[Maddison Dwyer]

The SDC ANZAC Day Special Edition​

Hello lovely Members!

I hope you're all safe and well this morning.

I just wanted to dedicate a space on our forum for something really special, there is absolutely no pressure for any one to participate, but if you choose to, the SDC Team along with the rest of the community will love to read what you have to say.

This thread today is for you all to share what ANZAC Day means to you or take the opportunity to commemorate someone or something important to you on this day with the rest of our community.

​

Please remember, this community is a SAFE SPACE so please BE KIND. Today is not an easy day for everyone, so please keep those people who might be struggling today (and every day) front of mind when you comment below.

Lest We Forget.

​

 

[Ricci]

I grew up in England. Remembrance day was not something that was celebrated in our house. My father was in the Navy during 2nd world war and by all accounts his was a hard war and he felt he had been robbed of his youth so it was with this history that my husband and I emigrated to Australia in 1983.
In time we had two children, a boy then a girl and my husband and I became naturalised Australians. When my kids were 11 and 10 they expressed a wish to join Cadets with the closest being the Navy Cadets. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into the cadet family and it took up a great amount of their spare time.
My husband and I quickly realised that if we wanted to be a big part of our kids lives we had better get involved in cadets too, so in time became Reservist Cadet Officers.
Anzac Day is an important part of Cadet life and my family started their Anzac Day every year at 3am in order to be at the local Dawn Service where my two drummed in the catafalque party and the raising of the flags. Next it was a rush to get to the City Centre by 9am to take part, with the rest of the Cadets, in the March through the City. My kids were in the Cadet Band as drummers and sometimes they had to go around the march twice (and one year 3 times!) in order for the marchers to have a beat. After the conclusion of the march we had enough time to get home and grab some lunch before we were out again with the rest of the Cadet Unit to perform at a service at a local Aged Care facility. After the service the cadets were offered a tea with the residents where they could listen to the war stories and remembrances of the residents. Often we would not get home till 8:30 or 9pm And so our family Anzac Day tradition was born.
Both of my children have gone on to serve as Officers in the Australian Navy, my son for 13 years and my daughter some 18 years and counting. Both have served in war zones. One of my daughters serving highlights to date has been to be the lone drummer for the catafalque party at Lone Pine in Gallipoli. A truly moving experience. My son only left the Navy as he had the opportunity to be the ABC's News Breakfast weatherman and will today be proudly wearing his medals as he brings the weather forecast.
My husband and I still attend Anzac Day memorials whenever we can, not only to remember the fallen but also to give thanks that our children have taken up the cause and to date have been kept safe. We feel honoured to have been able to engender the spirit of the Anzacs in our children and feel that they, along with many more of their contempories will ensure that the Anzac tradition will continue for many years to come.

Lest We Forget

 

[LindaOl]

Edgar Herbert Bristen Preston-Thomas my grandfather. A Gallipoli veteran and machine gunner was wounded and medically discharged (thank goodness.)He refused to March on ANZAC. day or wear his medals.I knew him as a gentle seafaring man who taught me to row a Dinghy and sail a P class yacht.

 

[ZemoTwo]

Hello lovely Members!

I hope you're all safe and well this morning.

I just wanted to dedicate a space on our forum for something really special, there is absolutely no pressure for any one to participate, but if you choose to, the SDC Team along with the rest of the community will love to read what you have to say.

This thread today is for you all to share what ANZAC Day means to you or take the opportunity to commemorate someone or something important to you on this day with the rest of our community.

​

Please remember, this community is a SAFE SPACE so please BE KIND. Today is not an easy day for everyone, so please keep those people who might be struggling today (and every day) front of mind when you comment below.

Lest We Forget.

View attachment 2981​

 

[ZemoTwo]

Little bit of a story I'm in the process of writing ...
John Sims

 

[Peppa]

To me it's in honor of one Pop who died fighting for our country, my other Pop who came home a very sick man. And to my 34 year old cousin fighting for our beautiful country.

 

[Jan FWF]

My grandfather George Jones came to Australia from England and joined the Australian Federal Force. He is an ANZAC and survived WW1 returning to Australia to live. When he returned he looked after a friend who breathed in poisoning gas, spread from the enemy until he passed away. Grandpa married Alice and had my mum. He lived to 1965. Not once did anyone mention WW1. I only found out family history after I read the paperwork my lost family had.

 

[Wendybt]

A chance to reflect on the brave men and women who fought for our freedom, to appreciate and honour them in a way that is worthy of their spirit, tenacity and sacrifice they made for us.
Also an important reminder of the horrors of war and a solemn wish for all of humanity to strive to find a way to resolve conflict and differences in a peaceful way, to avoid the tragic loss of life and suffering endured by our veterans and their families.
Particularly relevant at the moment with the war in Ukraine, my heart goes out to those poor innocent people and I hope their suffering ends soon.
Lest we forget.

 

[Dicky]

I grew up in England. Remembrance day was not something that was celebrated in our house. My father was in the Navy during 2nd world war and by all accounts his was a hard war and he felt he had been robbed of his youth so it was with this history that my husband and I emigrated to Australia in 1983.
In time we had two children, a boy then a girl and my husband and I became naturalised Australians. When my kids were 11 and 10 they expressed a wish to join Cadets with the closest being the Navy Cadets. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into the cadet family and it took up a great amount of their spare time.
My husband and I quickly realised that if we wanted to be a big part of our kids lives we had better get involved in cadets too, so in time became Reservist Cadet Officers.
Anzac Day is an important part of Cadet life and my family started their Anzac Day every year at 3am in order to be at the local Dawn Service where my two drummed in the catafalque party and the raising of the flags. Next it was a rush to get to the City Centre by 9am to take part, with the rest of the Cadets, in the March through the City. My kids were in the Cadet Band as drummers and sometimes they had to go around the march twice (and one year 3 times!) in order for the marchers to have a beat. After the conclusion of the march we had enough time to get home and grab some lunch before we were out again with the rest of the Cadet Unit to perform at a service at a local Aged Care facility. After the service the cadets were offered a tea with the residents where they could listen to the war stories and remembrances of the residents. Often we would not get home till 8:30 or 9pm And so our family Anzac Day tradition was born.
Both of my children have gone on to serve as Officers in the Australian Navy, my son for 13 years and my daughter some 18 years and counting. Both have served in war zones. One of my daughters serving highlights to date has been to be the lone drummer for the catafalque party at Lone Pine in Gallipoli. A truly moving experience. My son only left the Navy as he had the opportunity to be the ABC's News Breakfast weatherman and will today be proudly wearing his medals as he brings the weather forecast.
My husband and I still attend Anzac Day memorials whenever we can, not only to remember the fallen but also to give thanks that our children have taken up the cause and to date have been kept safe. We feel honoured to have been able to engender the spirit of the Anzacs in our children and feel that they, along with many more of their contempories will ensure that the Anzac tradition will continue for many years to come.

Lest We Forget

Thank you for sharing your story, and for the service your family has given to your country. A great and wonderful commitment.

 

[Dicky]

My story is of my Grandfather. He was Hugh Norman Coventry, a brother of the well known Collingwood Football Club brothers Syd and Gordon. My grandfather was killed in France just a couple of weeks before my father was born. My Grandfather was also a very good footballer.

 

[DrChip]

I have not missed an Anzac day for as long as I can remember or were ever in the world I may be, I always plan to make sure I can attend.
I am a veteran, but it's not for that reason. 1) My late wife father fought in New Guinea, where the Americans forgot to supply them with ammunition. He never spoke about what happened but a friend and veteran that fought alongside him told me that Syd and a couple of others would go out at night with just a bayonet between their teeth and kill the Japanese. 2) My Father was in the merchant marine, twice torpedoed and twice luckily survived, he watch his brother on an oil tanker being blown up. 3) My present wife is Polish her father and his mother, in Israel have a tree and medal for saving so many lives in Poland, helping them to escape. My wife uncles escaped and made it out to join Montgomery forces and fought alongside Aussies and Kiwis in Tobruk, Authur was only 18, scared and so naive about war with no experience, the only thing that ever kept him sane was the banter and stirring between the Aussies and Kiwis, he said there he was with blood sweat and dust and he was laughing., He came to Australia down to us here in Bunbury every year until his passing to stand alongside us on Anzac day, very proud to be called a Rat from Tobruk. I stand now with just my wife and so many others with so many stories, no matter what the weather waiting for the Last Post to be played. I am very proud of all that turns out here, young and old, here in Bunbury, even when it start to rain no one moves,

