BAHGALLAH was the place to be on Friday afternoon, as the celebration of the memorial hall’s centenary welcomed dozens of people with past and present connections to the little community.

The hall was converted into its own little museum, with a show of artifacts from the history of Bahgallah, its hall and its tight-knit community.

Outside, the atmosphere was social as past and present residents caught up, shared memories and enjoyed an afternoon tea smorgasbord of homemade delights.

Hall committee secretary, Kaye Annett said the day was a special one for the many Bahgallah connections who turned out to share a story or two and meet with old friends again.

“People were keen about it and came from near and far to honour their ancestors, which is really nice,” she said.

The centrepiece of celebrations was the Second World War honour board, commemorating the ex-students of Bahgallah School and other former residents who served in Australia’s military forces.

The board bears 50 names of locals – more than the town’s population today – who served in the most destructive conflict in human history.

It takes its place behind the stage alongside the original First World War honour board, which has called the hall home since the closure of the school, as well as the board constructed in 2017 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Broodseinde.

Ms Annett said the centenary was a good opportunity to honour Second World War veterans alongside the servicemen and women who came 20 years before them.

“Just a World War One honour board had been in the school and it came across here – this was the chance to get the World War Two people similarly acknowledged.”

She also said the year-long search for names for the board had surpassed expectations.

“We thought there was probably only going to be 15 or 16 of them and it evolved into 50 today,” she said.

“We found a lot of people had gone to school here that we never would have imagined had gone to school there.”