Armistice Day 2007.

(Following the highlighted links will lead you on a journey of discovery. Learn about the history associated with this article.)

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard honours fallen Diggers.

November 11, 2007.

PRIME Minister John Howard has paid tribute to Australia's war dead in the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.

Mr Howard told the crowd of military officials, diplomats and members of the public that the recent deaths in Afghanistan of Trooper David Pearce and Sergeant Matthew Locke were a sad reminder of the ageless nature of sacrifice.

"That both of these deaths should have occurred at the time of an election campaign that celebrates, in a sense, the great democracy not only here but around the world, that they and others who've fallen in battle have died for," he said.

"(Their deaths have) reminded us in a real way of the nature of sacrifice in war."

Earlier, Mr Howard's official car took a wrong turn as he and his wife Janette arrived for the ceremony.

As the crowd watched, Mr Howard's car turned right where it should have turned left and had to make a second circuit of the roundabout below the war memorial.

(http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/)

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.

Lest we forget.

On 11 November 1918 at 11 am the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. This year marks the 89th anniversary of the armistice, when Australians remember those who fought and died for our country in war and armed conflicts.

My father, two brothers, husband, brother-in-law, son, one niece, four nephews and many uncles, all served in the Australian Defence Forces. Most of them saw more than their fair share of war service. They all suffered emotionally - so have their partners, children and grandchildren!

Some years ago my late husband wrote about his experiences. The site hosting his book closed in recent years. However, the Lae Game Fishing Club in Papua New Guinea posted the introduction to his book on their site. You can access it through this link.

My husband lies at rest in Cooktown Cemetery. He has an Australian War Grave.

Prior to my husband's retirement from the Australian Defence Forces in 1976, we spent 109 months out of a total of 188 separated because of service requirements, including war service. Our son David is custodian of his father's writings. David, an archaeologist and a returned serviceman, will be putting his father's book on the 'net in its entirety again in the near future. Some of the photographs require editing and others had not appeared as they were intended. These amendments are being worked on.

In memory of our fallen servicemen, we salute you. May you rest in peace. Lest we forget.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.

A.N.Z.A.C. Day 2007. Lest we forget.

On This Day April 25
1901: Naval contingent returned to Sydney from China and the Boxer Rebellion
1915: Australian, New Zealand and British troops landed at Gallipoli, the ANZAC Legend is born
1916: First widely observed commemoration of ANZAC Day in Australia, Egypt and London
1918: Lieutenant C.W.K. Sadlier, VC at Villers-Brenneux, France
1942: Japanese bomb Darwin, a further raid in the series of 64 bombing raids on the city

Australians say thanks to Anzacs
Wednesday Apr 25 17:11 AEST

Thousands of Australians gathered in the pre-dawn gloom at Gallipoli to mark 92 years since the ill-fated landing of troops at Anzac Cove.

With beers and two-up in Iraq, and cheers and tears at home, Australians have marked the 92nd Anzac Day with solemnity and gratitude.

From Brisbane to Baghdad and beyond, Australians honoured the Anzac spirit of sacrifice forged in Turkey in 1915, and saluted the 100,000 war dead they have suffered since.

But the day was not without controversy, from isolated incidents of vandalism to rows over a Queensland rock concert and continuing dissent over the presence of Australian troops in the Middle East.

At Adelaide's dawn service, Anzac Day committee chairman Bill Denny said the original Anzacs would be saddened by the "indiscriminate slaughter" of the four-year war in Iraq.

"They would scrutinise our deployments in the Middle East and would be happy that our casualty rates are low but saddened at the indiscriminate slaughter in which we've become mired," Mr Denny said.

"In nine short weeks, the war in Iraq would have been waged longer than World War I with questionable progress and no end in sight."

The original Anzacs would be "immensely proud" of their modern-day successors, Mr Denny said.

But young Australians, many barely out of their teens, were bearing the brunt of what "most certainly will be a long, challenging and unpredictable war".

An opposing view came from Vietnam veteran Bruce Mansfield in Melbourne, who said: "All these people that say bring the troops home from Iraq, bring them back from Timor, et cetera, excuse me, that's your opinion.

