LOCAL HISTORY ENSHRINED
WHEN Lest We Forget is intoned every ANZAC Day, Maurice Campbell takes it seriously.
His home office is jam-packed with memorabilia, archival documents, soldier diaries dating back to World War I and plenty more.
Mr Campbell aim in life is to see local military history, and the sacrifices made by people from Dubbo and district, preserved so future generations from this area can commemorate those who served.
MAURICE Campbell doesn’t just reflect on Australia’s military history – he lives and breathes it, and spends his days passing it on to others.
He’s one of the drivers behind a military history class at Dubbo’s University of the Third Age (U3A) and it’s a popular course for people from diverse backgrounds.
Mr Campbell told Dubbo Photo News how U3A is such a great resource for so many people.
“For people who are getting on in years it’s a very special place to be because there are wellness classes; they have this, they have that and there’s something there for every human being to participate in which I think’s absolutely marvellous,” he said.
He said his mate Graeme Hoskings was really responsible for planting the seed of an idea for a military history class in his head.
“We sort of built things up and got on so well together we started finding out about these soldiers who were just dying to be discovered and when we started it was just never ending,” Mr Campbell said.
“The picture is just so huge because there were 60,000 Australians killed in World War I, but there were 150,000 wounded. It beggars belief doesn’t it? And yet we had the best army of the lot of them. We put everybody else to shame.”
Mr Campbell describes the interest in the class as “incredible” and the classroom was packed the day Dubbo Photo News sat in for some of a lesson.
Sir Roden Cutler and the Red Baron were just two of four topics discussed at one class, keeping the ‘students’ spellbound, especially with Steve Clayton’s presentation on Sir Roden Cutler and the connection his father had with one of Australia’s most recognised soldiers.
“All wars were dreadful,” Mr Campbell said. “But many of the exploits, the sacrifices, the mateship – they were incredible and show the best humanity has to offer.
“There are some amazing local connections and anecdotal stories passed down through families which really bring that history to life.”
He says first-hand experience of the effects of war have helped to drive his passion and thirst for knowledge.
“I think growing up and seeing Mum and Dad going to ANZAC Day services, and there were family members who never came home. It’s pretty special, mate.”