New Plymouth Boys' High School War Memorial Hall and Memorial Window (1957)

A fund to provide a suitable memorial for Old Boys killed during World War II was set up before the war ended. By 1949 £6200 has been raised, but the project was put on hold as attention turned to the Moyes Memorial Pavilion. The project was back in the spotlight in 1953-54, with funds now totalling £8,500. An Education Department subsidy (£12,000) was forthcoming as long as the building had a practical function. The design included a theatre underneath, two classrooms on the top and a memorial shrine in the western end. 

On 17 March 1956, the school's annual sports day, Mr Henry Billing laid the foundation stone for the new building. It was officially opened on Easter Sunday, 21 April 1957, by the former High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, Sir William Jordan. The dedication service was led by an old boy of the school, the past Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, the Very Rev. D.N. MacDiarmid. The ceremony was a focal point of the school's 75th Jubilee celebrations during the Easter Weekend of 1957.

The shrine at the western end includes a stained-glass memorial window (made by the English firm James Powell and Sons) and a plaque with the names of 224(7) old boys killed in the war. The window was flown over from England at a cost of £140 just in time for the opening ceremony.

Further reading:

Lest we Forget, a tribute by New Plymouth Boy's High School, New Plymouth, to the 227 men of the School who died while serving their Country during the Second World War, 1939-1945, by Jack West, TRCT940.5467 WES

The First Hundred Years: Celebrating the Centenary of New Plymouth Boys' High School 1882-1982, W.E. Alexander, 1982 (TRCT373.9 NEW pages 98-100)

Related documents:

Stained Glass Window for War Memorial (Taranaki Daily News 19 March 1956)

Memorial Honours War Dead (Taranaki Daily News 20 April 1957)

Memorial Block (Taranaki Daily News 20 April 1957)

Over 1000 At War Memorial Opening (Taranaki Daily News 22 April 1957)

School's 75Th Anniversary (Taranaki Daily News 22 April 1957)

Memorial Window (Taranaki Daily News20 April 1957)

Roll of Honour Memorial Names Part 1, The First Hundred Years: Celebrating the Centenary of New Plymouth Boys' High School 1882-1982, W.E. Alexander, 1982 (TRCT373.9 NEW pages 98-100)

Roll of Honour Memorial Names Part 2, The First Hundred Years: Celebrating the Centenary of New Plymouth Boys' High School 1882-1982, W.E. Alexander, 1982 (TRCT373.9 NEW pages 98-100)