Malvern War Memorial

On 19 March 1922, 3000 people attended the unveiling of the Malvern War Memorial.  The inscription on the Cenotaph read “In memory of those brave men, residents of Malvern, who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1919. Erected by a grateful Englishman”.   The ‘grateful Englishman’ was Mr Charles Wood, a local Produce Merchant and President of the Victorian Bowling Association.

The Cenotaph was designed by Architects, Messrs, Beaver & Purnell and the stonework was carried out by a well-known firm, Chambers & Clutten.  It was made of a Harcourt granite and designed in the Gothic style with the ground plan taking the form of a cross. The four faces of the central pier exhibited polished panels and in gilded lettering beared the names of the fallen soldiers.

The Cenotaph was originally placed at the Malvern Cricket Ground and in 1932 it was moved to the front of the Malvern Town Hall. In 1992 the cenotaph was placed at its current location in Central Park.

Despite its shifting location, the Malvern War Memorial has continued to be a place where family, friends and local residents can pay their respects to the people from their community who made the ultimate sacrifice.