Our People in TAS
Graeme Henley - TASMANIANS AT TYNE COT, BELGIUM
Graeme was in Belgium with a group of Diggers to re-inter the remains of five Australian soldiers killed 90 years ago during the Battles of Passchendaele. Their bodies had been found during recent pipeline excavations.
Many local and international visitors were also in attendance. “You would think that this would be “old hat” to the local population,” said Graeme, “But they turn out in their hundreds to be part of history and gave us so much moral and physical support.”
“It was a big day” Graeme said, “You read and are taught about the battles, but it is not until you see the many beautifully kept Commonwealth War Graves sites, scattered so closely around the district and containing so many headstones, that you can comprehend the enormity of the battles”.
During some quiet time, Graeme sought out the headstone of a personal hero, Sergeant Lewis McGee VC, 40th Australian Infantry Battalion, who was killed on 12th October 1917 and is buried in the Commonwealth War Grave at Tyne Cot near Passchendaele.
“I remember the McGee Club at Anglesea Barracks from when I enlisted” said Graeme. “At the time, I did not really understand the significance of naming Soldier’s Clubs after local VC winners, but I have since become familiar with that process and his deeds. It was a bit special to actually stand by his grave.”
Graeme, now an Army Reservist, enlisted in Hobart in 1966 and is now with the Department of Defence Military Public Affairs in Canberra said “It is an honour and privilege to be involved in such a significant event. To see the respect and gratitude the Belgians display for our Diggers is special. I look forward to the 90th Anniversary of the liberation of Villers Bretonneaux on ANZAC Day next year, another significant effort by the 40th Battalion”.
Some 60,000 Australians — all volunteers — were killed in the Great War.