St John's Anglican Church European War Memorial Pulpit and Honor Roll, Branxton

This war memorial is a timber pulpit, located inside St John's Anglican Church in Branxton, NSW. It is made of oak and features several recessed panels. They are decorated with relief carvings of Gothic arches and Maltese crosses made of brass. 

Attached to the panels are numerous brass plaques, each inscribed with the name of a serviceman from the First World War, which is called the European War on the memorial. The first initial and first letter of each veteran's surname is highlighted in red and the rest of the text is in black. Nine names are marked with a red Maltese cross, indicating they were killed in action or otherwise died as a result of their service. The third panel is the only one inscribed with the end date of the war, 1918. 

The pulpit was gifted to the church by Mr and Mrs Joe Hatcher, in honour of their son Private Thomas Harry Hatcher, who was killed in France on 27 January 1917. It was built by A. B. Wise and Company of West Maitland. The dedication ceremony took place on 15 July 1917. When reporting on the event later that week, the Maitland Daily Mercury, 20 July 1917, said:

The service will long be remembered by those present. This gracious and practical gift is a handsome addition to this pretty little parish church. The pulpit and railing are in oak, the Gothic architecture of both being in keeping with the other church furnishings. At the wish of the donors, an honor roll of all the men who have enlisted from the church is to be [set] into the front panels of the pulpit, the inscriptions and names to be on handsome scrolls and plates of brass.

In 1918, the Hatchers also dedicated the altar in the church, in memory of their second son who died in the war. It is listed separately on the NSW War Memorials Register as the St John's Anglican Church First World War Memorial Altar, Branxton. The pulpit is of a matching style.

Read more about Private Thomas Harry Hatcher on the NSW War Memorials Register.