The Sacred Heart College First World War roll of honour was unveiled in the school dining room on 29 September 1919. This listed the names of 197 old boys who had served overseas. The roll of honour accompanied the school when it shifted from Ponsonby to Glen Innes in 1955, and is now on display in the main entry hall.
According to the college history, almost half of Sacred Heart College’s old boys, more than 2000 men, served in the armed forces during the Second World War. In 1945 the Old Boys’ Association agreed to build a chapel in honour of the old boys who had lost their lives during the war. On 2 June 1957 Archbishop Liston laid the foundation stone of the Old Boys Memorial Chapel and on 2 November 1958 he opened the completed building.
The roll of honour in the chapel lists the names of 41 old boys who gave their lives in the First World War, 104 who gave their lives in the Second World War, and one name each for ‘1955’ [Korea], ‘1958’ (Malaya), and Vietnam.
The chapel was refurbished and extended in 1994.
See: ‘Catholic Soldiers’, NZ Herald, 29/9/1919, p. 9; ‘Sacred Heart College: Unveiling of Roll of Honour’, Auckland Star, 29/9/1919, p. 9; Tony Waters, Confortare: A History of Sacred Heart College, Auckland, 2003, pp. 47-8, 110, 124, 144, 153-6, 215-7.
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