I came from a large family based in Stanley, North-West Tasmania. As a young boy growing up, I heard many stories about family members who went to war. Most of these stories were humorous and gave very little detail on the death and destruction that is the reality in these types of situations.

On my father’s side, there were four brothers that served overseas and three sisters that served as nurses and support staff that provided help to the return servicemen. On my mother’s side, my grandfather served at Flanders in the First[1] 40th Battalion.  After marrying my wife, June, I have since come to learn about her great uncles from the Wells, Button and Anderson families that served in the Great War.

I have always been proud of the feat and achievements that my uncles were involved in and loved listening to stories that have been told to me about them. With all this history available, I have developed a very keen interest in the stories of the ANZAC’s and have taken the opportunity to visit several battlefield sites and war memorials in Europe.

One of my favourite stories include the story about my grandmother, who had four sons serving overseas, and when she wrote a letter to them, she included a gumleaf, so that when they opened their letters, the smell would remind them of home.

The other memorable story is about the death of my Uncle Jack, who was killed when returning from a night bombing-raid in Italy.  His plane collided with a German Nightfighter and crashed near a small village in France, called Champignon Les Mondeville. The father, in the village, somehow wrote a letter that eventually found its way to my grandmother, to tell her that the villagers had found Uncle Jack’s body with five other airmen, and without the knowledge of the Germans, had buried their bodies in the back of a churchyard. He promised to send more details when the war ended, which he did.

A number of years ago, June and I had the opportunity to go to Europe and we visited a number of war sites that included Gallipoli, Turkey. This was a particularly interesting and moving experience for us. One of the highlights was the friendly way the Turkish people treated Australians, given that the Australian troops were considered by them to be invaders of their country. Today, as I stand next to the beach in my hometown at dawn and look to the top of the Nut, a very strange feeling comes over me. The terrain would have been very similar to the terrain that the ANZAC’s would have encountered on their approach to Anzac Cove, with the Turkish forces firing down on them from the top of the hill.

Another great experience was the trip to Leper in Flanders, Belgium, to view the area my grandfathers served during the First World War. This was extremely interesting, and again, we were overwhelmed by the friendly way the Belgian people treated visitors to the area. The highlight of this visit was to go to the Menin Gate, where 17,009 names of Australian soldiers who had been killed in campaigns are etched into the arch. At 8:00pm every night the Last Post is played and has been played since 1924, in memory of hundreds of thousands of soldiers that were killed in this battle. This was truly a moving experience.

As most people would be aware, this year is the 100th year Anniversary of the RAAF service. This is of a particular interest to our family, with three of my uncles all servicing in the RAAF during the Second World War as airmen:

-        Jack Lovell, who I previously mentioned, enlisted in 1941 and was promoted to a Flight Sergeant rank on a Lancaster bomber. He was awarded the DFM for his actions under fire. Unfortunately, he was killed in November 1942. He was one of 4,100 Australian airmen killed while flying for Bomber Command. Both June and I did get the opportunity to visit the small French village of Champignon Les Mondeville to find my Uncle Jack’s grave and sure enough, in the graveyard at the back of the church were the graves of the six airmen, including Uncle Jack. All were kept very neatly by the War Graves Commission, and for some reason, Uncle Jack’s grave was decorated with some fresh flowers that very day. 

-        Bill Lovell volunteered for the Air Force when the war broke out. He was posted on to Bristol Beaufighter Bomber Squadron and was involved in operations against enemy shipping and was based in Murmansk, Russia. He was awarded the Russian Star for his service to Russia. 

-        Arthur Lovell was trained as a pilot with Holyman’s Airlines prior to the start of the war and was recruited as a contract pilot. He was commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant with the RAAF and flew extensively in the South Pacific, providing supply, transport and evacuation services in and around New Guinea.

With all the stories I have been told and the wonderful opportunities I have had to visit these battlefields and war memorials, a few thoughts have struck me:

The first is the unbelievable sorrow and hardship that the families of servicemen and women went through while their sons and daughters served our country so far away.

The second is the bravery that our young servicemen and women showed while they were in active service as they laid their life on the line for our country, daily. When you see hundreds of white crosses in the large war cemeteries, knowing the ones buried there were aged mainly between 18 and 25 years, it is unbelievable to think that such young people lost their lives in such cruel conditions.

I would thoroughly recommend any member of the public today to take the opportunity to visit some of the overseas Australian war memorials, as you will find it a memorable and fulfilling experience.

I know there are some beautiful ANZAC memorial services held around the world, and I am proud to be present at my own hometown’s Dawn Memorial Service each year. I think everyone in our district can be proud of the Stanley Monument. In looking at our Monument, you will see lots of local and well-known family names. Names such as Blizzard, Smedley, Button, Trethwie, Burley, Poke, Horton, Horne, Scott, Burgess, Holden and Butler – just to name a few. I am sure their stories would amaze us all and I am thankful they served our country. 

It is my hope that the stories of the people who served our country will be passed on by their surviving family members. I believe that every effort must be made by us to ensure that this history is recorded for future generations.  There have been lots of history documented on the larger groups involved in the various theatres of war, but unfortunately, the achievements as individuals have not always been documented in such detail.

I therefore encourage us all to make a concerted effort to collect this important material from our loved ones before it is lost forever.

[1] This refers to the first formation (raise) of the Battalion in 1916 (it was disbanded in 1919 and re-raised in 1921).