By JESSE GRAHAM
ANZAC Day is just around the corner and a Mount Evelyn veteran is reflecting on his own military service and urging the public to remember the public holiday on 25 April as a day of respect.
From joining the military in 1963 as a teenager, to racking up almost three decades of service in the armed forces, Iain Townsley is no stranger to war.
“My grandfather had been in both world wars and my father fought in Burma,” Mr Townsley said.
“Like most people, I was looking for employment in Scotland and when I came to school leaving age, I decided to go into it, too.”
Mr Townsley, served in Northern Ireland and Dhofar as part of the British Armed Forces and celebrated his 18th birthday in the jungles of Borneo.
“My teenage years were gone,” he said. “While most people were clubbing and pubbing, I was in the jungle.
“I don’t regret it, it’s unique and I knew at the time I was with some of the closest friends I’d ever had.”
Mr Townsley also served in the Australian Army Reserve’s 1st Commando Regiment for five years.
Now living in Mount Evelyn, he works actively with Mount Evelyn RSL and is a bagpiper for Anzac Day and military events.
Mr Townsley said that people should remember that, while Anzac Day is a day off from work for many, it’s also a day of respect.
“Us veterans, we don’t need to always wear a poppy or an Anzac pin,” he said.
“If you’ve been in a combat zone for a short while or a lot of deployments, you remember it every day – for veterans, their service and the loss of their mates is with them every single day.
Mr Townsley said that Anzac Day and Remembrance Day were about recognising the importance of preserving peace and remembering those who served their country in war, rather than glorifying war.
“There is a social aspect to Anzac Day, where we go to a pub or an RSL and have a joke, but that’s only after we pay our respects,” he said.
