AS Tom Judkins helped raise the Australian flag at a special Anzac Day memorial, his thoughts turned to his grandfather.
How the Year 4 student at St Joseph’s School, Kangaroo Point, wished his grandfather could have been there to witness this special occasion.
“I thought about my granddad and how he would be feeling if he was still here today,” he said.
“I think he would have been proud to see me raise the flag.
“I would’ve given him the biggest hug.”
Like the rest of his classmates and the whole school community, Tom stood in silence for one minute as they remembered the Anzacs and others who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country during wartime.
Beside the school flagpole, a new plaque took pride of place in the school’s small Anzac garden.
On the plaque the words “lest we forget” conveyed the spirit of the memorial.
It was presented to the school by honorary secretary of the Coorparoo RSL Richard Jeffreys on behalf of the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee (ADCC) of Queensland, as a permanent reminder of the first Anzac Day and all the ideals and the sacrifice for which it stood.
Mr Jeffreys spoke to the students about the sacrifice of the many Australian men and women had made during wartime.
He said the plaque would be a reminder of the sacrifices of so many for their benefit.
“Hopefully they (students) learn from that (sacrifice) the values of those who have gone before them to serve their nation and led by example,” he said.
Mr Jeffreys said it was evident from the conversations he had with students that they used the occasion to remember family members going back to their great-grandparents which was amazing.
“They know their history of their war service, which is even more important,” he said.
Organiser and teacher Mark Beiers said the special memorial was only a part of the work the school had done for Anzac Day.
He said some students attended the special Anzac Day commemoration for schools on April 23 at Anzac Square in Brisbane.
“It was a deeply moving experience, and it had an effect on the children who went there,” he said.
He said the school also was the guest of the Coorparoo RSL march, and students and teachers laid a wreath at the ceremony.
