Lest we forget
The boys heard the story of Ted Larkin, a former student at St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill, an Australian sportsman, sports administrator, policeman, politician, much loved husband and father, who paid the ultimate sacrifice storming the beaches of Gallipoli at the head of his troops at dawn on 25 April. Joeys Old Boys raised money after the war to make a Ted Larkin Bursary for his sons, but his grieving widow declined it. No-one has ever recorded why she did so. Nonetheless, the Bursary was awarded to others over the years.
In hearing such stories, we are reminded that many exceptional men were lost during the Great War who are little known today and should be better remembered. It is a day on which to remember both our own soldiers and those whom they fought as alike they lie beneath the earth.
It is a day on which to remember both our own soldiers and those whom they fought as alike they lie beneath the earth. It is also a moment to reflect on all of the men and women who have served the nation: from the Boer War, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, through to peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor and Solomon Islands. It is also imperative that we do not ignore the needs of returned soldiers, especially those confronting the current scourge of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lest we forget.