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Location:
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4-8 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine, MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE, 3450
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Local Government Area:
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MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE
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Heritage Type:
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Memorial Artwork, Window
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Description:
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Subject
St. Michael
Text
St. Michael "Greater love hath no man"
Inscription
World War 1939-1945 Our Honoured Dead Cain J.J. Clark G.H.B. Ellery S.G. Grant J.D. Jones J.Mc. Lawson, H.H. Kelly G.L. Thompson R. Tolliday W.J. Wilson G.W. Dedicated 2nd December 1945
Description & History
The window was ordered by Sir Harry Lawson, and given by Sir Harry and Lady Lawson as a gift to the church. The window measured 77 3/4 x 16 inches. A new cartoon was drawn up and the figure of St. Michael finished with the same architectural canopy and base as earlier windows in the church. Dedicated to the men of the church and Sunday school who died in the conflict, the figure of St. Michael appears to have been a portrait, most probably modelled on the Lawson's son, whose name was among those commemorated on the window. At the unveiling of the commemorative window by Squadron-Leader JHW Lawson on behalf of his parents, the Reverend Gordon Powell, an RAAF Padre, preached the sermon. A brochure in the church notes indicated that the sketch of the window on the Order of Service, was not completely accurate. Reportedly Lady Lawson suggested alterations that were incorporated into the final window and these may have included the portrait of her son as the model for St. Michael.
Flying Officer Harry Horwood Lawson, born 9 June 1915, was a barrister at the time of his enlistment on 8 March 1940, and the youngest son of Sir Harry and Lady Lawson. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force and trained at Somers, Victoria, before joining the British Empire Training Scheme at No. 3 SFTS in Calgary, Canada. He was stationed in the UK with 42 Squadron of the RAF from 20 October 1941 and the following month he was killed as the result of an aircraft accident. He was remembered at Leuchars Cemetery in Fifeshire, which holds a small number of graves from the First World War and 60 war casualties from the 1939-1945 conflict.
References & Acknowledgements
AWM Roll of Honour; AWM Photographic images, P04626.001; P02028.007; NAA: A9300, Lawson HH; http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2457135/LAWSON,%20HARRY%20HORWOOD
With thanks to Margaret Levecke for access to the church and archival information on the windows
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Year Construction Ended:
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1945
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Conflicts Commemorated:
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Second World War 1939-45
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Designers/Architects:
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Kerr-Morgan, William (attributed)
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Brooks, Robinson & Co
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