War Service Honour Board

As part of the Armistice Day Centenary in 2018, Queensland Parliament commissioned the War Service Honour Board to commemorate the service and sacrifice of former Queensland Parliament Members.

The War Service Honour Board is displayed in Parliament House Brisbane and currently features the names of 110 former Members who saw active service in conflicts up until 1975.  There are now 117 entries displayed on the board. One former member having served in 3 conflicts, and five former Members each served in 2 conflicts.

Members served in the following conflicts:

• 9 Members served in wars prior to 1899;
• 7 Members served in the Boer War 1899–1902;
• 38 Members served in First World War 1914–1918;
• 49 Members served in the Second World War 1939–1945;
• 3 Members served in the Malayan Emergency 1948–1960;
• 2 Members served in the Indonesian Confrontation 1963–1966; and
• 9 Members served in the Vietnam War 1962–1975.

The War Service Honour Board originally featured the names of 54 former Queensland Parliament Members who served in wars prior to 1899, the Boer War and World War I.

In 2021, an update to the board occurred with the addition of 49 names of Members who served in World War II.

In 2023, the board was updated to feature 14 more entries for Members who served in the Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and Vietnam War.

The names of former and current Members who have served in conflicts after 1975 will be added to the board in the future.

Visitors to Parliament House are invited to pause and reflect on the service and sacrifices made by former Members.

View the War Service Honour Board List of Names.

Making the board

The board itself was crafted by Andrew Buck, a Brisbane-based furniture and cabinet maker in his Ashgrove workshop. The Honour Board is primarily made from Queensland maple and includes a meander ‘Greek key’ border. The decorative border replicates the hand painted borders featured throughout Parliament House.

It took approximately 110 hours to assemble the board and an additional 25 hours to complete the French polishing. The traditional wood carvings featured on the board required approximately 70 hours to mark out and carve.

The research required to obtain information regarding former Members who served was conducted by the Parliamentary Library. The research was extensive and time consuming and involved crosschecking nominal rolls and service records with the National Archives of Australia, the Australian War Memorial and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

 

The Queensland Parliamentary Library has taken every care with researching the above information. However, due to the nature and availability of the war service records and the necessity to collate information from multiple sources, the Queensland Parliamentary Library cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.

If you have any information about the 110 members of parliament featured or any other members who may have seen active service abroad, please contact the Queensland Parliamentary Library at library.enquiries@parliament.qld.gov.au or (07) 3553 6222.