Sub Lieutenant H. (Brownie) Esmond Memorial Tablet, Wardell

This white marble tablet is set into a wall of St Barnabas Memorial Anglican Church in Wardell, NSW. It is dedicated to the memory of Sub-Lieutenant H. (Brownie) Esmond R.N. who died at sea while serving in the Second World War. 

The tablet was unveiled by Miss Maisie Lumley at a church service on 11 January 1942. It was reported in the Northern Star on 21 January. An address prepared by Rector C. Foley was read by Mr Parry, the rector's warden. The address described Esmond's childhood education in Wardell and his service aboard the HMS Jervis Bay, which was sunk on 5 November 1940. He said:

The heroic action in which the Jervis Bay was sunk by heavy gun fire, thus allowing a large convoy which she was protecting, to escape to safety, must go down in history as one of the gallant deeds of the war. [Esmond] was 25 years of age, and the memory of "Brownie", to use the name by which he was known to all, by the erection of this tablet, would be perpetuated as long as this church stood.

Do you know more about Sub Lieutenant "Brownie" Esmond? Learn how you can contribute to the NSW War Memorials Register.