Decades pass. Uniforms are packed away. Names move from service records to honour boards. But for many descendants of those who have served, making sure that the men and women who served are not forgotten is an important mission.
At the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne on Thursday, 19 February, the 84th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin was marked with a formal service led by a group known as the Darwin Defenders.
Wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph. The Ode was recited by Commodore Greg Yorke AM CSC RAN (Retired). The Last Post sounded across the forecourt, followed by the Rouse. A flypast from 100 Squadron at RAAF Base Point Cook crossed the sky above the Shrine.
Students from Avila College, Christ Church Grammar School and Puckapunyal Primary School read the Darwin Defenders’ Memorial Poem and In Flanders Field. The Australian Army Band Melbourne provided the music. The service closed with the national anthem and a composition written about this unique time in our country’s history, Blood on the Frangipani (When the Bombs Rained Down on Darwin).
Behind the ceremony’s detailed organisation is a story that began with the group’s founding member. James Tevlin – known as ‘Spitfire Jim’ – who enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in January 1941.
Years later, he founded the Darwin Defenders (1942–45) to help ensure that the efforts of Defence Force personnel stationed in Darwin would not be overlooked. It’s a legacy that continues to live on – even after his death in 2013.
‘Spitfire Jim’ trained in Tasmania and at Point Cook, qualified on Wirraway and was posted to 452 Squadron in Darwin, flying Spitfires in defence of northern Australia. During one tense period, he was scrambled in pursuit of an unidentified aircraft over the Top End.
‘My father always said Darwin shouldn’t be forgotten,’ Michele Gallin said. ‘He wanted something in place that would still be here when the veterans weren’t.’
Honouring our ‘Nashos’
On 14 February, another important commemoration – the 75th anniversary of National Service – was marked in the Great Hall of Parliament House.
Soldier On CEO Paul Singer described it as ‘deeply moving’.
‘Listening to the Nashos speak about being “called up” and the lives they were asked to put on hold brought it home in a very human way,’ he said. ‘You could hear what that moment meant for them – the uncertainty, the fear, the sense of duty.’
For many, National Service was not something they chose. It was something they were required to answer.
Although Soldier On focuses on the practical realities of now – transition into civilian life, finding meaningful work, rebuilding routine, strengthening family life and protecting mental health – Paul says that ‘honouring their service and sacrifice reinforces why organisations like Soldier On exist today: to ensure that when service ends, our responsibility to care for veterans and their families does not’.
‘It was a powerful reminder that remembrance isn’t just about the past – it’s about how we show up, today, for those who have served.’
