Medals and awards

Gold albert & medal, suitably inscribed, to:

 

Presentation made by the Rev. H.S. Hollow, in the Ringwood Hall.

 

Presentation made by Councillor A.B. Taylor (President of the Shire Council), in the Ringwood Hall.

 

Presentation made by Councillor Taylor, in the Ringwood Hall.

 

 

 

Corporal Shanks received a second medal from the people of Lillydale.

 

 

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Box Hill Reporter, 28th June 1901

 

Welcome Home to Corporal SHANKS.

Ringwood.

A welcome home and presentation was accorded by the residents of Ringwood to Corporal George J. SHANKS, on his return from South Africa with the third Victorian Contingent. The Rev. H.S. Hollow, M.A., occupied the chair. The hall was crowded, and several returned soldiers from the surrounding district occupied seats on the platform.

The first part of the programme, which was entered into with much enthusiasm, consisted of the following items, the rendering of which raised the patriotic spirit to concert pitch: – Overture, Mr H.J. Rawlings; song, "The Sleeping Camp", Mr Ryan; song, "The Miller and the Maid", Mrs Peat; song, "God Bless Daddy at the War", Miss Chapman; song, "Close to the Threshold", Miss Armstrong; dance, "The Coon Sog", Miss Iva Kenny; song, "Dreams", Miss Kitchen; song, "Romany Lass", Mr Timars; recitation, "The Piper of Dargai", Miss Chapman; encore, "The Queen's Gift"; song, "Red, White and Blue", Mr Allen.

A break was then made in the programme in the shape of a presentation to the guest of the evening. The chairman, in the course of his remarks, showed how the call to arms from England had been responded to by many a brave son, who was ready with his life to maintain the right and establish equality between man and man. They all were not able to respond to the call, various ties restrained them. Some had mothers to consider, some had fathers, some their own sisters and some others' sisters. But if they could not all respond to the call, they could at least show their loyalty by appreciating the services of those who did go out and fight for dear old England. It was with this object in view that they were gathered together that evening to welcome home Corporal George SHANKS. He therefore called that gentleman forward.

As he made his appearance he got such a welcome that he ought not soon to forget. In the following words the presentation of a handsome gold Albert and medal, suitably inscribed, was made to the returned soldier by the chairman: – "On behalf of the residents of Ringwood I have much pleasure in presenting you with a slight token of their appreciation of your loyalty and the readiness with which you served in the Boer war of 1900-1901. We welcome you back in safety. We are proud of you, every one of us. We would the return had been a fitter one, but we trust you will abstract all commercial aspect from the token and look solely at the spirit that prompted the action. We trust it will give you as much pleasure to accept this as it has given us to present it, and, In a conclusion, we sincerely trust you will be long spared to wear this 'Ringwood's appreciation of your loyalty' ".

Corporal SHANKS, when the cheering and the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" subsided, responded. He hardly knew how to thank them sufficiently for such a handsome gift. He did not know what he had done to merit such appreciation. However, this would only make the gift still more acceptable. On one occasion, as he entered Pretoria he saw the word "Ringwood", and it not only brought back happy recollections, but it also caused him to form the resolution to uphold the honour of Ringwood. After thanking them again for their kindness, he concluded his remarks by reciting a couple of verses.

The following items were then rendered with the same effect as in the first part: –  Song, "Simon the Cellarer", Mr Ryan; recitation, "The Last Redoubt", Miss Iris Thornleigh; dance, "The Castanets", Miss Ivy Kenny; song, "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep", Mr Kendall; song, "Nea", Miss Kitchen; song, "Scarlet and Blue", Mr Allen; recitation, "Lucky Jim", Mr Muldowney; song, "Summer Showers", Mrs Peat.