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First World War Tribute Plaques to the Citizens of Tamworth

First World War Tribute Plaques to the Citizens of Tamworth
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First World War Tribute Plaques to the Citizens of Tamworth, Liverpool plaque and Tamworth, England wreath
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First World War Tribute Plaques to the Citizens of Tamworth, close-up of Paris plaque
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First World War Tribute Plaques to the Citizens of Tamworth, close-up of English translation of Paris plaque
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Description / Background

Located inside Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall are several 'tribute' plaques, which were presented to the citizens of the town for their role in the First World War. 

One plaque is from the City of Liverpool in England. It is solid bronze circle, with a raised edge that is sculpted to resemble a wreath. In raised lettering in the middle of the circle is the tribute to the people from Tamworth who died during the war. 

Hanging directly below the Liverpool plaque is another bronze wreath, this one received from the town of Tamworth in England. It is shaped like a laurel wreath, with a ribbon banner at the bottom. It is open in the middle and does not contain any text. 

The City of Paris sent a simple but elegant brass plaque, set in a timber frame. It features a relief of an olive or laurel branch, alongside a 'declaration' of 'grateful admiration' and 'fraternal friendship'. A plaque with the English translation of the text accompanies it, which may have been made locally at a later date. 

The three tribute plaques were sent to Tamworth after the war, following an appeal by Mr T. G. Adamson, secretary of the Tamworth War Memorial Committee. His efforts were summarised in The Sydney Morning Herald on 15 February 1924. The article said:

The plan seems to have been to write to distinguished people in various parts of the world who had been associated with war in a conspicuous capacity, asking them for a memento, or message, or something of the sort.

Inscription

Liverpool plaque

A tribute

from

the City of Liverpool

England

In memory of those

who gave their lives

for their country

from

Tamworth

New South Wales

1914–18

Paris plaque - French version

Aux citoyens

de Tamworth

tombés surles champs de bataille

de la grand guerre

pour la cause de la France

et de L'Empire Britannique

indissolublement unis

pour la sauvegarde du droit

de la civilisation et de la liberté

a la ville de Tamworth

a la noble et genereuse

Australie

la ville de Paris

dedie ce temoignage

de son admiration reconnaissante

et de sa fraternal amitie

Paris plaque - English version

To the citizens of Tamworth

who fell on the battlefields

of the Great War for France and

the British Empire indissolubly

united to safeguard law

civilisation and freedom.

To the City of Tamworth and a

noble and generous Australia

the City of Paris

dedicates this declaration

of its greatest admiration

and its fraternal friendship.

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Sidebar
Address
Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall
26-28 Fitzroy Street
Tamworth NSW 2340
Local Government Area
Tamworth Regional Council
Setting
Building – inside
Location status
Original location
Memorial type
Board/roll/plaque/tablet
Recorded by
Graham Wilson
Year of construction
c1923
Conflict/s
First World War, 1914–18
Materials
Brass
Bronze
Timber