Veterans
Growing up in Sydney with a father who served in the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces (BCOF), Anzac Day was a special day.
We would rise early, catch the bus into the city and wait for my father to march past with his mates.
It was important to him that we understood the significance of Anzac Day so that we could carry on the tradition of remembering those who gave us the freedom we enjoy today.
Continue reading "Anzac Day will die without a new generation of marchers" »
Let’s never forget men like Frank McGovern and Gavin Campbell.
We’re losing them so quickly now, these veterans of World War II. Frank and Gavin are both proud Perth men. Not the city – I write here of the light cruiser, HMAS Perth, sunk by the Japanese at the Battle of Sunda Strait in February 1942.
Frank is having his ninetieth birthday party in Sydney this week. Gavin, 88 will be there with Frank’s family and friends to help Frank celebrate this personal landmark.
Latest 2 of 5 comments
View all comments-
Gavin Campbell says:
I was named after Lt Gavin Campbell and as such my name is Gavin Campbell and was born in 1948. I have known for a long time I was named after a WW11 naval officer and finally I know who he is and I also have a small history about… Read more »
-
John T of Adelaide says:
A good piece, David, though the incorrect photo of HMAS Perth unfortunately supports the view that as ex- Far East Prisoners Of War (FEPOWs) age, become infirm and then die so our appreciation of why and how they fought and, in Frank McGovern and Gavin Campbell’s cases, survived will diminish.… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
ICB: If I could offer you only one tip for the future…
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, an irregular regular column on calumny and codswallop.…
Six prominent Aussies with a case of the dreaded “yips”
The yips. It’s an old golf term which refers to golfers who lose the ability to putt. They stand…
The humourless hysteria of the holier-than-thou
In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and tortured…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Punch on: Open thread 09/02/2012
marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more
Latest 2 of 38 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment