Yvonne Mary Hall, 69, co-founded a charity that claimed to sell bricks to establish a memorial at the Pozieres battlefield in France - yet used the money for shopping and gambling.
Five brothers, including Ricky’s grandfather, served in the First World War.
Four of them backed up and served in the Second World War.
More than twenty family members have seen active service - service that’s woven its way from Pozieres, Passchendaele, and Amiens, to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, East Timor and Afghanistan - and with the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force.
Ricky says “every medal tells a story” - whether it s worn over the heart of a veteran, or carried by one of their loved ones.
And that matters so much - especially today.
“Sometimes you feel alone… On days like today, you want to be with your mates”, says Ricky.
We remember them not to glorify war but to see the strength of our people
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April 25, 2021 12.00am
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Today, across this land, we will gather to reflect, remember, give thanks and draw strength.
This time last year, we faced a defining moment as a nation. A moment of danger, when the future was veiled in uncertainty.
We couldn’t gather then, and for many today this will be true again. But we held candles in driveways, and on balconies; and we played the Last Post on our radios and iPhones.
James Edward Ryan, probably taken in Egypt, early 1916. Photograph: courtesy of Beth Sutton
James Edward Ryan, probably taken in Egypt, early 1916. Photograph: courtesy of Beth Sutton
Sat 24 Apr 2021 16.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 24 Apr 2021 16.09 EDT
This Anzac Day our politicians will again be front and centre of commemorations for Australia’s 62,000-plus first world war dead and those who died in all this country’s other conflicts.
That’s the thing about wars. Young (mostly) men get to die in them or endure the physical and mental scars while the (mostly) older men who send them get to commemorate while making old bones.
The Anzac who spoke truth to power and called for an end to the war Paul Daley
This Anzac Day our politicians will again be front and centre of commemorations for Australia’s 62,000-plus first world war dead and those who died in all this country’s other conflicts.
That’s the thing about wars. Young (mostly) men get to die in them or endure the physical and mental scars while the (mostly) older men who send them get to commemorate while making old bones.
You’ll likely hear a lot from our politicians about the necessary human sacrifice and endurance of the young Australian nation, from the hellfire of Gallipoli to the mud and viscera of the European western front, in the face of German tyranny and supposed continental threat.