Crypt

Forty-eight steps lead down to the Crypt, some eight metres below the sanctuary. The Crypt is a memorial to the units of the 1st Australian Imperial Force and the Royal Australian Navy. It houses Sovereigns’ and Regimental Colours, the first of which were laid up in the Crypt in 1953.

This early scheme for the decoration of the Crypt features Australian National and Union flags. The Crypt had originally been intended as a storage room for the Shrine’s archives. After construction commenced, Hudson saw its potential to become a memorial to the serving units of the First World War.

Bronze Plaques

In a series of twelve niches, are recorded on bronze memorial panels the titles of the Army and Navy units which took part in the First World War, together with the regimental colours and the badges of the Armed Services. An inscribed bronze plaque records the names of all the Royal Australian ships lost in war actions. At the back of the Crypt is a bronze encasement containing the record of individual contributors to the Shrine and complete drawings of the whole Shrine building.

The colour patches of all units of the 1st Australian Imperial Force and Royal Australian Navy are displayed on the bronze panels in the Crypt.

Regimental and Sovereign Colours

Colours and guidons were used in former times as rallying points in battle. With the advent of modern weapons this became impracticable but the custom has persisted and combat units generally have acquired colours and guidons which are emblazoned with battle honours and other distinguishing emblems. They represent the tradition and histories of the units and are of great cultural and historical significance.

Their use is now ceremonial only. They are always treated with the greatest respect when carried on parade and other occasions. When units acquire new colours or are disbanded, the ‘old’ colours are laid up with solemn ceremony in churches, cathedrals, public buildings or dedicated memorials such as the Shrine of Remembrance.

Read more about Colours

Father and Son sculpture

In the centre of the Crypt is a bronze sculpture of a father and son. The sculpture honours the courage and service of two succeeding generations of Victorians. The inscription on the sculpture reads:

These figures of father and son honour the courage and sacrifice which links two generations of Victorian Service men and women who served in the World Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945

Read more about Father and Son