Australia’s thousands of prisoners of war – including some of the WA heroes captured while serving their country – have been remembered at a memorial service in King’s Park.
The Ex-POW Association was formed in 1947 following the cessation of WWII and the repatriation of Ex-POWs back home to Australia.
And every year, the WA branch holds a memorial service at King’s Park to remember their sacrifice.
From the Boer War to the Korean War, over 35,000 Australian service men and women were captured and endured incarceration as Prisoners of War.
They included Arthur Leggett, whose passing last year aged 105 meant no former POWs were represented at the service for the very first time.
This year, his daughters Maureen Rayson and Sue Meagher did attend, and laid a wreath in memory of their father.
In his address, Governor Chris Dawson remembered another WA hero – the last of WA’s POWs who died earlier this year.
“Ivan Howell passed away in March, aged 101. With him, he took his own remarkable story of bravery,” the Governor said.
“Nearly 30 sorties as a member of RAAF, until in February 1945 flying over Germany the Lancaster Bomber he was in began to shudder from stern to stern, with an engine on fire.
“The pilot told Ivan and others to prepare to ‘disembark’ – at about 8000ft. Which is what he did over their intended target of Karlsruhe.
“Within minutes of hitting the ground, Ivan was captured. Ivan was only in captivity for a matter of months.
“But he was still held in four different camps, including Nuremberg Germany before being liberated.
“Ivan was the last of a generation in Western Australia. And his story, is our history.
“For the memory of Ivan, and all his like. We hope that what they suffered will not be suffered again.”
The pupils of Mount Lawley Senior High School were central to the commemoration ceremony, with the school having been closely connected to Mr Leggett for many years.