The personal impact of stolen plaques from Peachester Cemetery
FAMILY members say the callous theft of memorial plaques from Peachester Cemetery felt like losing their loved ones for a second time.
Ten memorial plaques from were stolen from Peachester Cemetery just prior to this year’s Remembrance Service with loved ones discovering the callous act as volunteers from the Peachester History Committee arrived to prepare the servicemen’s sites ahead of commemorative day activities.
Family members were further distressed to learn that the names on the stolen plaques had been removed using grinders, with the thieves then allegedly attempting to sell the defaced plaques.
The stolen memorial plaques honoured well-known community stalwarts from the Beerwah-Peachester district including Nev Anning, Jack Barry, Bill Neill, Cliff Barr and Keith Simpson.
Relatives said they were devastated by the loss.
Speaking with GC&M News, Robert Barry, son of John Waddell (Jack) Barry was still visibly upset when asked about the removal of his father’s plaque, and tearfully questioned what type of person would even consider such an awful act.
“It was just like losing him again, I just can’t believe that anyone would stoop so low, it was just so gut wrenching” he said.
Peter Barry said their father was a founding member of the Beerwah-Peachester RSL and along with others had helped build the original Beerwah RSL hall. He said he had been left absolutely devastated after being contacted about the theft.
“Who would even think to do something like this? This has really upset everyone involved,” Peter said.
President of the Peachester History Committee (PHC), Helen Page, said the loss of the plaques was made even more traumatic by the discovery that the names had been ground off by the grinders. Her father Clifford Walden Barr was also one of names on the removed plaques.
“What sort of person vandalises a cemetery, and destroys memorial plaques so important to the families of former servicemen?” she said.
“I felt it would have been bad enough if they had been stealing them to sell as some kind of memento but to grind the names off just added more insult to injury for me.
“It’s like they tried to erase them and their memory away. I’ve never heard of people stealing plaques before it just seems to be beyond belief – it’s just a disgusting act.”
The removal of the Peachester cemetery plaques followed a similar incident approximately nine days earlier when 16 brass plaques were allegedly taken from Beerwah cemetery along Roys Road on Wednesday, November 1.
While the destruction of the memorial and grave sites was disturbing enough, the thought to then cash in on the act seemingly added to the disrespect. It is understood that the plaques would cost about $1000 each to replace.
Two men – aged 38 and 45 – were charged after police found three grinders at a Peachester residence earlier this month.
Helen said when she was first alerted to the theft at Peachester Cemetery, her initial thought was that it was somehow related to a sort of protest about Remembrance Day.
“At first I thought it must have been an anti-war thing or something bizarre like that especially after finding out the Beerwah Cenotaph was vandalised as well, but now I think it was just some sick coincidence,” she said.
Helen said moving forward, Council had offered to assist in the replacement of the plaques and luckily because of the process involved in the original memorial plaque project started by PHC in 2005, the group had all the records, photographs and inscription details to be able to replicate the original plaques.
I just don’t understand what value these plaques might have had as scrap metal,” Helen said. She hoped community members would help keep an eye out for local cemeteries and together the community could help keep these special places of contemplation and remembrance secure.
“This has been a great loss not just for us but also for our community to have these plaques taken from both here and Beerwah cemetery,” she said.
The servicemen commemorated by the 10 plaques stolen were William Henry Hampton Hume, Charles Richard Buchanan, Neville Gordon Anning, Clifford Walden Barr, John Waddell (Jack) Barry, William Daniel (Bill) Neill, Alfred Pratten, Colin Roy Shuttlewood, Keith Edward Simpson and Alan (Dick) Strong.
Helen said she wanted to assure the families involved, that PHC would be working to replace the plaques as soon as possible.
sonia@gcnews.com.au
