TALES OF TROPICAL ADVENTURES
AFTER the Great War and then the Depression of the 1930s, life was simple but happy for Lionel Veale.
He didn’t know it yet, but he was to meet the love of his love, Patricia, fall madly in love and spawn several generations. But more on that later.
Born on August 30, 1918, in Armidale, the eldest of seven children and patriarch of several generations is about to reach the amazing milestone of triple digits.
Growing up in country NSW, Mr Veale was educated at St Mary’s Boys School and De La Salle College at Armidale.
His first job was working in Fossey’s department store. He joined the army cadets in 1934 and enlisted in the AIF during World War II in 1940, volunteering for the first independent Commando Company and later the Coastwatchers.
Having completed six Coastwatcher missions in New Guinea and the Pacific islands, the former soldier recounted his ordeals in three books he wrote and published – Wewak
Mission, Long Island, and The Final Mission – and in a fiction
novel, And Then There Were
Two. Mr Veale was also mentioned in dispatches.
While on a coastal mission, surveying the coastline, Mr Veale spotted an unmarked reef which was named after him. Today it is a popular diving site in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea.
As a Coastwatcher, he was put into extremely difficult and dangerous situations, sometimes behind enemy lines.
More than 70 years later, memories of this time still cause him grief. But while there were traumatic times, there were also times of love.
While on leave from the army, Mr Veale met and fell in love with Patricia Greiner, a pretty 19-year-old telephonist from Beaudesert. The couple married in 1944 and honeymooned at Southport, where they lived after the war.
Mr Veale worked for the Postal Institute for 20 years before starting his own retail business, Atelyn Enterprises in Ferry Rd, Southport, which was well known to locals.
In 2016, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his services to the community of the Gold Coast through presidency of the St Vincent de Paul Society and other charities.
His volunteer service with “Vinnies’’ began in 1946 and lasted nearly 30 years.
His beloved Patricia passed away on the day of their 65th wedding anniversary in 2009.
The couple had three daughters and one son, all living on the Gold Coast, and nine grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.
His family says his health has declined recently, but Mr Veale maintains his “wicked sense of humour”.
“Lionel is an amazing character, still young at heart with an interest in other people’s needs,” said daughter Leanne Lowry. “He says the best thing is being able to give of yourself. He is an Australian through and through.”
AS A COASTWATCHER, HE WAS PUT INTO EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS SITUATIONS — SOMETIMES BEHIND ENEMY LINES