The cenotaph had been erected using donations from returned soldiers and their families, as well as from other townspeople, at a total cost of £379 (pounds).

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On Remembrance Day 2025, the cenotaph will celebrate its 100th birthday.

The Raymond Terrace RSL sub-Branch will commemorate the event by arranging to have the names of service personnel from later conflicts added to the cenotaph.

“The war memorial is an important item of historical significance to the community of Raymond Terrace,” said Vic Jones, President of the Raymond Terrace RSL sub-Branch. “Ensuring that the names of all eligible, local veterans who served Australia in conflict are listed on the memorial is one way of honouring their service and fulfilling the promise made a century ago that their sacrifice would be forever remembered.

“The memorial is particularly significant to the many families and other descendants of veterans listed on the cenotaph who still live in our community, so our aim is to ensure that it is as historically accurate as possible.”

Mr Jones said it is likely that the names of some local veterans who joined the Australian Defence Force in recent decades and who deployed on war-like operations since the 1990s, are not yet listed on the memorial.

To this end, the sub-Branch is seeking the names of anyone from the Raymond Terrace district who has served in the armed forces of Australia in a warlike capacity in any conflict since World War II and whose name is not already on the Raymond Terrace cenotaph or other local war memorial.

The eligibility criteria are as follows:

– Be the recipient of the Australian Active Service Medal or equivalent conflict medal;

– Be awarded the Returned from Active Service badge;

– Be deployed on active service in a war-like capacity (not peacekeeping, aid to civil communities or liaison duties);

– Be a resident of Raymond Terrace or an immediate surrounding district at the time of enlistment.

All four of the criteria must be met, and checks of supporting documentation for any application will be made to ensure eligibility.

If you or a family member may be eligible to have their name placed on the cenotaph, please provide details (including: ADF Service; service number; period of service; honours and awards received; details of which operation/conflict the individual served in; and any proof of residency) to the following email address for further assessment: raymond-terraceSB@rslnsw.org.au.

Please mark it ‘Centenary Project 2025’.

“If your submission can reach us by 30 November 2024, it would be greatly appreciated,” Mr Jones said.

“That will allow time for applications to be assessed and name-plaques to be produced in time for the centenary event next year.”