"Somebody had to go to do the dirty work, that's what you have a defence force for."

Police arrested five teenage girls after anti-war graffiti labelling Anzacs as "murderers" was discovered on a war memorial at Bathurst in central western NSW.

Vandals also struck in New Zealand, smashing crosses arranged for a dawn service in the North Island town of Patea, while police arrested a woman who burned a flag at a ceremony in the capital Wellington.

With some NSW pubs and clubs banning the traditional wartime game of two-up because of violence and drunkenness in previous years, questions were also raised over how Anzac Day should be celebrated.

Two years after a planned John Farnham concert at Gallipoli was vetoed for being at odds with the gravity of the occasion, a Gold Coast concert by rock band Powderfinger received unexpected blessing from former defence force chief Peter Cosgrove.

"What would the Diggers lying in their graves think?" he asked.

"I always think that they would be quite happy if, after the observances and after the reverence shown through dawn services and marches and the like, I'm sure they don't want Australians to go indoors and stare at the curtains.

"I think they want Australians to enjoy some of the freedoms that their sacrifice has ensured."

With a federal election due later this year, political observers saw some significance in the fact that Prime Minister John Howard attended a dawn service in the Brisbane electorate of Labor leader Kevin Rudd.

Mr Howard, who said Anzac Day would retain its "hallowed" position well into the future, later attended a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, along with Mr Rudd.

Governor-General Michael Jeffery told the crowd at the War Memorial that Australians should work to regain the values of personal responsibility and close communities that the Anzacs sacrificed their lives to preserve.

When true democratic freedom was threatened, he said, it was "worth fighting for, and if necessary, dying".

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson had a similar message for thousands of young Australians, many dressed in green and gold beanies and shirts, who attended a moving dawn service at Gallipoli in Turkey.

The original Anzacs forged values that "make us who we are, reminding us that there are some truths by which we live and that are worth defending", he said.

He described Australia as a nation whose values were "etched less in granite and marble than they are in our flag, a slouch hat, the army rising sun and a smile that says 'G'day mate, can I give you a hand?'".

New Zealand Defence Minister Winston Peters said the best way to honour the original Anzacs was for nations to resolve their differences without resorting to war.

Australian troops in Iraq were given a brief respite from war with games of two-up and "a couple of beers", according to their commander, Brigadier Michael Crane.

Those in Afghanistan were also allowed a two-beer ration and had their meals served up by officers.

In London, Australian High Commissioner Richard Alston applauded the renewed interest in the Anzac tradition at a time when the last of the Gallipoli veterans had passed.

In Papua New Guinea, veterans including the "Fuzzy Wuzzy angels" who supported Australian soldiers on the Kokoda Track in World War II were unhappy that the PNG government had failed to give them pensions.

At Sandakan in northern Borneo, scene of the infamous World War II "death marches", Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter remembered his great uncle, who was among the 2,400 allied dead.

Anzac Day was observed at Bendigo in country Victoria by 108-year-old John Campbell Ross, a wireless operator who never saw active service but nevertheless enlisted in 1918 and remains Australia's only surviving World War I veteran.

At countless marches and parades around Australia, the mood was summed up by Sydney businessman Dick Smith, who held up a sign that said simply: "Thanks."

©AAP 2007
9 NEWSWATCH

Feel as though you have slogged away all day without doing anything?

I can let you into a little secret as long as we get to SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

The frequent physical movements associated with dystonia can be equivalent to the effects of working out for 18 hours a day. It is even greater for people whose dystonic movements continue during sleep. For these people, the affect experienced is equal to working out for 24 hours per day.

Dystonic movements of muscular spasms and tremor may result in significant levels of fatigue and diminished stamina thus making life more difficult to get through the day. However, we need to remember there is a risk of confusing fatigue with feelings of lethargy or a lack of motivation resulting from depression or some other medical condition.

Learn more about dystonia in all its forms. These links will take you to Dystonia Australia and the Australian Spasmodic Torticollis Association. Navigate your way around these sites and you will find links to other Dystonia sites in countries around the world.

