FROM THE GALLERIES AND COLLECTION - Army Museum ...
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FROM THE GALLERIES AND COLLECTION
OF THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY MUSEUM
OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Typically only a small portion of a
museum collection is exhibited at any
one time. This is due not only to
practical consideration of display space
but a range of professional
considerations designed to protect and
preserve the artefact.
This series highlights objects and
stories you may have overlooked in the
galleries or collection items awaiting the
opportunity to be viewed and share their
story. Enjoy and explore further.
The WAGR Memorial Midland and Colonel Harold Pope
The Memorial at the WAGR
Workshops in Midland was erected
through the voluntary contributions
from the staff assisted by the goodwill
and co-operation of the Commissioner
of Railways, Colonel Harold Pope and
management.
The figure on the memorial was
sculpted by Pietro Porcelli and the
bronze casting was executed in Italy.
The memorial was unveiled on 20
December 1925 by the Governor of
Western Australia, Sir William Campion
and dedicated by the Chaplain General
Perth Archbishop Riley.
The monument was originally erected
to commemorate the 70 railway
workers who enlisted from the
workshops who died during World War
1. Subsequently the names of the 25
who died in World War 2 were added.
The memorial is in the form of a column
6.4 metre of Mahogany Creek granite
rising from three rock-faced granite
steps. The pedestal surmounted with
an allegorical figure representing
Peace. Standing on a sphere, a 2
metre figure of a woman, hand
outstretched calls for war to cease.
From the Collection #06
1
Her head bears the laurel wreath of
victory and her right hand holds a
palm representing peace with
victory. A sword is trodden under her
left foot. The setting on the boundary
wall is an open space surrounded by
the workshops and offices Bronze
inscription and name tablets are
secured to three faces of the stone.
His Excellency the Governor (Sir
William Campion) was welcomed by
the Minister for Railways (Mr. J. C
Willcock) representing the
Government. The distinguished
company included the Chaplain-
General (Archbishop Riley). Major-
General Sir J. J. Talbot Hobbs, the
Commissioner of Railways (Colonel
H. Pope), Lieut.-Colonel H. B. Collett
(State President of the RSL). church
dignitaries. Railway Department
branch managers, and members of
the Legislature.
'This monument,’ his Excellency said, after the unveiling, ‘has for its emblem the figure
of Peace. We are approaching Christmas, the time of peace and good- will. We
welcome anything that will ensure peace and we believe that we are really on the right
road to secure that peace for which these men fought. I hope we shall not only have
peace between nations, but that we shall take it a step further and have peace amongst
ourselves and regard one another with a little more sympathy. We have to be true to
the example those men set. If we are, their sacrifice will not have, been in vain. It will
have brought the dawn of better things to come, when swords really shall be turned into
ploughshares, and when will be really fulfilled the Divine command, 'Love thy neighbour
as thyself.'
His Excellency continued, “As
time went on young children
would ask the meaning of
memorials such as these. They
would be told of the example
that had been set and what
they owed to those men, and
they would do what he hoped
all his hearers did when they
passed such a monument —
they would salute it.
Memorial dedication
20 December 1925
From the Collection #06
2
In formally handing over the memorial to the Commissioner of Railways, the chairman
of the memorial committee (Mr. G. F. Dennis) said that the committee wished it to stand
for peace and not for military propaganda. A statement concerning the war record of the
Railway Department was made by the memorial committee's president (Mr. E. A. Evans.
Chief Mechanical Engineer). who said that in the loco branch over 1,000 men, or about
half, were accepted for active service. In the workshops offices and stores there were
just on 400 enlistments.
Before the arrival of his Excellency the Railway Male Octet rendered the part song
'Comrades in Arms.' A guard of honour was provided by the work- shops sub-branch of
the RSL.
In late 2022, the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia will be featuring
an exhibit of the technical drawings of wartime rolling stock and engines on the
Western Front by WAGR draughtsman, 1909 Private Edward Charles Garbett.
Refer to Virtual Visits 84 and 85 and watch Army Museum social media for the
announcement. The whereabouts of Honour Boards formerly located at the
Workshop Canteen are not currently known by Army Museum curatorial staff.
Colonel Harold Pope
Harold Pope (1873-1938), railway
administrator and soldier, was born on 16
October 1873 at Ealing, Middlesex, England.
At 16 joined the Great Northern Railway
before emigrating in1895 to Western Australia
where he joined the Government Railway. He
joined the Western Australian Military Forces
in July 1900 as a second lieutenant, and by
1908 he was a lieutenant-colonel.
On 13 October 1914 Pope was appointed
lieutenant-colonel commanding the 16th
Battalion, 4th Brigade, Australian Imperial
Force. At dusk on 25 April 1915, at Gallipoli,
he led part of his battalion to a vital unguarded
gap, soon known as Pope's Hill. The Battalion
was subsequently involved in the failed attack
on Bloody Angle where the unit had its
numbers halved, the holding of Quinn's Post,
the night advance on Sari Bair and the attempt
to take Hill 971. In October he was evacuated
to Lemnos with illness.
In France, Pope led the 14th Brigade, 5th Division, in the disastrous battle of Fromelles
on 19-20 July 1916. He directed his part of the attack which began at 6 p.m. until he
received orders at 5.40 a.m. on 20 July to withdraw his brigade which was isolated and
in a desperate situation. At 3 p.m., exhausted, he fell into a heavy sleep. At 4.30 p.m.
his divisional commander, Major General Sir James McCay, tried to waken him without
success, concluded that he was drunk and next day dismissed him. Pope protested his
innocence. He asked AIF commander Lieutenant-General Sir William Birdwood to grant
him a court-martial to prove his sobriety but Birdwood refused the request.
From the Collection #06
3
Pope lost his rank and his brigade command and after he had returned to Western Australia, his AIF appointment was terminated. He sought a chance to fight again on the Western Front to clear his name and in November 1916 he was put in charge of the transport Hororata as a continuous service officer without pay. In England, Birdwood acknowledged the confusion which existed about the events at Fromelles and in February 1917 Pope accepted Birdwood's offer to command the 52nd Battalion. From March 1917 he once more led men to the front line, this time as part of the 13th Brigade under Major General Talbot Hobbs. On 7 June 1917, Pope was seriously wounded while leading his battalion in the battle of Messines. He was mentioned in dispatches in December and in February 1918 was invalided home. On 1 September 1919 Pope was appointed acting commissioner of railways in Western Australia and was confirmed in office six months later. He was commissioner in 1920- 28, a period of flux within the department. As commissioner he introduced many reforms. He retired in October 1928 because of failing health. In 1925-30 he was honorary colonel of the 16th Battalion Visit the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia web site https://armymuseumwa.com.au/ https://aif.adfa.edu.au/aif/OrderOfBattle/Generals/pope.html https://www.carnamah.com.au/bio/harold-pope (Father and son) Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. 1915. Captain P. Fiaschi of Australian Army Medical Corps (R), Colonel Glasgow of 1st Light Horse Brigade (L) and Major H. Pope of 16th Battalion, at Destroyer Hill. From the Collection #06 4
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