 

[Liz]

My family may not be Australian (where I was born) but my father was a Merchant Serviceman during WW2 ,(a cadet in the tail end of WW1) taking oil to forces home in Britain and my mother was a New Zealander who worked in the Missions to Seamen in New Zealand and Australia to keep the spirits up of Searfarers both past and present. My father never talked about the war, neither did his sister who worked in the Army Territorial Service in Britain with Lord Louis Mountbaten. It was only doing family research that I got both of their medals and my brother (also a Merchantman) marched when able on Anzac Day. To me ANZAC day means that I live in a free country because of these brave and galant servicmen and women. I cannot get to a Dawn Service but always watch it on the TV. I have been to Turkey and was treated with great respect by the Turks, so truly appreciate both sides who fought in WW1. I also have good friends who served in Vietnam. LEST WE FORGET

 

[Cassandra Jordan]

Thank you for the opportunity to remember our loved ones:
my great-uncle Ernie Heycox, from Nelligen, NSW, aged 19, died in Europe in WWI and is remembered on Memin Gate and the Australian War Memorial;
my uncle Robert Thomas Russell, from Braidwood, NSW, died quietly in his sleep in Nelligen in 1964. He served in WW2 including PNG crawling along the ground in the jungle. He was unwell when he returned;
my great-uncle Captain Ernie Rodley, from London, England, flew Lancasters and Spitfires in WW2 flying night raids over Europe. After the war he was the pilot for the Queen Mother and for Olympic Airlines, BOAC & the Concord. He was a very calm, quiet gentleman. He died in Guildford, England, aged 89;
my brother Major David Rodley, from Caringbah, now Soldier's Point, Nelson Bay, NSW, has 35 year service with ADF and served in many places including Afghanistan, Kuwait, Australian cities etc etc.
the eldest son of my cousin, Christian Rodley, from Northampton, England, is a serving member of the military in England.

 

[JayKay]

As a little girl, my Mum took us to the Anzac Day March down St Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance. We waved a tattered Australian flag as the returned diggers marched by, jollying each other along.
I am so grateful to my Mum, for the memories created, and being able to honour the great sacrifice of so many Australians.
I will forever remember the huge number of men who had a limb missing....part of the tragedy of war.
My Great Uncle landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, in one of the first boatloads to reach the beach.
He, thankfully, survived, and went on to serve in the Middle East. He did come home.
I knew none of his military history while he was alive.....it was revealed at his funeral.
In the early 1970s, I worked on a surgical ward where Sir Weary Dunlop was a surgeon.
It was an honour to work with him and serve his patients who were returned service men.
In 1995, 50 years after the end of WW2, information was able to be released, secret documents became unclassified.
There was a display of military memorabilia at the local shopping centre.
My then 9-year old son was totally fascinated....he read every piece of information and absorbed every item in every cabinet.
We visited the Point Cook Museum, the Watsonia Barracks and the Vietnam Veterans Museum and San Remo.
My son joined Air Cadets from Year 7- Year 12, where he learned survival skills, people skills, working in a team, fairness, just so much about life.
He attended many promotional courses and was highly respected.
In 2014, for the 100 years after the landing at Gallipoli celebrations the next year, people in Victoria started knitting poppies.
I have knitted over 800.....many went into the poppy carpet for Anzac Day 2015, many have gone to Gallipoli, the Chelsea Garden Show and other displays.
I have given many away to friends to wear using a brooch pin.
I have also knitted 100 purple poppies, to commemorate the animals which have served in war....horses, donkeys, camels, dogs, cats, doves.
Many were sent to France for a commemorative service held there some years ago.
I have also knitted white poppies, symbolic of peace.
In 2020, I held my own ceremony in my driveway during Covid lockdown, with my own tray of candles and poppies and rosemary.
In the distance, a neighbour played the Last Post on the trumpet. This was an incredibly moving experience.
We will remember them.

