Cust war memorial

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

At the unveiling of a 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. Colonel Robert Young, the commander of the Canterbury Military District, was approached for a war trophy. After various sites were proposed, it was decided to erected the memorial at the intersection of Main Road with Mill Road, where the Road Board office had been. Tenders were called for the erection of a monument at a cost of between £400 and £500. A tender from G.V. Parsons was accepted on 2 August 1921. By December a German field gun to be situated beside the memorial had been received.

The memorial was unveiled by Colonel Young at 2 p.m. on Sunday 30 April 1922. The speakers were MPs David Jones and David Buddo, and Colonels Young and E.B. Millton. A united religious service was conducted by the Reverends James Hay (Anglican) and G.G. Howes (Presbyterian). After hymns and readings, the National Anthem was sung 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 the names of those who fell in the Second World War, 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 World War II Military Actions in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, in peace keeping forces and other United Nations Military Actions.

The German field gun 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 thought that the gun might fall over if a child was playing on it. In 1998 it was replaced by a 105-mm M101 A1 howitzer which was presented to the Cust-West Eyreton RSA. This American gun had been commissioned in 1954 and used in Vietnam by the New Zealand Army. It was decommissioned, immobilised and transported from Trentham to Cust in 1998.

A native beech tree to the east of the howitzer was planted in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversaries of VE and VJ Days.

+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[orcements].  

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 Auckland Cenotaph records)