Armidale’s Hillgrove Museum is honouring those from surrounding villages who died in active service during the Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War as part of the city’s Anzac Day commemorations.
The exhibition, which is titled Lest We Forget: Hillgrove District’s Fallen Soldiers 1899 – 1945, was officially opened yesterday and will be available for the public to view until May 31.
Armidale Regional Council Mayor, Ian Tiley said the exhibition was a way to ensure the memory of the region’s fallen soldiers lives on.
“This display showcases those from the Hillgrove, Wollomombi and Jeogla districts who selflessly lost their lives in service, and it is important that we have exhibitions like this one to ensure they are not forgotten,” said Mayor Tiley.
“Through historic photographs and newspaper extracts, the exhibition takes us back to those times and educates the younger generations about our region’s important history.”
There were four men from the Hillgrove district who fought in the Boer War, more than 120 who volunteered for the First World War, and around 40 men in the Second World War – 38 of those died during military service.
“This exhibition is the beginning of a much larger project documenting the lives of these soldiers, and it is hoped it will result in their stories being widely shared,” said Mayor Tiley.
“Thanks to our wonderful volunteers at the museum who have been working tirelessly to scan and index the museum’s collection of photographs, we are beginning to grow our research databases to make Hillgrove’s history more accessible to the public.”
The research for this project has been undertaken by volunteers, and supplies have been purchased from donations to the Hillgrove Museum.
The exhibition is open to the public between 10am and 2pm, Friday to Monday.
