Meet the Memorial staff, Paul Riley and Timothy Hurd.

Paul Riley, Curator

Image of Paul Riley.

Paul Riley is the Curator of the National War Memorial (NWM).  His job is incredibly varied. One day he's giving presentations to visiting school groups, the next he's preparing protocols and procedures for wreath laying ceremonies and hosting international dignitaries, and on another day he might be curating exhibitions and displays. Paul has been with the NWM since 1993, and still loves it, the building itself is a tranquil work environment, ”A lot of people come here from all around the world and say ‘it’s very understated’ and I think that’s quite right . . . it’s rather beautiful”.

The memorial was built in two stages, the first was the tower or Carillon (the first part of the memorial) was built in 1932, plans for the Hall of Remembrance were put on hold due to financial constraints, and it was finally completed in 1964 by the same original architects, Gummer and Ford (it was Gummer’s last job before he retired). Neutral pastels and clean lines define the style of the hall, and stained glass windows bring vibrant light into the hall, “We have beautiful purple colours thrown on the walls from the stained glass windows”.

Within the hall are military shields, plaques and a roll of honour. Fleur de Lys and doves are inset within the stone walls, and the central focus of the hall is a sculpture by Linden Smith. The sculpture depicts a mother standing with her young daughter and son; it’s an unusual and different approach to a war memorial, focusing on the families that are affected by war, rather than “a guy with a gun” says Paul. He also has had famous visitors comment of the statue, “Hilary Clinton said to me ‘that’s one of the most beautiful statues I’ve seen in any memorial’”.

Paul deals with guests of distinction and day to day visitors with ease and enthusiasm, if you're visiting the NWM he's happy to give you a tour.

Image of Timothy Hurd QSM

Timothy Hurd QSM, National Carillonist

Timothy Hurd QSM studied composition with Krzysztof Penderecki and Jacob Druckman at Yale University, with further postgraduate study in Holland and Belgium. He received the Artist's Diploma in carillon performance from the Netherlands Carillon School in 1980, where he studied with Peter Bakker and Leen 't Hart. He did research in musicology at the Catholic University of Leuven and studied Flemish carillon music at the Royal Carillon School 'Jef Denyn' in Mechelen. In 1981, he was awarded the Prix d'Excellence by the Dutch government.

After two years in Florida as Carillon Scholar at Bok Tower, then teaching at the Scandinavian Carillon School in Denmark, he became National Carillonist of New Zealand in October 1984, where he plays the National War Memorial Carillon, the third largest carillon in the world by total weight with 74 bells. He was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for his services to music in 1994. In 2001, he was appointed first Director of the National Carillon in Canberra, Australia.