As you learn more about this neurological disease, please consider how you may assist through donation to the appropriate Dystonia organization in your country of origin. Dystonia scientists require on-going funds to help them advance research leading to finding a cure for dystonia. Until a cure is found, the only hope for sufferers of dystonia in its various forms is to receive treatment of their symptoms.

I would like to let you know, I am traveling North to the beautiful little town of Cooktown tomorrow. My son and I are visiting my husband’s grave, an Australian War Grave, and also catching up with family and friends in that area. We return to Cairns mid week and will be back blogging then. Meanwhile stay safe, stay well and stay involved with learning more about Dystonia.

Sue Bayliss, Cairns, Australia.

Kookaburra. Oh, how proud I am of you.

Following on from my previous two articles,“Listen well, my friend. Collectively, we are a voice to be heard.” and “The story of a great Australian woman.”, I would like to share with you a lovely story symbolizing the individual strength and also the collective strength of a minority group of remarkable Australian women. Our Australian war widows. This charming story is especially significant as we approach our National Day of Celebration, Australia Day - 26th January 2007.

WAR WIDOWS GUILD OF AUSTRALIA

GUILD BADGE

The Badge was chosen by our first National President and founder of the Guild, Mrs Jessie Vasey, OBE, CBE.

The badge issued by the Government to widows during or just after the war was so depressing, as it had a little old bent over woman bedecked in widows’ weeds and looking so sad.

Mrs Vasey said we must have a badge typically and completely Australian. It must have no element of self-pity or sloppy sentiment and it should be one that could be worn proudly by every widow whatever her creed or ideals.

After numerous suggestions for a design from all over Australia, it was finally decided that the badge would feature the Kookaburra, an industrious and cheerful bird who mated for life, was fearless and aggressive in the defence of its young and the area of territory it regarded as its own. “He goes out after what he wants – fights for his family. Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Mrs Vasey asked her girls.

Mrs Vasey approached Mr Andor Meszaros, a distinguished Hungarian sculptor who was born in Budapest in 1900 and educated in Budapest and Vienna and was at that time living in Melbourne.

She asked him to design a badge featuring a Kookaburra and he suggested the present one, which was accepted by all the States. It depicts a Kookaburra alighting in flight onto a branch of gum leaves. It is a brave bird and will tackle anything as young widows had to do. The bird also had a unique call, not a song but a laugh; a chortle of rollicking mirth. It was a call to win the widow back to laughter.

(An extact from an information folder given to members of the Australian War Widows’ Guild when joining.)

This brings to a close my blogs about Australian war widows. Personally, I am strengthened and encouraged by the companionship and feelings of solidarity with my fellow members of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia and the example of those who have gone before us. As a person living with spasmodic dysphonia and cervical dystonia, I feel greatly encouraged by the examples set by war widows. They have taken their incredible loss and turned it into a strength reflecting great determination, worth and courage.

Like war widows - we need not be hampered by our experiences, living with dystonia in all its forms, but can be transformed into holistic beings reflecting great values of spirit and strength.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia.

The story of a great Australian woman.

This article follows my previous article, “Listen well, my friend. Collectively, we are a voice to be heard.” The following story is an extract from an information folder given to members of the Australian War Widows’ Guild when joining.

JESSIE MARY VASEY, OBE, CBE – 1897-1966.

“Yet it is no mean destiny to be called upon to go on for a man who laid down his life, as Christ did, to save mankind from the power of the Beast”.

These are the words spoken by the founder of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia, Jessie Mary Vasey, after the death of her husband Major General George Vasey in early 1945. With her natural ability as a leader, her charm and intellect, she gathered around her a group of talented, able and determined women to start a craft guild which taught weaving and other handicrafts to members so that they could augment their pitifully inadequate pensions. So was the beginning of a powerful lobby group which is consulted by Governments on all matters concerning war widows today.

War Widows of World War 1 and World War 2 needed not only financial help, their pensions were meager, but they were in many ways a forgotten group. Everyone wanted to forget the war. The Guild provided companionship, counseling, child-minding and above all an environment of mutual support where members could relax and feel secure.

