There are rightly many honour rolls dedicated to those who have served Australia, mostly, but not only, for WWI and WW2. Among these honour rolls are some absolute treasures, the Pictorial Honour Rolls (PHR), in our communities. As we approach Armistice Day (11 November) the PHRs give us extra focus in honouring those who served, as they allow us to look those who served and sacrificed for us directly in the eye. The importance of these PHRs can’t be understated. Firstly, PHRs are works of art in their own right. Secondly, the provenance of the pictures of the men (mostly) was first class given that the photos were contributed for the compilation of the board by their families or people who knew them well, from their districts of origin and close to the time they had served (1914-1918). My first introduction to PHRs was from two of the districts “wise owls", the late Vic and Ernie Handcock, from Myrrhee. My great uncle, Capt Gerald Evans MC (8th Battalion), wrote to his mother from France on 11/6/1916. “The Handcock's must be aggressive, six of them going!” Gerald must have been referring to a copy of the Wangaratta Chronicle that recorded the Handcock contribution. Old newspapers such as the Chronicle (two to three months old) were home news gold for the Diggers. Vic and Ernie proudly told me that in the end eight brothers enlisted for WWI, a record only equalled by the Fisher family of Bunyip/Footscray, Victoria. They also asked if I had seen the Myrrhee State School PHR which honours 55 men including my great uncles Gerald and Francis (Ken) who both died during the Battles for Passchendaele in 1917, Belgium. Another district wise owl, Grenville Younger, suggested I also seek out the Meadow Creek State School PHR that honours 25 men. By working with Faithe Jones (Virtual War Memorial Australia) the number of PHRs has increased from approximately 10 to around 300, mainly in Victoria but also NSW, SA and Tasmania. Details of the PHRs and profiles of most of those honoured can be achieved by accessing vwma.org.au and searching for ‘pictorial.’ Access is unrestricted and free. Just off the Hume Highway between Wangaratta and Wodonga, sits the tranquil town of Barnawartha. At the corner of the main intersection (High and Havelock Sts) is situated the Barnawartha Memorial Hall. The keys to the hall can be borrowed during business hours from the friendly and helpful Post Office staff (Louise, Nicole and Jess) to gain entry to see the magnificent Barnawartha State School PHR with 31 men and 1 woman. The Barnawartha was produced by Wangaratta’s Vine’s Studio in c1920-21. The school’s alumni appear to have fared better than most with only two of those honoured paying the supreme sacrifice. There are also supplementary photos of a further 17 men (individually framed photos) from WWI and WWII. Unfortunately, 14 of those died serving Australia. Conveniently, the visit can end with a good cup of coffee from the Barny Café, directly across the High St from the Hall.
