The memorial is a timber prayer table and a timber chair, located inside St Mary's Anglican Church in West Armidale, NSW. Both pieces are made from the same timber and complement each other in style and finish. The table features a carving of a Maltese Cross and has a brass plaque attached. The plaque is inscribed with the dedication to four members of the church who lost their lives in the First World War: Private Albert Frederick Burrows, Corporal Victor Herbert Goswell, Lieutenant George Manthorpe Grimson, and Sapper Reginald Arthur Hast.
Jean Newall's book, To worship in the west: a centenary memoir of Saint Marys West Armidale (1996) states there were previously "three chairs and two prayer-desks, one with a brass plaque inscribed" on site. She also notes that by 28 January 1918 a subscription list was already being opened "to erect a memorial to the soldiers of the West End congregation who have died on active service." Furthermore, in late 1918, a tender from Armidale builder G.F. Nott was accepted for raising the sanctuary platform, making two new choir desks and kneelers, and making other small improvements. Given these details, it seems likely Nott also constructed this table and chair, around the same time.
The memorial is available to view when the church is open for service.
About the veterans
Private Albert Frederick Burrows was born in Armidale and attended the Armidale Superior Public School. As a grocer of Paddington in Sydney, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion at Liverpool, NSW, on 1 December 1914. As a private in the battalion, he died of wounds on 15 May 1915. There is no known grave, but he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 13) at Gallipoli, Turkey.
Corporal Victor Herbert Goswell was born in Tamworth, NSW. As a driver of Armidale, he enlisted as a single man on 29 August 1915. Initially, he was an Acting Corporal in the 20th Battalion. As a corporal in the 20th Battalion, he was killed in action on 15 November 1916. He was buried in the Warlencourt British Cemetery in France.
Lieutenant George Marthorpe Grimson of Armidale, enlisted as a Lieutenant in the 36th Battalion, B Company on 22 July 1915. Aged 22 years and married, he was a senior mechanic at the PMG Depot in Armidale. As a Lieutenant in the battalion, he died of wounds on 7 June 1917 and was buried in the Trois-Arbres Cemetery in Steenwerck, France.
Sapper Reginald Arthur Hast was born in Armidale and was educated at the Armidale Public School. As a single man and a telephone mechanic, he enlisted in the 30th Battallion on 27 July 1915. As a sapper in the 2nd Division Signals Company, aged 24 years, he died of wounds on 29 October 1917 at Passchendaele, Ypres, Belgium. He was buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium.