LEGACY LINKS JULY 2013

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1 HOBART LEGACY 1 INC A voluntary organisation dedicated to the care of the dependants of those who served in war and other operational areas (including peacekeeping) and who died on service or subsequently. Legacy also supports the dependants of members of today s ADF who lose their lives as a result of their service. PRINT POST APPROVED PP764326/00016 ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO: THE SECRETARY HOBART LEGACY INC 159 MACQUARIE STREET HOBART TAS 7000 The Spirit of Legacy is Service PHONE: (03) (03) FAX: (03) admin@legacyhobart.com.au WEB: BULLETIN EDITOR - LEGATEE CHAD SUTTON LEGACY LINKS JULY 2013 HOBART LEGACY 90TH BIRTHDAY CHURCH SERVICE At a church service at St John the Baptist Church, Ouse on 23 March, Hobart Legacy celebrated the 90 th Anniversary of the formation of the Remembrance Club (later Legacy) by Major General Sir John Gellibrand. Legacy widows, Legatees, Junior Legatee Children, Friends of Hobart Legacy and local parishioners filled the church to capacity to hear an impressive service conducted by the Rev Ellen Clark. The Chairman of the Hamilton Parish Council, Mr Ron Sonners later kindly donated the offertory collection to Hobart Legacy beneficiaries. Legatees John Gellibrand and Miriam Gellibrand, grandchildren of Major General Sir John Gellibrand, stand in front of the plaque dedicated to their grandfather in St John the Baptist Church, Ouse. OUR PRAYER Let us be genuine with one another And see in each the best that we can find. So many lives depend on us for brightness, Lord, keep us brave and help us to be kind.

2 2 THANKS TO THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE COSTS OF PRODUCTION OF THIS BULLETIN. BADGE WEEK 2013 As previously reported, it was very pleasing to find that a new record was realised from fund-raising during last year s Badge Week. A big thank you again to all of you who participated and to your families and friends who also helped. Badge Week this year is from Sunday 1 September until Saturday 7 September. The main operating days for Hobart Legacy will be from Wednesday 4th until Saturday 7th of September. Again this year, Legacy needs your support and that of your family and friends. The need for funds to support the families of servicemen and women who have become casualties in the service of our wonderful country has not diminished. Anyone who is able to assist during Badge Week in September is asked to please contact Legacy House by telephone or admin@legacyhobart.com.au Thank you. L/Rob Grey Chairman Badge Week

3 News from Sorell Legacy Widows Club (Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month, 11am at Sorell RSL) Hello everyone. Here we are half way through the year already, I cannot believe how quickly time flies!

3 3 News from Sorell Legacy Widows Club (Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month, 11am at Sorell RSL) Hello everyone. Here we are half way through the year already, I cannot believe how quickly time flies! We have been busy here in Sorell with several counter meals and outings organised by our Travel Officer, Lola Phillips. We have two ladies on the sick list at the moment. We wish them, and all other Legacy ladies who are unwell at the moment a speedy recovery. Winter will soon pass and it will be time to catch up at our Christmas function. In the meantime though ladies, keep warm. Gwen Chamberlain President Here is Something for the Grandchildren Perhaps?

4 4 President s Report - L/Stephen D Miller As my two year tenure as President of Hobart Legacy draws to a close. I must say it has been both an honour and a privilege to serve in the position. We are fortunate to enjoy the support and patronage of His Excellency, the Governor of Tasmania, The Honourable Peter Underwood, and Mrs Underwood: for this we are most appreciative. Today, as always, our most important service remains our ongoing assistance to the families of incapacitated and deceased veterans. During my travels around our Legacy widows clubs assisting to clarify and help with mutual issues I have always been received with a very warm, friendly welcome. My welcome seems as much family as President. Legacy also proudly continues to support our young beneficiaries with education, training, attendance at camps and participation in the Young Endeavour Scheme. ANZAC Day remains a well supported event for Legatees representing Hobart Legacy at rural and suburban regions. This is conducted often in poor weather conditions, but our representation and/or ANZAC Day address is welcomed. I wish to thank our Board of Management for their dedication to Hobart Legacy Incorporated and wise counsel to me. Also the Chairs of Committees. Without such input the Club would find it more difficult to operate efficiently. Our fundraising is made possible and successful by our Legatees, Friends of Hobart Legacy, Widows Clubs, the Australian Defence Force, the RSL, some schools and many other volunteers from the community. The day-to-day administration of our Hobart Office is ably carried out by Kaye and Renée. They have lightened my work load, and I thank them for their dedicated, professional service and support. To all our Legatees, I cannot thank you enough for your dedicated service to our beneficiaries. Also, for the support and friendship shown to me, particularly when I have been unwell. I am pleased and proud on behalf of all Legatees to say that Hobart Legacy is Keeping the Promise. Hobart Legacy has two electric wheelchairs available for free, long term loan. One is for interior use and the other for exterior use. Telephone the office on for more information.

5 5 90th Anniversary - Legacy The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Hobart will soon include a display (including audio visual displays) of Legacy memorabilia. Tentative dates for the display are 1 September to 15 November, Subject to final confirmation, an official opening of the display should occur on Tuesday, 2 September If you have in your possession any Legacy memorabilia which you feel might add to the value of the display (and for further information and confirmation of dates) please telephone the Hobart Legacy office on

6 6 H! B M A G Percy Dransfield probably epitomised everything that Charles Bean, the noted military historian wrote about our Anzac diggers. What Percy lacked in the way of book learning, he more than made up for in the ways of the bush and through hard work. Percy enlisted too late to see ac on at Gallipoli but not too late to be part of the newly formed 40 th Ba alion. While Private Dransfield survived his ini al experiences in the front line he was wounded in ac on at Ploegsteert Wood. Several months later he was wounded for the second me. In September 1918 as the ba alion a acked the Hindenburg Line Private Percy Dransfield assisted by others helped to drive the enemy out of Willow Trench. For his ac ons Percy was awarded the Military Medal. Hedley Allen came from the East Coast and was aged 22 years when he enlisted. He was assigned to the Field Ar llery Brigade as a driver and served ini ally in Egypt and later in France. In 1918, Hedley Allen s ini a ve and courage while in the firing line in 1918 was rewarded with the Belgian Croix de Guerre. A er the war Hedley returned to farming, married, and was the father of two children David and Judith. At 21 years of age John Behan worked as a packer. He had served 4 years with the senior cadets and 5 months with the district guard, leaving there to join the AIF. Jack embarked on the Port Darwin on 30 April, 1918 by which me the de of war was just star ng to turn in the favour of the Allies. He served as a gunner with the 4 th Divisional Ammuni on Column and in October 1918 was taken on strength with the 10 th Field Ar llery Headstone for Jack Behan which was unveiled by his great nephew Steve Dobson in the presence of other family members in October 2012 Brigade. Jack Behan was not from Tasmania, but in the years that he spent in this state he endeavoured to put something back into the community. As manager of the Strand Theatre in Hobart he became well known for his efforts in raising funds for the Australian Comforts Fund and other organisa ons during World War 11. While Jack sort to bring colour to the lives of many in Tasmania, sadly in his later year his war service caught up with him and he suffered from Post trauma c Stress Syndrome which required hospitalisa on at the Royal Derwent Hospital where he died in August While these three men did not know each other, enlis ng in different states and serving in different ba alions or units, they would eventually have one thing in common that they would lie in unmarked graves for many years un l earlier this year when headstones were finally erected over their res ng places. Having risked life and limb in the service of their country and acted in the line of fire with courage and dis nc on, each was buried and later forgo en by society if not by their families. To many this may seem a shameful situa on par cularly with the Centenary of Anzac around the corner and one that should not be allowed to con nue. For each of the three families men oned in this story the situa on was different and it was probably not from choice but from necessity that each man lay in an unmarked grave. Jack Behan had no immediate family, his niece passing away shortly a er he died. Hedley Allen lost everything in the 1967 Bushfires and later moved to Remembrance House where he died in Percy Dransfield s family were not in a financial posi on to afford a headstone, intending to do it at a later date when things changed. To have applied for a Commonwealth War Grave seemed out of the ques on.

7 Sco Bacon M.P unveiled the headstone for Hedley Allen on 31 July A small group of Tasmanian members of Families and Friends of the First AIF have come together and established the First World War Graves Project in the hope of giving these men recogni on for their service to Australia. Each year on various occasions such as Anzac and Remembrance Day thousands of Australians commit themselves to never forge ng what our Anzacs did, but it seems that there are many who died post war and who are forgo en, whose service goes unrecognised. At least 132 men have been iden fied so far and these include Richard John Hart who died on 22 January 1921 aged 41. These men are all buried at Cornelian Bay. Just how many there are around the state is yet to be determined, but it must be well over 300 if not more. The basic aims of the project are to iden fy any First World War soldiers who currently lie in unmarked graves in Tasmania and to place a simple headstone and plaque on the grave. Each plaque includes the Rising Sun and men ons their service number, rank and unit along with relevant personal informa on. While ac vi es are currently centred at Cornelian Bay Cemetery, this may change in the near future with further research. The group has been given considerable support by Millingtons who have helped with providing maps, permits, marking out the graves, liaising with the foundry as well as forgoing some of their usual fees. We have been given some financial assistance by the Greater Hobart RSL and the Hobart City Council. Several families have also generously contributed towards the cost of the headstone. Expenditure has been kept to the bare minimum but each headstone (inclusive plaque) costs around $500. We do need public assistance if this project is to con nue. All contribu ons are gratefully received. As 2015 looms large on the horizon it seems now more than ever a rather poor way to say thank you to our old soldiers than for them to end up in an unmarked grave without any recogni on of the valuable service that they gave to their country. The words Lest We Forget seem to ring a bit hollow. If you know of a First World War ex serviceman who currently has an unmarked grave or would like to make a financial contribu on to this project please contact Mrs Andrea Gerrard on or agerrard@utas.edu.au 2013/2014 ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!! Hobart Legacy have copies of the Tasmanian Entertainment Book for sale. Valid for twelve months from June, the book features the best restaurants, attractions, cinemas, sports, hotel accommodation and much more offering discounts and special offers. The cost is $60.00 with $12 of this sum being donated back to Hobart Legacy. BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE NOW. Contact Renee in Legacy office for more information and to secure your book! Life is what happens to you while you re busy making other plans. - John Lennon

8 8 NANCY WAKE A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER BY CHRISTOPHER SPIEGEL In 1990 I was posted to the University of New South Wales Regiment as an instructor. The Regiment took its responsibilities as an Officer Training Establishment very seriously and, understanding the fact that it was trying to prepare its graduates for service in the 21 st Century, encouraged imaginative and innovative approaches to teaching and learning, both in the students and the staff. Part of the training process included the requirement that students research and deliver a presentation on some aspect of Australian military history, famous battles, campaigns and people. One enterprising pair were allocated the subject The White Mouse. I say enterprising because, after they discovered that she was still alive and living in Port Macquarie, they arranged to interview her. As the result of that meeting Nancy offered to visit the Regiment to help with the presentation. The students presentation to introduce Nancy went without a hitch. Nancy then came up on stage to answer questions from the audience. She was so full of vitality and had such a wicked sense of humour that she soon had the whole hall laughing. She spoke of her training, We had one of the King s Gamekeepers come down from Balmoral to teach us how to catch game. He taught us how to build snares all the while saying I hope the King doesn t hear of this., The authorities took an experienced safe cracker out of Dartmoor to teach them how to break and enter. She spoke of how she and another student were convinced they had misbehaved so badly during the course they would not be passed, so they broke into the Senior Instructor s office and broke open the safe to read their course reports. When they learned they had passed, they put the reports back, closed the safe and left the office with no one any the wiser! Then she grinned and said, But I don t do that sort of thing any more! She spoke of the serious side too, her marathon bike ride to collect new codes, the time she killed a German spy, There was no doubt she was a spy, the men were just too soft to do it. I did what I was trained to do., killing a German sentry, she demonstrated her karate chop, I went whack and broke his neck! But I don t do that sort of thing any more! While she was telling these stories you got a glimpse of the courage and personal qualities which carried this amazing woman through some very dangerous times. When asked why she had become active in the Resistance, she said, I didn t like the way the Germans were treating the Jews. In the 1930s she had worked as a newspaper correspondent and had had a chance to see what the Nazis did when they moved into Vienna. Later in the Officers Mess she demonstrated that, while she was in her seventies, she was still the party girl. She loved her gin, she flirted outrageously and, all in all, was the life and soul of the party. At that time my job took me to Port Macquarie on occasions and I used those opportunities to visit her. If I warned her of my visit I would be invited for lunch and even at that age she took her cordon-bleu cookery seriously. Nancy maintained an interest and on-going commitment to supporting youth in the Armed Services, she visited our Regiment a number of times before she moved back to the UK where she died in 2011 shortly before her 99 th birthday.

