Former Thai-Burma Railway POW's make 6,000km journey for Anzac Day service

[David48atTD]

The Burma-Thailand Railway in 1943, with prisoners of war laying railway track.


Two former Australian soldiers taken prisoner by the Japanese army in 1942 and sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway have flown out of
WA to commemorate Anzac Day about 6,000km away, at the site of their captivity.

At 101 and 96 years of age respectively, Harold Martin and Neil McPherson never met during the war.
But after surviving the work camps, the former prisoners of war each relocated to WA's south coast decades later.

"We both started work on the railway in the same month, October 1942," Mr McPherson said.

"We both worked on the railway for about two years, but we never ever came in contact with each other.

Here

Also ... just a heads up that tomorrow, Wednesday the 25^th April is ANZAC Day

[david44]

Great that these old survivors are able to commemorate their comrades.
My Dad was in Burma and seldom spoke of it other to his few old comrades.He later met senior politicians of all parties including PMs and that confirmed his low opinion of them.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Anzacs and all the others who bought our freedom some never to return.

Looking forward lets raise a glass to the Aussies and as they enjoy two up a day off and some beers remember their service.

[Chittychangchang]

WHEN the sun rises over the Gold Coast at dawn on Anzac Day, Adam Turner will press the cold rim of his grandfather’s World War II bugle to his lips for a stirring rendition of The Last Post.
The musical relic still gleams, despite its age.
And its tone remains true, unaffected by the dings and dents that hint at the experiences of the man whose name is engraved on the side.
RELATED: Here’s what’s open on Anzac Day
As far as Mr Turner knows, his grandfather, John Bruce McEachran, began carrying the French-made bugle in 1940, when he lied about his age to fight for his country.

A supplied image of World War II veteran John Bruce McEachran playing his war bugle. Picture: AAP/Supplied by Adam TurnerSource:AAP

Bruce, as he was known, wasn’t one to share what he endured in the Middle East, Ceylon, and on the infamous Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea from 1941 to 1945. “He didn’t talk about the war a great deal and certainly not to me,” says Mr Turner, who lost his grandfather when he was still a boy.
“I’ve got third-hand accounts he told my mother when she was younger, but that’s about it.” Of the perils of Kokoda, “unpleasant” was the soldier and bugler’s understated assessment. But one thing Bruce did share on his return from war was his skills as a bugler.

Adam Turner plays the Bugle at sunrise on Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast. Picture: AAP/Dave HuntSource:AAP

Every year, Bruce took pride in digging out his battered instrument and playing The Last Post at Anzac Day services in the northern NSW town of Tumbulgum. He made it a family affair by coercing his grandsons, Mr Turner included, to play a flute-and-clarinet rendition of the national anthem to what was always a modest gathering of about 100 people.
When Bruce died in 1988, his beloved Couesnon bugle was taken up on Anzac Day by his daughter Lyn, who in turn taught her son how to play. And for the past 20 years or so, Mr Turner has continued the tradition, playing The Last Post to the large crowd that gathers once a year at dawn at Elephant Rock on Currumbin Beach.
Mr Turner recalls the bugle lessons his mother gave him. He doesn’t remember his grandfather personally passing on the finer points of how to play, but he served as tutor nonetheless.
“For years I had a cassette of him playing, that I basically mimicked,” he told AAP, during a practice run on the beach on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty bashed up but it still sounds amazing, and that’s got more to do with the bugle than the player.” The legacy of Bruce’s bugle won’t stop with Mr Turner, who plans to teach his own daughters how to play when they’re old enough, and he sees something poetic in that.
“It will be a little bit of things coming full circle. My wife is Japanese, and my kids are half Japanese. I think it’s a little bit of a coming together from those two nations’ point of view.”
No increased threat to NSW Anzac Day: Govt
The van rampage that killed 10 people in the Canadian city of Toronto is a “salient reminder” for NSW authorities as they prepare for thousands of people attending Anzac Day events across the state.
NSW Police and the state government have urged residents not to let the threat of terrorism deter them from attending events on Wednesday.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke insisted there was no specific threat to Anzac events, and a suite of security measures were in place to keep the public safe.
“The incident overnight in Canada is a salient reminder to us of what can occur,” Mr Cooke told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
“I am very confident we have in place a number of strategies to mitigate against that type of activity.” The government will be reviewing its strategies following the Toronto incident, which happened on Monday afternoon (local time), with measures already in place to decrease the risk of any attacks, especially “low-level” ones, NSW Veterans Affairs Minister David Elliott said.
Steel-enforced bollards will be positioned along the Sydney CBD march route and in other “vital asset protection” areas, Mr Elliott said.
This will be complemented by uniformed police, plain-clothes police, CCTV and airport-style bag checks.
Mr Elliott said while no city in the world was “100 per cent safe,” he urged NSW residents to come out and commemorate Australia’s most sacred day. “I know Australians are resilient enough and are confident enough and quite frankly, brave enough to put our face up when there is a risk of harm,” he said alongside Mr Cooke.

