An Anglesea veteran reflects on his time in the Navy as the country prepares to remember the brave servicemen and women this Anzac Day.
Bill Shaw joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1972 when he was 17 and served aboard the HMAS (His/Her Majesty’s Australian Ship) Anzac, Swan, Brisbane, Hobart, Stalwart, Cerberus, Canberra, Harman and Lonsdale.
Mr Shaw left the Navy in 1982 and said that his decade of service gave him purpose by knowing he had helped protect his country.
“It’s (Anzac Day) very emotional, a time to reflect on Australia as a nation and those people who served and sacrificed,” he said.
“First World War, Second World War, Vietnam, Borneo, and more recent conflicts- it’s a time to remember them, especially their families and loved ones who didn’t come back.
“It is especially important to remember people that served and didn’t return along with their families that had to give the greatest sacrifice of not having a loved one return.
“Ten years in the Royal Australian Navy has shaped me as into who I am today. It gave me purpose, made me loyal, gave me integrity and made me proud to be an Australian.”
Mr Shaw also serves on the Anglesea Returned and Services League sub-branch as a committee member and said one of his main aims was to boost year-round membership and recruit younger veterans.
“I’m 70 this year, and you’ve got young people just out of the forces in their late 20s and 30s,” he said.
“We’d like to get these young people in and run their own programs and gradually they will come up through the ranks.”
Mr Shaw will attend the town’s dawn reflection at the Cameron Park memorial before joining the march from Anglesea Memorial Hall to the cenotaph for a commemorative service.
Jena Carr
