Holy Trinity’s original First World War memorial (not pictured here) was a carved oaken altar and a set of silver communion vessels. These were consecrated in memory of the fallen on 6 February 1921.
A roll of honour in memory of ex-members of the congregation who were killed or died of wounds during the war was also unveiled on 21 February 1923, along with two candlesticks presented as a thanks offering by two returned soldiers. The roll of honour was a wooden tablet in the form of a Greek temple with four Corinthian columns. It was inscribed: “1914-1918. This tablet and the Altar in this Church were erected to the Greater Glory of God and in loving memory of our Brothers from this parish, who gave their lives in the Great War”. It listed a total of 53 names.
An additional piece later added at the foot was inscribed: “In memory also of those who died in the Second War 1939-45 and in later conflicts”. In 1953 an anonymous donor presented a sanctuary chair in honour of “a man of courage who gave his life in the war”; in the same year Hetty Herman presented a clergy stall in memory of the late Dennis Arthur Herman who had been wounded in the First World War and his son Dennis Arthur Herman, who had been killed in action in Italy during the Second World War.
The rebuilding of the west wall of the church and the provision of an entrance porch as a war memorial and thanks offering for victory and peace was first considered in 1945. The work was delayed until 1964, when sufficient funds had been amassed (there is no commemorative plaque).
The First World War roll of honour from St Augustine’s Memorial Church, Stanley Bay, was moved to Holy Trinity in May 2017.
See: ‘Memorial Altar: Unveiling and Dedication’, NZ Herald, 7/2/1921, p. 5; ‘Memorial Tablet: Devonport Soldiers’, NZ Herald, 22/2/1923, p. 8; Our Parish: A History of the Parish of The Holy Trinity, Devonport, 1856-1990, Auckland, 1990 [pp. 26, 75, 80-3, 86, 90, 98]
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