On 5 March 1920 General Sir Andrew Russell unveiled a roll of honour in St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Gisborne. The substantial marble tablet listed the names of 36 members of the congregation who had given their lives. It is still prominently displayed on the front wall of the nave. Also on display is a tablet dedicated to the memory of Chaplain-Major William Grant. The Rev. Grant had been St Andrew’s minister for eight years when he volunteered for service overseas as a chaplain soon after the war began. He was killed at Gallipoli on 28 August 1915. The church published a book in his memory: In Memoriam Chaplain-Major William Grant: His Letters from the Front.
The church’s Second World War memorial is the church hall. This was dedicated on 14 February 1954. A memorial to the 25 men from the parish who died in that war was also installed in the church (not pictured here). In 1996 St Andrew’s church published a memorial booklet giving the biographical and service details of those listed.
Sources: ‘Unveiling Ceremony’ [public notice], Poverty Bay Herald, 5/3/1920, p. 1, col. 4; ; ‘Visit of General Sir A.H. Russell’, Poverty Bay Herald, 5/3/1920, p. 5; ‘Soldiers’ Memorial’, Manawatu Standard, 6/3/1920, p. 5, Marie E. Burgess, Gisborne Presbyterian Parish … Our Shared History, Gisborne, 2013, pp. 16-19, 24-5.
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