Lieutenant Claude Bertie West Memorial Plaque, Orange

The memorial is a rectangular plaque dedicated in memory of Lieutenant Claude Bertie West, who died of wounds on 16 May 1917 whilst serving on the Western Front in France during the First World War. The plaque is made of bronze with an incised black border, mounted on polished timber. The dedication is inscribed in decorative black lettering and gives service details of the young man, the name of his parents and his Battalion. 

Claude Bertie West was born in Bourke NSW. While living in Orange, he enlisted on 24 August 1914 as a driver in Sydney in the 1st Field Ambulance, C Squadron. He had previously served for five and a half years in the Orange Railway Ambulance Rifle Club. As a Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, he died on 16 May 1917 from wounds received at Bullecourt, and was buried in the Etaples Military cemetery, Pas de Calais, France in 1917.

A service in memory of Lieutenant West was held at Holy Trinity Church on 19 February 1919. A large attendance gathered for the service including some 50 travellers, detachments of nurses and veterans, members of the military and friends of the family. The memorial was unveiled by Canon Walker Taylor MA, who also addressed the assembly. The memorial was donated and presented by the Western Commercial Travellers Association, of which Lieutenant West's father, Mr Arthur West, was a member ​(The Leader (Orange), 21 February 1919). 

At a Commercial Travellers gathering held that same evening, Mr West spoke on behalf of his family and warmly thanked the travellers for their thoughtfulness and kindness in presenting the tablet (Australian Town and Country Journal, 16 February 1919). 

The memorial plaque is available for viewing when the church is open for services.