memorial.
Friday, 19 October 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Jamie Wassef 02 9790 2466
