Wollondilly Anglican College ANZAC Memorial Shelter Description

On Monday 18th June 2018 Wollondilly Anglican College students, dignitaries and veterans gathered at a ceremony to witness the official unveiling and dedication of the new Anzac Memorial Shelter, named ‘The Shoulder to Shoulder Shelter’, in the College grounds.

The bronze statue of the WW1 Veteran stands 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 mts) tall holding a World War One Bible in his left hand while holding the hand of a little girl with the other hand. The statue stands under a single tree, a daughter tree grown from the seeds collected by and Australian Soldier / Digger in 1915 from the original Lone Pine at Gallipoli. The little girl is looking at the soldier smiling and saying, “Thank you for paying such a price”. Lest we Forget, and the soldier is replying with “Thank you for finding me”.

The WW1 veteran was a 20-year-old soldier who was Killed in Action at the Battle of Fromelles and the little girl is a student from the college, who is the great, great, great, great niece of that 20-year-old soldier. The statue is Acting Sergeant William Polding Ryan, 1520, from Crystal Creek NSW, uncle of a long-time Wollondilly poultry farmer. Acting Sergeant Ryan is located on the western side of the Memorial Shelter and represents all diggers who fought and all those who died at Fromelles on 19/20th July 1916. His body / remains were identified by DNA testing in 2010.

On the eastern side of the ANZAC Memorial Shelter stands a raised garden bed with a sandstone memorial stone, with the words that many lost diggers have on their headstones, “Known Unto God”. Behind the memorial stone there is a cross with a Slouth Hat attached to the top.

The dedication ceremony held on 18th June paid tribute to and honoured soldiers who died in the First World War.

Access to the Memorial and College grounds, by appointment only, contact the College Administration.