9 9 News from Clarence Legacy Widows Club (Meets 2nd Tuesday of the month, 10.30am at Rosny Library) After a fantastic summer and autumn which we all enjoyed, let s also enjoy our Tassie winter. We have had two very interesting trips the first travelling the old Huon Highway to Grove, then the back of Huonville through Lollara, Ranalagh and Glen Huon, arriving at Huonville for lunch. The second trip was over the bridge and up the hills behind Claremont where we found Collinsvale and Molesworth schools. It was interesting to see the countryside on the western side of the river. Three members of the Clarence Legacy Widows Club attended the Anzac Day service at Anzac Park in Lindisfarne where a wreath was laid on behalf of Clarence Legacy. Our annual meeting was held in April: New President : Dot Rose Vice President: Fay Bevis Our Travel Officer, Joy Watchorn has been hospitalised for a month and we wish her a speedy recovery and to soon be back in our company. We have welcomed another three members, but sadly lost Clarice Hills. Thank you Peter, our Legatee mentor, for your presence and words of wisdom. Special thanks to my committee who has guided me through the first months as President. Dot Rose - President News from Huon Legacy Widows Club (Meets 4th Wednesday of the month, 11am at Huonville Ex Service Club) It has been a quiet few months at the Huonville Widows Club with no news to report. We do, however, send all Legacy ladies our warm wishes, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Hellenic Hall Christmas luncheon in November. Stay warm! LEGACY HOUSE 159 Macquarie Street, Hobart, 7000 Phone admin@legacyhobart.com.au Staff - Kaye & Renee The office is open Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm DEADLINE for Legacy Widows Clubs for the next bulletin is 1 OCTOBER 2013 Could the President, Secretary or an office bearer have their report in by this date please? Legacy Widows Christmas Luncheon Yes it is that time already!! This year the Hobart Legacy Widows Christmas Luncheon will be held at the Hellenic Hall in North Hobart on Sunday 24th November. The luncheon will commence at 12 noon. Buses will transport you to the hall and the meal will consist of two courses, with tea or coffee. Bar facilities will be available and entertainment will be provided. Further details including bus times will be in the October Bulletin but please make a note in your diary now, so you keep the date free.

News from the Northern Suburbs Legacy Widows Club (Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month, 1pm at Glenorchy RSL) 10 Well ladies the time is slipping by so quickly.

10 News from the Northern Suburbs Legacy Widows Club (Meets 2nd Wednesday of the month, 1pm at Glenorchy RSL) 10 Well ladies the time is slipping by so quickly. We have enjoyed another happy and successful year. I am pleased to report that even though we do have a large membership, it gives me pleasure to say, that we are expecting two new members to our next meeting. The members so enjoy pleasant and happy trips which our Travel Officer Norma plans well. The last trip was to Great Lake. What a lovely day! I did expect to see some snow, but no such luck. The highlight of my year was a journey to Ouse in remembrance of Sir John Gellibrand. Once again ANZAC Day was very chilly but with the company of Christine, we laid a wreath and then went on to the RSL for lunch with twelve of our members. It is with sadness that I have to report that several of our members have passed away. As this is my last report as President there are many people that I must thank. Thank you to Norma who wears two hats at present. Firstly she took over as Secretary and now also as Travel Officer. Christine, who watches our pennies and makes sure that its all together, thank you. John and Julie, our Mentors, we do look forward to their visits. They always have some news to report. To the staff and members at Legacy House, we thank you too for all the help and assistance given to us. To sister Clubs, my best wishes to you all. Esma Coombe - President Thanks to Turnbull Family Funerals who have contributed to the costs of production of this bulletin.

11 11 THANKS TO THE SUNCORP BANK WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE COSTS OF PRODUCTION OF THIS BULLETIN. Recipes BAILEY S IRISH CREAM Break 2 eggs into a mixer and whilst beating add a tin of Condensed Milk. Continue mixing and add 1 Cup of Whiskey, 300ml Cream, 1 Tablespoon of Chocolate Topping and 3 drops of Coconut Essence. Blend well and transfer into bottles. Store in the fridge and enjoy! With our thanks to Mrs Fran Thirgood. Chocolate Balls Makes g pkt Milk Arrowroot biscuits, crushed 4 tablespoons cocoa powder 400g / 14 oz. can condensed milk ½ cup desiccated coconut Mix crushed biscuit, cocoa and condensed milk together to make a sticky consistency. Using a generous teaspoon of mixture, roll into balls and cover in coconut. Chill before serving. These can also be frozen.

AUSTRALIA If your address on this wrapper is incorrect, fill in the panel below and return

12 If undelivered please return to: 12 HOBART LEGACY INC 159 MACQUARIE STREET HOBART TAS 7000 HOBART LEGACY WIDOWS BULLETIN Print Post Approved SURFACE MAIL POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA If your address on this wrapper is incorrect, fill in the panel below and return the completed wrapper to Hobart Legacy CHANGE OF ADDRESS DETAILS Name Address Telephone (Home)

Sutton Veny War Graves. World War 1

Sutton Veny War Graves. World War 1 Sutton Veny War Graves World War 1 Lest We Forget 31524 DRIVER P. DEGIDAN AUSTRALIAN FIELD ARTILLERY 13TH JANUARY, 1918 Commonwealth War Graves Headstone for Driver P. Degidan is located in Grave Plot