[1] The news of the outbreak of war between Britain and Germany in 1914 was received with great enthusiasm in Australia and an overwhelming number of volunteers enlisted to provide allied support in the conflict.

With so many men overseas and the loss of life growing with each day, the physical and financial burden on the shoulders of Australian families grew heavier.

As Britain had decided not to return other bodies to Australia, the laying of Major-General Bridges to rest in the nation's capital was an event that became a substitute funeral for each Australian soldier that had fallen on foreign soil during the war.

[1] Without the physical remains of their loved ones, the Australian community sought alternative ways to process their losses and articulate their grief and war memorials became a popular form of public commemoration.

War memorials provided a public outlet for mourning and helped to close the geographical gap between those buried overseas and their bereaved families at home.

[1] In NSW, war memorials often took one of the following forms - soldier statue, column, obelisk, fountain, archway, gateway, tree avenues or gardens.

Dedicating a corner of their property, "Chevy Chase", for the project, the memorial would be built to commemorate the loss of their eldest son, Alfred Haroldston Perrott (junior) (1889-1917) who had been killed in action at Passchendaele Ridge, Belgium.

[1] Commenced in October 1920, seven months of intensive construction work resulted in a substantial concrete and stone monument that has since been described as "the most elaborate memorial in the country".

[2] Intricately designed by Alfred Haroldston Perrott (senior), the memorial (when interpreted from its base upwards) symbolises the British Empire and Australia's role as an ally in the Great War.

[3][4] Although the concept for the monument may have originated as a private expression of loss, the Dangarsleigh War Memorial soon became a structure reflecting the bereavement and pride of the wider community.

Upon the laying of the foundation stone in February 1921, local memorabilia selected by the community (including newspaper articles, literature, coins, Aboriginal artefacts, clay pipes and heads of wheat, barley and oats and three glass jars filled with letters, photographs and mementos sent home from local soldiers during the war) were installed in a small hollow chamber within the memorial as a form of time capsule.

When the memorial was formally opened and dedicated in May 1921, the marble slabs of the obelisk were inscribed with the names of 16 local men who served (and some who died) in the Great War.

[1] Some years later in 1936, the memorial was enclosed with a brick and stone fence with wire mesh infill panels that incorporated much of the symbolism and thought that was demonstrated in the construction of the obelisk monument.

The centrepiece of the fence is a lych gate entrance with a concrete and stone temple-like turnstile gateway that bears the Buddhist word of "Nirvana".

The Interwar design of the monument has Middle Eastern influences and contains numerous symbolic elements that reflect World War I and the related commemoration that followed.

[1] The monument location is enclosed by a brick and stone fence (1936) with wire mesh infill panels and lychgate entrance with cupola roof.

[1] As at 22 October 2015, the Dangarsleigh War Memorial and site was reported to be in very good condition due to regular care and maintenance by the land owner, Armidale Dumaresq Council.

Dangarsleigh War Memorial became a communal place of shared mourning and commemoration which continues to be evident in its ANZAC Day services each year.

Materials have been reported to include newspaper articles, literature, coins, Aboriginal artefacts, clay pipes and heads of wheat, barley and oats.