 

[Cheb]

I grew up in England. Remembrance day was not something that was celebrated in our house. My father was in the Navy during 2nd world war and by all accounts his was a hard war and he felt he had been robbed of his youth so it was with this history that my husband and I emigrated to Australia in 1983.
In time we had two children, a boy then a girl and my husband and I became naturalised Australians. When my kids were 11 and 10 they expressed a wish to join Cadets with the closest being the Navy Cadets. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into the cadet family and it took up a great amount of their spare time.
My husband and I quickly realised that if we wanted to be a big part of our kids lives we had better get involved in cadets too, so in time became Reservist Cadet Officers.
Anzac Day is an important part of Cadet life and my family started their Anzac Day every year at 3am in order to be at the local Dawn Service where my two drummed in the catafalque party and the raising of the flags. Next it was a rush to get to the City Centre by 9am to take part, with the rest of the Cadets, in the March through the City. My kids were in the Cadet Band as drummers and sometimes they had to go around the march twice (and one year 3 times!) in order for the marchers to have a beat. After the conclusion of the march we had enough time to get home and grab some lunch before we were out again with the rest of the Cadet Unit to perform at a service at a local Aged Care facility. After the service the cadets were offered a tea with the residents where they could listen to the war stories and remembrances of the residents. Often we would not get home till 8:30 or 9pm And so our family Anzac Day tradition was born.
Both of my children have gone on to serve as Officers in the Australian Navy, my son for 13 years and my daughter some 18 years and counting. Both have served in war zones. One of my daughters serving highlights to date has been to be the lone drummer for the catafalque party at Lone Pine in Gallipoli. A truly moving experience. My son only left the Navy as he had the opportunity to be the ABC's News Breakfast weatherman and will today be proudly wearing his medals as he brings the weather forecast.
My husband and I still attend Anzac Day memorials whenever we can, not only to remember the fallen but also to give thanks that our children have taken up the cause and to date have been kept safe. We feel honoured to have been able to engender the spirit of the Anzacs in our children and feel that they, along with many more of their contempories will ensure that the Anzac tradition will continue for many years to come.

Lest We Forget

Hi Ricci,
So interesting to read of your family's service. My younger brother was in the Army for 30 years, serving in Vietnam for a while but he doesn't talk about that time. My sons used to march in the Local ANZAC parade with their cubs and then scout troop for many years. It is wonderful that the younger generation are learning the history of our brave Diggers. Thank you for sharing your history.
Lest We Forget.

 

[Letthefuntimesbegin]

I would like to thank firstly the Seniors Club for having the upmost respect in honouring all Service Men & Women on this Anzac Day
Anzac Day has always been of great signifigance to me personally as I am from the generation of Baby Boomers. I grew up with children whose Fathers had also served in WW2 & remember very well how close we all were as a community. Families were offered land & house packages in the St. Elmos Estate, Campbelltown NSW with very low repayments to help support returned Soldiers after having being through the horrors of War, get back on their feet & into employment. My heartfelt thanks goes to a Land Developer Neil McLean who made this all possible
My Father was in BCOF - British Commonwealth Occupation Forces Signals Regiment as a Morse Code Operator arriving February 1946 in Japan at 18 years of age and continued with the Signals Regiment until 1948

"Lest We Forget"

 

[JayKay]

 

[JayKay]

 

[Letthefuntimesbegin]

I would like to thank firstly the Seniors Club for having the upmost respect in honouring all Service Men & Women on this Anzac Day
Anzac Day has always been of great signifigance to me personally as I am from the generation of Baby Boomers. I grew up with children whose Fathers had also served in WW2 & remember very well how close we all were as a community. Families were offered land & house packages in the St. Elmos Estate, Campbelltown NSW with very low repayments to help support returned Soldiers after having being through the horrors of War, get back on their feet & into employment. My heartfelt thanks goes to a Land Developer Neil McLean who made this all possible
My Father was in BCOF - British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Signals Regiment Morse Code Operator arrived February 1946 in Japan at 18 years of age and continued with the Signals Regiment until 1948

"Lest We Forget"

 

[Hewy57]

My dads father served in WW1 and was in the battle of Somme in which he was wounded and repatriated back to Australia, My mums father was in WW11 after putting his age back quite a few years, He served in Egypt and the middle east and returned home. My partners father was a member of Z force in WW11 and survived to return home.
As a young 21 year old RN working at Hollywood Repat Hospital in Perth I had the privilege to sit with a Gallipoli veteran to watch the ANZAC day march as he was to ill to attend. Now I am 64 and retired this experience was one of the high lights of my working career.

Lest We Forget.