Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

4 wooden honour rolls hanging either side of the crypt

The First World War had taken a toll on the Geraldton Community with the loss of many servicemen, so in a plea for funds to build the crypt in St Francis Xavier Cathedral, which was estimated to cost £400, Father John Hawes wrote the following:-

“The Chapel, which will be situated in the subterranean crypt below the High Altar of the New Cathedral, will be A Special Votive Offering in reparation to our Lady of Sorrows, and Perpetual Memorial of our Catholic Soldiers of Australia who have fallen in the Great War.”

Donors of Ten Shillings or more were entitled to have the name of a soldier inscribed on the memorial tablets beside the Altar of the Chapel. There are Four Honour Boards in the chapel with the names of 57 fallen soldiers whose family members paid the ten shillings to have their names inscribed