Revered military family won’t let a pandemic stop them playing two-up
For the first time in Anzac Day history, two-up won’t be a pub game but you can still play at home and pay respect to our heroes. Watch exclusive video for tips from a Vietnam veteran.
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As far as traditions go, it’s hard to beat a game of two-up on Anzac Day.
But today for the first time in Anzac history, Diggers won’t be able to come together and circle around for a spin.
Instead, those like retired navy hero Ray James, will be joining video calls or gathering the family at home to play the game fortified by mateship and camaraderie.
Two weeks after a 15-year-old Mr James (pictured) joined the navy in January 1965, he was down on the docks immersed in his first game of two-up. It would be the first of many during an illustrious career which has garnered eight medals, decorations and commendations.
“I’ve had a total of 46 years in the defence force, 20 in the full-time navy,” the 71-year-old says.
“I served in Vietnam and I had 26 years in the reserves while I was a member of the police force. I remember playing two-up at Garden Island where the navy ships were based. It was illegal but you’d always find a game of two-up somewhere. Every time you sailed overseas and deployed when you were ashore, somebody always had a couple of pennies and a wooden board to play two-up.”
A gambling game, two-up is illegal to play on every day except April 25 each year.
“It was a game that was played, especially with our Diggers overseas during the great wars,” Mr James says.
The gambling element is not the key, he says.
“It’s the old mateship which grew out of the Anzacs in 1915 at Gallipoli, it was “never leave your mate behind”. And that’s what comes around every year on Anzac Day.
“In places where you’re deployed to and you’ve got a bit of a [recreation] time where you’re playing two-up or even crown and anchor, which is another game with dice, everybody’s watching each other’s back and that’s very good.”
The James family’s military history spans four generations. Mr James, who is RSL NSW acting president, says his father Ronald James served in the Army as a rifleman in WWII.
His younger brother John James, who passed away in 2014, also served in the navy and saw service in Vietnam. And his son Paul and son-in-law Grant Whalan have carried on the family tradition of military service.