Cust war memorial

Cust war memorial on the Oxford-Rangiora Road. The column was toppled by the 4 September 2010 earthquake and completely rebuilt using the original materials.  It was rededicated on Anzac Day 2013. The last two images show the memorial in 2009.

At the unveiling of the First World War Honours Board in the Cust Institute Hall on 8 July,1920 it was decided to erect a Permanent Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers.  A fund was opened and residents were canvassed for donations.  Col. Young was approached for a War Trophy.  Various sites were proposed and finally a vote decided that the memorial be erected on the old Road Board Office site on the Main road by the Mill road intersection. Tenders were called for the erection of the monument at Cust, the cost to be between 400 and 500 pounds.  A tender from G V Parsons was accepted at a meeting on 2 August, 1921.   Minutes in December indicate the arrival of a gun to be situated beside the memorial.  The memorial was unveiled by Col. Young on Sunday 30th April 1922 at 2pm.

The Rev G G Howes was the officiating minister.  Speakers were Mr D Jones MP, the Hon D Buddo, Col. E B Millton, and Col. Young.  The service took the form of a united religious service conducted by the Revs. James Hay (Anglican) and the Rev G G Howes (Presbyterian).  There were hymns, readings and at the close the national Anthem and a bugler sounded “The Last Post”.

The memorial is a polished column of colonial granite set on a concrete base of steps.

At the head of the column is the following inscription.

“Erected in grateful memory of the men of the district who fell in the Great War,
1914-1918”.     
Then follow the names:  E W Chapman, J Lloyd, H Britten, J Craig. J Tait, J Powell,
F Watson, A Foster, E R Hawker, H Woodfield, G Heney, L W Blunden,
A H Kingsbury, G Garland.

At the bottom of the column is inscribed:  “Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friend”.

And of those who fell in World War II.  1939-1945
L V Davidson, A R Dewar.

A plaque also records the following:
-Remember With Pride-
Those who have served and those who have died in Post W W II Military Actions in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, in peace keeping forces and other United Nations Military Actions.

The German Field Gun War Prize which was situated on a concrete pad to the east of the memorial was scrapped for the War Effort in 1941 as the wooden wheels were unsafe and it was felt that the gun might fall if a child was playing on it.  It has been replaced by a 105 mm M101 A1 Howitzer which was presented to the Cust-West Eyreton R S A in 1998.  This gun was commissioned in 1954.  It is an American Weapon used in Vietnam by the NZ Army.  It was decommissioned, immobilised and transported from Trentham to Cust in 1998.

To the east of the Howitzer gun a native beech tree was planted in 1995 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of V.E. Day 8th May 1945 and V.J. Day 15th August 1945.

+CUST ROLL OF HONOUR

WORLD WAR II  1939-1945

Killed in Action   L.D. DAVIDSON,  A.D. DEWAR

SERVED

W.D.ARTHUR,  B.J.CHANDLER,  W.R.CRAIG,  W.A.CROY,  R.A.R.DAVIDSON, Sister P.S.DEWAR,  L.M.ELLIOTT,  S.R.FORBES,  J.N.FOX,  V.L.W.FRANCIS, W.McL.FRANCIS,  L.A.GRANT,  L.G.GRANT,  R.HANN,  G.J.HANDLEY,
Ernest HENDERSON,  Euan HENDERSON,  V.HENDERSON,  R.HORLER, P.G.JOHNSON,  Sister C.LESLIE,  Sister D.LESLIE,  D.E.LINDSAY,  K.LINDSAY, H.McKAY,  A.J.R.McLAUCHLAN,  E.A.McLAUCHLAN,  Allan MILES,
Ashley MILES,  Sister M.G.OcLOUGHLIN,  F.S.PARRIS,  J.K.M.STEVENSON, G.J.STRUTHERS,  G.L.STRUTHERS,  C.TALLOTT,  R.THOMPSON,  E.WAYLAND, G.A.WOOD,  C.D.WHEELER,  C.G.WHEELER,  M.R.WHEELER.

THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919

CUST ROLL OF HONOUR

Main Body    

A.E.COOPER
R.FINLAY
J.T.FORD
D.P.LLOYD
J.LLOYD                    *
M.PAVELKA
W.J.THOMPSON

Reinf.  

4          G.ALLISON
4           H.BRITTAIN              *
6           E.E.EARNSHAW
6           T.L.EARNSHAW
7           A.CHUDLEY
8           A.C.CAMPION
8           A.FOSTER                   *
8           R.L.LLOYD
8           T.B.LOCK
8           G.STRUTHERS
9           E.R.HAWKER              *
9           G.W.ROBB
9           D.RYAN
9           C.C.WINN
9           H.WOODFIELD          *
10         R.G.DICK
11         J.CRAIG                       *
11         W.A.WATTS
12         J.H.NORTHAM
13         G.HENEY                    *
13         E.E.TIPPING
14         M.FITZGIBBON
14         H.D.HARRIS
14         J.TAIT                           *
15         W.LEAWORTHY
15         H.ORCHARD
17         P.ROBB
18         L.W.BLUNDEN          *
18         S.L.KINGSBURY
18         G.W.S.LOFFHAGEN
19         E.J.ROBB
21         A.McPHERSON
24         I.HOWAT
25         A.B.GEORGE
25         J.POWELL                   *
26         J.S.DICK
26         G.A.J.NEWBLE
28         A.H.KINGSBURY      *
28         G.YOUNG
30         G.A.GARLAND          *
31         F.WATSON                  *
32         J.B.ALLISON
33         V.O.FRIZZELL
33         G.GAFFNEY
33         J.A.McLAUCHLAN   
33         E.R.H.WATERLAND
36         T.A.SEARELL
39         G.A.KINGSBURY
40         W.A.ROWE
42         F.C.HENEY
43         R.ANDERSON
3rd Dragoon Guards    E.W.CHAPMAN          M.I.D   *

 * Killed or died from sickness (Information from the Honours Boards in the Cust Community Centre and the Auckland Cenotaph Records)