THE Seaham Knitting Circle Memorial has received a wonderful gift this week from Dr David Gillespie MHR, in the form of a giant ceremonial sized Australian flag, measuring at four yards, for their memorial flagpole.

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Mr Bill Garrett from Raymond Terrace RSL Sub Branch told News Of The Area, “This is a really special and historically significant memorial for our area, so it’s really great to see it presented with such an important and special flag.”

“We give thanks to Dr David Gillespie and his office for making this happen.”

The Seaham Knitting Circle ladies fundraised for, and built, a ten metre tall flagpole and memorial plaque one kilometre east of Seaham across the William River to commemorate the men from Seaham who enlisted in World War One.

The memorial is thought to be one of very few in the country that was created solely for the soldiers of World War One, entirely by the women of the community.

The Seaham Branch of the Red Cross was established in October 1914, with a woman by the name of Mrs J W Boag as President and Mrs Burt Adams as Secretary.

The group preferred to be known as the Seaham Knitting Circle.

At the conclusion of World War One, the people of Seaham welcomed back their sons, and mourned those lost.

Other memorials were created in the town, one being a memorial tablet in the Presbyterian church, and another being memorial gates at the School of Arts.

The memorial tablet in the presbyterian church, was unveiled in October 1920, followed in May 1921 with the unveiling of the memorial gates at the School of Arts.

The knitting circle members decided to fundraise for, and erect a memorial flag pole, and did so on a patch on land on the eastern side of the river, donated by Mrs Boag’s family

The memorial was placed at the front of the Boag property, on the eastern side, as the western side already had two memorials.

In the latter part of 1921, the flagpole was erected, not long before the Seaham Knitting Circle was disbanded.

Their legacy lives on in the memorial they created to honour the memory of the valiant Seaham soldiers.

By Rachael VAUGHAN