102-year-old Les Winslade QSM, and his son-in-law Wolf Hucke, share a cup of tea at the service on Monday. Over Les’ shoulder is the Cambridge RSA bugler, Staff Sergeant (retired) Doug Rose.
Cambridge Resthaven residents marked Anzac Day on Monday with a service at their village centre in Vogel St.
The service was conducted by Cambridge RSA’s Brigadier Jon Broadley MBE, and was attended by several men wearing service medals, among them 102-year-old Les Winslade QSM, and his son-in-law Wolf Hucke.
Wolf is married to Alison Hucke who looks after Resthaven’s community garden – all three live at Cambridge Resthaven village.
Speaking to the importance of remembering those who have died in wars around the globe, and others who serve today in both combat and peace-keeping roles, Jon said that by the end of World War 1 in 1918, almost 17,000 New Zealand service personnel – 94 of them from Cambridge – never returned.
“It has been estimated that about one in every three New Zealanders at the time were closely linked to the death of someone serving in the war,” he said. “More than 40,000 New Zealanders were wounded, and while they lived to come home, the war stayed with them for the rest of their lives.”
The impact of such loss or injury had “united us as a people in shock and grief”.
He said 61,500 people have joined the ranks of New Zealand veterans since 1990, and several hundred NZ Defence Force personnel are currently serving, in training or about to deploy, in multiple environments around the world.
“All these people and their families also carry the burden of separation experienced by past generations, and as in the past we, as a defence force and a community, need to support them all and acknowledge them.”
Assisting him in the service was Lieutenant Commander RNZN (ret) Dr Paul Murphy, and Cambridge RSA bugler Staff Sergeant (ret) Doug Rose, who played The Last Post.
Pictured next to a table of Anzac memorabilia are, from left, Alison Hucke, Lorraine Kildare (who supplied the memorabilia), Les Winslade QSM, Staff Sergeant (retired) Doug Rose, Wolf Hucke, Lieutenant Commander (retired) Paul Murphy, and Brigadier Jon Broadley. Photo: Julie Epps
