Anzac memories2021
THOUSANDS of people turned out for Anzac Day celebrations in Dubbo and the surrounding towns and districts and while there’s a national desire for collective remembrance and commemoration, so many people in those crowds have very personal reasons for attending.
Geoff Mann MCS the Dubbo services and this April 25 was a very special day for him and his family.
Son David, now a Squadron Leader in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was back in Dubbo as an official, and special, guest at the ceremony. Geoff said he was incredibly proud. “I’ve coached his cricket team, watched him captain the NSW Catholic Schools’ Polding Cricket team and the Roos Colts to a Central West Rugby Union premiership, co-opted him to be my sideline eye and provide a few sports reports on commercial radio and spent thousands of hours on the road with Dave but no words can capture the moment, “he said.
“Bridget and I have observed Dave’s growth and leadership, his ability to rise to the occasion, whether Irish dancing or taking a role in school musicals or accepting the confidence of his teachers and peers who elected him to school captaincy, but when our second-born led the parade down Memorial Drive in his uniform with medals earned in service of our nation, my knees wobbled.
“I could feel the stirring of our late father Ross who had trodden that path with Dave, Joe and Bek at various times, holding his hand.”
Dave’s grandfather, Bridget’s dad John Lynch, a proud Irishman who passed away in January, left his medal to Dave and while protocol prevented him carrying it when in uniform, it was an emotional mother who was seen wearing that medal under the trees adjacent to the Cenotaph.
There were hundreds of similar, and deeply personal stories – here in these pages, Dubbo Photo News captures some of the emotion on the