A supplied image of Casey station leader Rebecca Jeffcoat leading an Anzac Day service in sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica. Picture: AAP/George Brettingham-Moore/Australian Antarctic DivisionSource:AAP

Australian army veteran and Invictus Games athlete Garry Robinson says the increased security measures don’t detract from the importance of the day. Mr Robinson, who has competed in three Invictus Games - the Paralympic-style sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women - considers Anzac Day as the “most pivotal” day of remembrance.
“Anzac Day for me is the be all and end all for all those people who made a sacrifice,” he said alongside Mr Cooke and Mr Elliott.
This year, RSL NSW will fundraise for the 2018 Invictus Games during Wednesday’s events, with president James Brown announcing in 2017 the charity would stop fundraising for itself following a scandal over its misuse of funds. Founded by Prince Harry, the Games will next be held Down Under in Sydney in October.
With Anzac Day also one of three days a year that two-up games can be played across NSW venues, Racing Minister Paul Toole reminded venues to comply with the traditional rules of the game and to remain respectful.
With more than 50,000 people expected to attend events in Sydney, the government is urging people to use public transport with road closures in place from 2.30am on Wednesday.
Anzac Day two-up revival decades on
All bets are back on as a true blue Anzac tradition is set to be revived at a Victorian turf club after being abandoned 21 years ago.
Punters will try their luck at two-up on Wednesday at Flemington Racecourse, the site of the state’s first legal game on Anzac Day in 1991.
That year hundreds of racegoers packed the course’s Hill Stand to play the coin- flip game for more than four hours, with an estimated $1 million changing hands. The game, which has its origins in the trenches of World War I and is only legal in Victoria at approved venues on Anzac Day, involves two coins being tossed into the air after players bet on whether they will land on two heads, two tails or one of each (”odds”).
It has not been featured at the famous turf club, home of the Melbourne Cup, since 1997.
The Australian past time, strictly for adult attendees, will bolt out of the gates after the first race, with all funds raised being donated to the ANZAC Appeal.

[Hugh Cow]

Great that these old survivors are able to commemorate their comrades.
My Dad was in Burma and seldom spoke of it other to his few old comrades.He later met senior politicians of all parties including PMs and that confirmed his low opinion of them.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Anzacs and all the others who bought our freedom some never to return.

Looking forward lets raise a glass to the Aussies and as they enjoy two up a day off and some beers remember their service.

My father was also in Burma. He told me that the first thing he did when he got home was burn his army uniform the only thing that remains is his service book the buttons from his coat and his medals. He never went to any anzac day parade or any other commemoration ceremony. He said it was a time he did not wish to relive. I in turn do not go to any ceremony in respect to his memory.

[Latindancer]

Crikey....you must be getting on a bit, Hugh. How old are you ?

And were you at the Brisbane Thai temple for Songkran on Sunday ? I mighta seen you....