Public Works Department roll of honour board

A decorated roll of honour board for the Public Works Department for 1914–1918.

Entries on the list, including a summary of the department’s casualties and decorations, suggest it was developed or added to after 1918. Despite the decorative details, unusual entries on this list suggest it may have been created for internal use. For example, it notes matters not usually included on a roll of honour board, such as that George Sutton was discharged because of a ‘nervous breakdown’ and that Wallace Tomlinson was ‘dead, & buried by Germans’.

At some point the list was taken out of its frame and damaged – there is a visible tear on the right-hand side. It is now held at Archives New Zealand.