After World War I, an Honour Board was set up in the entrance vestibule of St. John's Church, listing those who had served in the Great War, 1914-1918, nowadays usually referred to as World War I.

During the restoration work of the early 1980s, the board was taken down. Somehow, its whereabouts was lost. Perhaps it was damaged and discarded by the builders. The late Jenny Gill made strenuous efforts to locate the honour board, or to ascertain what had happened to it, but to no avail. She and others then made sure the names were recorded in an honour book which was displayed in a glass case in the south ambulatory until the redevelopment of the church interior in 2023-24. The honour book is now in the museum at St. John's, but a list of those who served, with indication of those who had fallen, is linked to this entry.

The young nation of Australia was very heavily committed to supporting the war effort of Great Britain and its allies during World War I. Young men volunteered to serve in the armed forces, and young women as nurses in military hospitals, particularly in the campaigns at Gallipoli, in France and in Palestine.

Volunteers came from all walks of life, including a long list from St. John's, Launceston. There is some evidence of special services of prayer for those serving far away, and services of thanksgiving when the fighting was finally over.