As Guilds were established in all States the organization became more powerful and men in Government and Welfare reluctantly recognized its political importance. Mrs Vasey worried about accommodation available to members, especially the older women, and by 1954 the Guild was in a position to take advantage of the Aged Persons Home Act and go on to control an empire of property. Each State made its own arrangements to cater for members’ needs, reacting in different ways but making housing their priority.

Today there are over 120,000 war widows. It is Jessie Mary Vasey, and the women she inspired to work with her, whom they must thank for the security they now enjoy.



I hope you have enjoyed this inspiring story about an Australian woman whose strong spirit of determination, followed by her actions led to assistance, companionship and security, for thousands of Australian women whose husbands paid the ultimate price for the good of their country. You will find lots of information about Australia on www.australiaday.gov.au as we approach our National Day of Celebration, Australia Day on 26th January, 2007.

To be eligible for membership of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia, a widow must be designated “War Widow” by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, (which means that her husband’s death has been accepted as due to war causes), re-married War Widows or a Defence Service Widow in receipt of a compensation from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Listen well, my friend. Collectively, we are a voice to be heard.

Those of us living with various forms of dystonia including spasmodic dysphonia well know how other peoples’ impatience, though not intended to offend, can socially isolate us. Many of us experience feelings of rejection when our speech is misunderstood and also feelings of fear about speaking to those whom we do not know. We can learn much from a group of women who have overcome incredible adversity in its many forms. I refer to war widows’.

Yesterday, after writing my blog about Australia Day on January 26th, I thought about how proud I am of our Australian Service men and women, and of the great sacrifices they and their families have made. In turn, that got me thinking about how privileged I am to be a member of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia. The snowballing continued. I thought about how much Australian war widows’ have achieved through collectively advocating for their needs. By working together, any group of people with specific needs can achieve good things! I would like to tell you a little bit about the aims of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia (Queensland) Inc., and about the formation of the Guild.

AIMS OF THE GUILD

The aims of the Guild are to watch over and protect the interests of war widows such as lobbying our politicians for the ultimate benefit of the war widow. Also to provide friendship and comfort in times of need to those in similar circumstances, particularly in their time of loss of a partner. Together, as a body, we feel we can make a difference. Our motto is as relevant today as it was at the Guild’s formation 62 years ago -

“We all belong to each other
We all need each other
It is in serving each other
And in sacrificing for our common good
That we are finding our true life.”

(Extract from an Empire Day Message from His Majesty the late King George the Sixth)

From World War 1 until the Guild’s formation in 1945, there had been no appreciable rise in pensions and war widows were amongst the under-privileged members of the community. Realising that it was only by statutory means that they could regain their rightful status, the Guild continued to lobby the Commonwealth Government until the War Widows compensation was increased on a regular basis. It is now linked to 25% of the Male Total Average Weekly Earnings Index. Similarly with the need for hospitalization – war widows now receive this care through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (who have contracts for the care of veterans and war widows in hospitals throughout Queensland). These and other benefits, such as free optical and dental treatment, have given the war widow an independence previously lacking and the Guild continues to press for her rightful dues.

FORMATION OF THE GUILD

The War Widows’ Guild of Australia was formed in 1945 in Victoria by the late Mrs Jessie Vasey OBE, CBE, widow of Major-General George Vasey, a well known Australian Soldier. In 1947 a branch of the Guild was formed in Queensland, other States having been established in 1946. Later the State Guilds were federated and Mrs Vasey became the Federal President. Queensland has approximately 8,000 members.

(AIMS OF THE GUILD and FORMATION OF THE GUILD are extracts from an information folder provided to members when joining the Guild)

The War Widows' Guild continues to very successfully lobby the Australian Federal Government and also State Governments on behalf of war widows needs. It is my hope that you have gained a sense of the solidarity experienced by this group of strong women who have a history of challenging Governments for improved services and assistance needed for all Australian war widows. Their brave example offers inspiration to people belonging to other minority groups within society. I will post two further blogs about war widows. Firstly, about a great Australian woman, Jessie Mary Vasey, OBE, CBE 1897-1966, founder of the War Widows' Guild of Australia. Secondly, about the War Widows' Guild of Australia's Guild Badge. Both somewhat inspiring stories.