A LONG-LOST piece of war history is set to be returned home to the region, after it went missing when it was sold off several years ago.
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Uralla's St David's Presbyterian Church - which no longer exists - curated a marble tablet to commemorate the town's soldiers who went off to the First World War.
The tablet bounced around between a couple of different places in the town, before eventually being auctioned off several years ago.
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Now, it's resurfaced in Toowoomba and is being sold once again, and the Uralla community is rallying to bring the long-lost piece of history back home.
Uralla RSL Sub-Branch president Russ French said a buyer had been organised to attend the sale up north on Saturday, and try and secure the honour roll.
"We were notified that this special item had come up for sale, and we thought we should try and get it back," Mr French said.
"If all goes well, this lovely carved marble tablet will come home to Uralla for all to see."
The names inscribed on the honour roll holds a special place in Uralla's heart, with some current residents being direct descendants of the brave soldiers immortalised in the marble.
"It's part of our history, Uralla had quite a large involvement with men going off to the world wars and ... they all fought as a unit over in Europe, so it was quite important to us to get it back," Mr French said.
It all happened fast, and the RSL and other community groups decided to bid on the tablet and work out funding later.
"There has been a real outpouring of joy that we will hopefully get this back," Mr French said. "It is wonderful, you would not believe how many offers we've had from people ... wanting to chip in."
Mr French said once the town secures the honour roll again, it will never let it go.
"It will stay right here and it won't ever be leaving," he said.
Mr French said the building in Uralla which is home to the RSL rooms will most likely become home to the marble memorial.
He said there will be a special open day for the public when the tablet arrives home to Uralla - hopefully next week, if the auction goes smoothly.
The RSL is trying to track down more war memorabilia connected to the St David's honour roll.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
