Denice Barnes, Coast Community News

The heartbreaking story of one family losing three sons in WW1 and WW2 prompted family history and military buff Joe Laws to join the call for the 103-year-old Erina District War Memorial to be restored and better maintained.

After researching his family’s history, Mr Laws came across the sad story of the Weiss brothers – Frederick, Erle and Harry – who all lost their lives in service for their country.

The Erina District War Memorial was officially opened on Armistice Day, November 11, 1923, after a committee formed to get the memorial built to honour those who had lost their lives in WW1.

That committee was headed by Walter Weiss, the headmaster of Erina Heights Public School at the time.

Mr Laws is a descendant of Mr Weiss, who was his great, great uncle, and recently joined the push to get the memorial upgraded.

He said he was delighted to receive confirmation late last week from the Terrigal-Wamberal RSL Sub-Branch that following a meeting with Central Coast Council, a meeting with a contractor was scheduled for last week.

Sub-branch Secretary Andrew Madge said the responsibility for the memorial lay jointly with the Council and the RSL Sub-Branch.

He said its condition had been reported to Council and action was underway to obtain quotes from qualified contractors (they have to be heritage conservation specialists) to undertake the maintenance work.

He said the Sub-Branch was working with Council to progress this as quickly as possible.

“I was very, very pleased to get the news that something was happening,” Mr Laws said.

“I feel my perseverance paid off and as family history buff and military history buff, I am really pleased that some attention will be given to the memorial.

“It was disappointing to see it had been left in such a sad way.”

The memorial, relocated to Terrigal Beach in 2018, was officially opened in 1923 at its original site, the hill below St Phillips Church at the junction of The Entrance Rd and Terrigal Dr, Erina.

It was originally built to honour local men from Erina, Terrigal, Wamberal and Matcham who served and died in WW1 and was expanded later to also commemorate service in WW2, Korea and Vietnam.

It came into being after the War Trophies Commission offered the Erina district two captured German machine guns resulting in the formation of a local committee to memorialise those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Erina District War Memorial Committee consisted of president Walter Weiss, the headmaster of Erina Heights Public School from 1914 to 1929, and secretary George Walpole, headmaster of Erina school.

Mr Weiss and his wife Amy had three sons enlist in WW1 with only one returning and another son who died as a prisoner of war in WW2 while building the Burma railway.

The memorial was initially dedicated to the 10 men from the district who had died in WW1 including the Weiss brothers, A Banks, A Bean, J Farrell, M Farrell, C Martin, V McKenna, F Ritchie and C Wright.

Private Frederick Weiss, killed in action in 1916; Bombardier Erle Weiss killed in action in 1918; Private Harry Blanch Weiss died as POW in 1943.
Photos courtesy Coast Community News

Private Frederick A Weiss was killed in action on July 19, 1916, at Fromelles while Bombardier Erle V Weiss was killed in action two years later on August 9, 1918, at Bayon-Villers, Somme.

The Weiss family was originally from Singleton and Frederick was a trainee teacher in West Wyalong and Erle worked in a drapery store in Singleton.

Private Harry Blanch Weiss, who was a twin and the last born of the nine Weiss children, served in the 2/30th Battalion in Singapore, Burma and Thailand.

A prisoner of war after the fall of Singapore, he died of “illness” in 1943 on the Burma-Thai railway.

He had worked as a bank teller with the Commercial Banking Co prior to enlisting.

In 1985, due to roadworks, the Erina District War Memorial was relocated to the Salvation Army Woodport Citadel at Erina and re-dedicated on August 6, 1986.

The Brothers in Arms sculpture by local artist Leash Craig was added as a symbol of mateship and the brothers who lost their lives when the memorial was moved to Terrigal.

This article appeared in Coast Community News, 11 June 2026.