Some Time We’ll Understand – the book produced by Tenterfield Shire Council’s ANZAC Centenary Steering Committee detailing all World War I soldiers with a district connection – is about to hit the press in preparation for its November 10 launch.
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Its third draft is now available for perusal at council chambers in Bruxner Park until October 19, so that corrections and additions can be checked and the new index system verified.
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The book is the result of many, many hours of laborious work by volunteers, but the result is expected to be a exhaustive record of those who served, along with anecdotes about their families and lives in and around Tenterfield at the time.
There are more than 1100 entries in the book, peppered with lots of historic photographs and examples of attestation pages and various war medals.
The Federal Government’s Armistice Centenary Grants Program has granted the committee $2726 (towards which council will also contribute) to help with the publication of the book and subsequent updates to council’s digital honour board.
The book will be officially launched at the Tenterfield RSL Sub-branch’s Dining In Night at Tenterfield Memorial Hall on Saturday, November 10 with General Harry Chauvel’s granddaughter Honor Auchinleck as keynote speaker. The night will mark the Centenary of Armistice, with the support of a $3777 grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Invitations to the event have already been distributed, to members of the RSL, ANZAC Centenary Steering Committee, JF Thomas Riding Troop and others who have supported the centenary commemorations over the past five years.
There will be a very special attraction set up in the hall for the commemorations, recreating a WWI tunnel and trench system which will extend the length of the building. Committee chair Peter Reid said the tunnel will provide a sensory encounter of the lights and sounds experienced by those forced to live in the trenches for extended periods.
“But visitors won’t get dirty, wet, starved or shot at, and they’ll get to go home at night,” he said, underscoring that the replica will provide just a small taste of life in the trenches.
Details of public access to the installation are get to be finalised, but schools will be invited to bring students along for the experience.
WWI memorabilia will be exhibited, with committee members in the process of organising secure display cases. The loan of additional items for the display would be appreciated by the organisers.
After the launch on November 10, copies of Some Time We’ll Understand will be available at council chambers for $35. Advice of any corrections will be noted for future editions.
Anyone wishing to pre-order a copy, or having memorabilia to lend for the Centenary of Armistice display, should contact Mr Reid on 0407 031 065 or Sub-branch president Dave Stewart on 0407 398 444.