SIX SIBLINGS came together in Lockhart to remember their father, who served during World War II then became a country man after falling in love and became happy with the simple things in life until he died at 96 years old.
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Myra Jankyn, Barbara Doherty, June Smallwood, Rae Smith, Helen West and Tim Wilson were among the hundreds from across the region gathered in Lockhart to pay tribute to servicemen and servicewomen from the town and across the nation.
Mrs Jankyn, a Lockhart resident and the eldest of Private Frederick James Wilson, said her father often said he was lucky to have returned home to Lockhart after being a prisoner in Japan following the fall of Singapore in 1942.
"He didn't want any wealth or anything like that, he just wanted a quiet life," Mrs Jankyn said.
"He liked simple things, including singing.
"I'm not sure if they sang in camps, but I know it was good for him."
Her father found farm work in Lockhart during the 1930s and then he met and fell in love with a local woman before he was enlisted in the 2/19th Australian Infantry Battalion.
"The farmers were so good to him that he stayed and met my mother - it's always love," Mrs Jankyn said.
She also has fond memories of her father reading his poem about mateship at Anzac Day Commemorations for about 10 years before he died in 2007.
"It meant so much for him," she said.
Squadron leader tells stories of sacrifice
During commemorations yesterday, special guest was squadron leader Erin Fryer from RAAF Base Wagga.
Ms Fryer spoke about a number of Lockhart soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the nation's interests.
Among those were Private Ernest George Moffat, son of a local farmer who was enlisted with the first light-horse regiment on August 25, 1914 - only weeks after Britain declared war on Germany.
Volunteering to act as infantry when the fighting was deemed unsuitable for horses, he landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on May 12.
"He died in the Monash Valley three days later," Ms Fyer said.
"The Moffat family would lose another son before the end of WWI.
"With Ernet's brother Gordon enlisting in March 1916 and dying in June that same year."
The squadron leader reminded all those who came to pay their respects to also remember the other names on the memorial.
"While those I have mentioned today were all Lockhart residents who walked the beach of Anzac Cove in 1915, we cannot forget the other 86 names on the memorial," she said.
"We thank them and thank their families for their sacrifice and promise to never forget their legacy."
Speeches before the wreath-laying ceremony included poems read by Lockhart's primary school students and words of remembrance by Lockhart RSL Sub-Branch's president Stephen Goodwin.
"The sub branch thank you, the citizens of this great community for turning out here, every year, to join this service of remembrance day to pay your respects," Mr Goodwin said.
The proceedings finished with lunch at the Lockhart Ex-servicemen's Club.
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