Honour Rolls

"M&MTB Roll of Honour

In Memory of these Brave Men Who Gave their Lives for the Cause of Liberty in the Great War 1914-19"

The Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board was formed in 1919, taking over several private companies operating tramways throughout Melbourne in the next few years.  These companies had their own Rolls of Honour in their various Depots, and this probably included the Depot at Ascot Vale of operated by the North Melbourne Electric Tramways and Lighting Co. The whereabouts of such a board, if it existed is not currently known, so and advice on that would be gratefully received.  Several others are housed at the Malvern Tramways Museum, but it doesn't include a WW1 Roll of Honour from Ascot Vale.

The above MMTB Roll of Honour was unveiled in 1921:

TRAMWAYS HONOUR ROLL.  
Unveiled by the Premier.
The Premier (Mr. Lawson) unveiled yesterday
the board at the offices of the Melbourne and
Metropolitan Tramway Board erected in honour
of 518 tramway men who enlisted, 71 of whom
fell on service abroad, and 18 of whom received
awards for conspicuous gallantry.
The board is of artistic design in black-
wood, and is erected on the main stair
way to the administrative offices.
It was designed by Mr. H. B. Herbert

In the presence of members of the board
and officers of the administrative staff, Mr.
Lawson unveiled the memorial. The
record of their services, he said, showed
that tram waymen, who spent their lives
in giving public service, had done valiantly in ren-
dering the greatest of all services on foreign fields.
The memorial would stand for all time to remind
us that only by living up to the ideals for which
these brave men died could we achieve the fruits
of the victory they had won. Germany had lost
the war, but stood to win the subsequent eco-  
nomic conflict if we by our indifference and
neglect, and our division into sects and factions,
failed to remain steadfast to those ideals of
courage, loyalty, and truth.  
The Argus 9 November 1921
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4622851

The board shows the names of the 71 who died on Active Service, and a bound volume of Record of Service housed in a small glass-fronted panel at the bottom of the board (not visible in the photo above) contained the names of the men who had served, and those who received awards for conspicuous gallantry.

Following are those men from Essendon, possibly working at the Essendon Depot, who are commemorated on the M&MTB Roll of Honour.

Nolan W Pte 3201

Sumner R G Pte 2666

North Melbourne and Essendon Electric Tramway Company  employed some of the men of Essendon and Flemington with tramways-related occupations recorded in their B2455.