Follow & Contact me on:
A.B.PATTERSON
  • Home
  • Author Bio
    • Also: Q & A
    • Also: Author Talks Done
  • Works
    • Also: ALL ABOUT HARRY
    • Also: BOOK AWARDS
    • Also: BOOK REVIEWS
    • Also: FREE STUFF
    • Also: AT LIBRARIES
    • Also: MERCHANDISE
    • Also: ANTHOLOGY PROJECTS
  • MEDIA
    • Also: Archived News
  • Blog
  • READING
    • Also: MY READS
    • Also: Cops Writing Crime
    • Also: Crime Genre
    • Also: Anthology Corner
    • Also: Francophile Corner
    • Also: Dystopia Corner
  • Quotes
  • Contacts
    • Also: Links

ANZAC Day 2023 - Lest We Forget.

25/4/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
On this day, ANZAC Day, when we as Australians and New Zealanders commemorate our veterans, it is so important to remember that their sacrifice, in blood and suffering, is what we owe our freedom to.  For those who returned from the front lines of conflict, the suffering often endured a lifetime for them, as it does for veterans to this day.
The freedom they defended is the vital freedom that so many now take for granted and do not appreciate, but it is the freedom that enables us to live our lives, enjoy our rights, and bathe in freedom of speech and ideas.  The same freedom that many would take from us, both adversaries outside our country and self-interested control-centred people and groups within our country.

My own tribute is to dedicate a blog, as I have done in recent years, to both my grandfathers, who fought for the Australian Army in the World Wars, defending those freedoms.

My paternal grandfather was Gordon Reginald Patterson and he went to the Western Front in 1917.  He turned 18 six days before he enlisted.  Private Patterson then joined the Australian Army  Infantry in the trenches in northern France and Belgium for all the horrors that entailed.  He came back to Australia in 1919.  He died when my father was only 6 years old.  His photo is below, and I can see my father in his face.

My maternal grandfather was George Harwood Smith and he went to the second World War in 1941, as a 39 year old.  He served with the Australian Army Motor Transport in Indonesia.  When the Allied forces in Java surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, Private Smith went into the infamous Japanese POW camp at Changi in Singapore, where he remained a prisoner until the end of the war.  Alas, I don't have any photos of Grandfather Smith in uniform (I am making enquiries to try and rectify this).

I can't begin to even imagine the horrors both my grandfathers endured.  But I can be forever grateful for what we now enjoy, thanks to the sacrifice of them and millions of other Allied service personnel.

Rest in peace, my grandfathers, and thank you for your service and your sacrifice.  I wish I could thank you both in person.  Lest we forget.

Cheers,
​ABP

​​

Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    A.B.Patterson

    Bringing you hard-boiled and noir tales of crime and corruption. And various related opinions!

    Categories

    All
    A.B.Patterson AUTHOR
    Book Reviews
    Colonialism & Literature
    Cops Writing Crime
    Corruption
    Crime Writing & Authors
    Dystopian Writing
    Ethics
    Flowers & Trees
    France
    Liberty & Censorship
    Literature & Authors
    Planet Earth
    Power & Politics & Society
    Quotes

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    December 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    October 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly