Linville War Memorial

The small timber-milling community of Linville saw 24 young men enlist in WWI, eight died while serving, including the brother of the men who designed and built Linville's war memorial. War veteran Tom Cross designed the timber structure with its pagoda-like roof. His brothers Frank, a cabinetmaker, and Jim built the memorial, using materials and labour donated by local residents. It was completed in 1921, the same year that Linville was allocated a German machine gun or 'war trophy', housed within. The copper honour board facing the street lists all who enlisted in the district. A second plaque below pays tribute to those who died. The Australian War Memorial allocated gun trophies to communities. Linville's has some local significance. It was captured in April 1918 by the 9th Battalion to which five local men were attached. Tom and Ben Cross had set off together to war. While Tom was plagued with 'trench foot', similar to frostbite, for the rest of his life, Ben didn't come home. Tom became well-known for his cartoons and drawings of life aboard troop ships, training in Egypt and the battlefields of France. They were published in magazines and as postcards.