Anzac Day reminder of time as World War II veterans continue to dwindle

Just one World War II veteran led Brisbane’s Anzac Day march as the spirit of the greatest generation lives on. The contrast between the big crowds and the fading away of the WWII generation was striking.

Cynthia Clifford and her family in Brisbane. Picture: Mackenzie Scott

And then there was one.

In Brisbane, 100-year-old Cynthia Clifford was the last woman standing from the World War II veterans – the only member of that fabled generation to join the Anzac Day parade in bittersweet recognition of the unstoppable march of time. “It’s amazing,” the gracious lady said. “I didn’t think I would be here.”

In Bunbury, Western Australia, the commemorations went ahead for the first time in the absence of a living link to the 1.4 million Australians who served in the bloody global wars that shaped the nation’s destiny.

In Melbourne, where the march route was lined eight deep in places by wellwishers, just two WWII veterans waved back from the vintage cars; 20 assembled in Sydney.

The contrast between the big crowds that turned out for Anzac Day 2024 and the fading away of the WWII generation was striking, as those hardy few near and confirmed centenarians who made it to the marches were accorded a hero’s welcome.

Mrs Clifford, 101 in October, was all too aware that she represented the many thousands of WWII veterans who used to take part in Brisbane. She has not missed a march since 1945.

“I’m very lucky, really,” she said after completing the route through the CBD in a wheelchair pushed by her 41-year-old grandson, Brandt. “I marched in this Anzac parade every year after the war, when I could walk.” Five of her six children and many of the brood of grandchildren were present to cheer her on.

Mrs Clifford remains fiercely proud of her war service as an anti-aircraft gunner stationed in Fremantle, WA, after she joined the Australian Women’s Army Service in 1943, aged 20.

Australian Air Force cadets prepare to march on Anzac Day in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Cadets Aneri Patel, Prathana Patel, front, with Anav Gujral and Danyl Cherian in Sydney on Anzac Day. Picture: Nikki Short

Chuffed by the rousing response of the crowd, she said: “The spirit of Australia is absolutely wonderful. I suppose when my father went to the First World War that … was to be the end of all wars.

“Since then we’ve had Vietnam, we’ve had Afghanistan, we’ve had Korea, we’ve had the Second World War. So this is very special to me, because I had family in all the wars.”

Tragically, South Australian WWII veteran John Atkinson, 98, was reported to have died while making his way to the Dawn Service in his home town of Port Broughton on Yorke Peninsula. He was fatally injured in a fall, the Yorke Peninsula Country Times reported.

Speaking from the Kokoda battleground of Isurava, Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought on the Track in 1942 as well as the PNG civilians who risked their lives to stop the Japanese advance on Port Moresby.

“We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar and the desperation of bare hands,“ the Prime Minister said, after completing a two-day walk with PNG counterpart James Marape.

“It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.

“We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia’s shared memory.”

Anthony Albanese tosses the kip at two-up at Townsville RSL. Picture: Evan Morgan

Honouring the 109th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, Peter Dutton said he was heartened by the strong turnout of children and young people. “On this sacred day, we honour the memories of the more than 103,000 Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.

“We remember them so we don’t forget who we are: a people who choose courage over cowardice, camaraderie over tribalism, endeavour over indolence, gratitude over resentment, and national pride over national aversion.”

Bunbury RSL president John Gelmi said the death last year of the town’s sole surviving WWII veteran had been keenly felt by the community south of Perth. “We now only have members who fought in Borneo, Malaya and Korea,” he said.

But in the Victorian town of Bendigo, Pierce Grenfell, 100, participated in the march with fellow WWII vets Bob Wilson, 99, and Bill Hosking, who celebrates his 100th birthday on Friday.

Governor-General David Hurley arrives at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

A member of the catafalque party in front of the crowd watching the service at Dee Why Beach in Sydney’s northern suburbs. Picture: John Appleyard

Local RSL president Glenn Ludeman said Mr Grenfell was especially beloved for his long service to the community as a butcher and member of the Eaglehawk Citizens Brass Band. “He is an absolute gem, just a treasure to the community,” Mr Ludeman said.

Victoria Cross recipient Keith Payne, 90, was on hand at the MCG for the sold-out AFL blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon, while groups gathered elsewhere to try their luck in that other traditional Anzac Day game, two-up.

At the Toxteth hotel in Glebe in Sydney’s inner west, Lewis Willoughby was chancing his arm on the coin toss with dozens of boisterous punters. It was about “paying respect to the Diggers”, he said, with the added bonus of enjoying a drink or two with mates. “You’ve got to be respectful on a day like this.”

David Brennan, 87, with wife Gloria, 86, and great-granddaughter Pia Dacunas, 7, in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Mr Payne’s friend and fellow VC holder, Ben Roberts-Smith, made a rare public appearance among the dignitaries attending the main Dawn Service at Kings Park in Perth.

Mr Roberts-Smith has kept a low profile since losing a high-stakes defamation case against Nine Newspapers and being branded a war criminal by the presiding Federal Court judge. Mr Payne went into bat for him in The Australian on Thursday, saying “what happens in war, stays in war”.

For the Browning family, it was a family effort to support patriarch Edward Browning, 86. His daughter, Ronni, was joined in Brisbane by granddaughters Amanda Ford and Jessica Price, from Coffs Harbour, NSW and Sydney.

Veterans Andrew Perkins, left, Greg Read, Myles Coleman, Michael Avenell and Daniel Perkins in Sydney. Picture: Nikki Short

Mr Browning served as a soldier in the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, Konfrontasi with Indonesia in the 1960s and in Vietnam with 7RAR.

“Today means so much to all of … our family. Not only for what our dad and granddad did, but what so many men and women did for our country,” Ronni Browning said.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without them. It means that we have freedom and our culture. We have the freedom to … be Australians.

“But really, what it came down to was backing your mates … being there for them and being loyal. Those are the qualities Dad has.”