ABOVE: Harry Armstrong in his workshop making new honour boards for Rappville Hall.
Susanna Freymark
When the Rappville Hall burnt down three years ago, the honour boards were destroyed.
The names of soldiers who served in two world wars and the Vietnam War were turned to ashes in the Busbys Flat fire on October 8, 2019.
Rappville’s new hall opened this month. All that’s missing is those honour boards.
Finding someone with the skill and the time to reproduce the boards wasn’t easy.
Signwriter Harry Armstrong from Casino was the man for the job.
The 69 year old has been making signs and painting murals since he left Casino High School aged 14.
He can’t imagine ever retiring, he said.
Making the honour boards has its particular challenges.
“I spent seven days tracking down the red cedar for the boards,” Harry said.
He found the cedar in different places – Haystack Mountain, Pimlico and Mullumbimby.
The original Rappville boards were made of red cedar.
“I love working with red cedar, it’s a soft timber and you have to be careful you don’t bruise it,” he said.
The names of the service men and women are ‘written’ in delicate gold leaf.
Harry uses a brush made of squirrel hair to layer the gold leaf onto the board.
The boards are stained with shellac, made from the secretions of beetles. Harry does up to eight layers of shellac to give the wood a shiny, smooth surface.
He is busy making four boards to be ready by Anzac Day for the unveiling at the new Rappville Hall.
It will be a poignant moment for the village.
Resident Roger Bailey has been involved in the restoration of the boards.
“It’s been a collaborative process with the Rappville Advisory Committee. We set some priorities to get things done as part of rebuilding the hall,” Roger said.
The honour boards will be improved in this unplanned upgrade caused by the fire.
“A lot of the blokes on the board were not marked as killed or as prisoners of war,” Roger said.
With help from a book on Clarence soldiers written by Tony Morley, Roger researched each name and corrected the record where necessary.
“No one was taken off the board, and we’ve added an extra six to the World War II board,” he said.
Every Anzac Day at Rappville, Roger reads the service records of selected soldiers.
“I try to bring a little extra on Anzac Day,” he said.
The replacement of the honour boards has been funded by a State Government fire recovery grant, by Roger and by a large donation of in-kind work from Armstrong Signs.
As Harry beavers away in his backyard shed making the honour boards, a village waits to commemorate the return of its soldiers.
Anzac Day service in Rappville
5.30am: Dawn Service
11am: General Service – Memorial Stone, Nandabah St, Rappville (across from Rappville Hotel)
11.45am –Honour Board unveiling & dedication – Rappville Community Hall
