By Matthew Pearce
More than 30 torchbearers kept the Legacy flame alive when the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay came to Rockhampton on Friday, 2 June.
Legacy Beneficiaries, Legatees and Defence personnel joined in the local leg of the relay, which celebrates 100 years of the organisation that supports war veterans’ families.
Legacy Widow Robynne Clifton said it was an honour to carry the torch in the relay, representing her late husband Ronald Clifton, father John Lennox and other family members who served in the Australian Defence Force.
While it was a challenge keeping the torch alright while carrying it in the tray of her wheelchair – as well as keeping the lit flame away from her face – Robynne said it had been a beautiful day that she thoroughly enjoyed.
“The whole day was fun and it was good to meet so many people,” she said.
Robynne said Legacy had been a big help after her husband passed away.
“Legacy helped me with getting a Gold Card, they were when I was in the hospital with asthma and they even travelled with me on the plane to Brisbane when I went to see a specialist,” she said.
“The Legatees are a great support, not just for widows but for children who may have lost their father through war.”
Legacy has also done a “garden parade” clean-up of Robynne’s yard, mowing the lawn, weeding and doing a general tidy up.
Robynne has marched on Anzac Day with Legacy and has volunteered her services to raise funds for the organisation, crocheting up to 300 poppies for days like Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and Vietnam Veterans Day.
Torchbearer Denise Carr said it was an emotional day for her, marching in honour of her mother, Edna Cave, who started the Rockhampton War Widows, and father Wally Cave, who was a prisoner of war at Changi.
Denise said groups like the RSL, War Widows and Legacy were a part of her life for many years, with her mother receiving the Veteran Affairs Health Promotion medal in 2003 for her 27-year term as president of the War Widows, after forming the group in 1975.
“Mum was so busy as the president of the War Widows, you almost had to make an appointment to see her, because her phone never stopped,” she said.
“Because of what Mum did and what dad went through I wanted to do something to honour them.”
Denise’s grandson Nash Peirano marched with her, with her family cheering her on from the sidelines.
While there are fewer war widows now than when her mother started the group, Denise said there would always be a need for groups like the War Widows and Legacy, as long as there were men and women serving in the military.
One of four brothers who went to war, Denise’s father Wally was a Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Pensioner and Denise said Legacy had helped her mother a lot after he passed away in 1972.
Wally wrote diaries of his time as a prisoner of war that Denise is in the process of deciphering.
“He wrote the diaries on pieces of scrap paper that he buried, because if they were found with them they would lose their head,” she said.
“I had to buy a huge magnifying glass to decipher them, because the writing is so small.”
Denise said her grandchildren had shown great interest in the family’s military history, taking memorabilia to school for show and tell.
Celebrating 100 years of Legacy Australia, the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay is a six-month campaign presented by Defence Health that includes stops in Europe, the UK and around Australia, including all 44 Legacy club locations, before concluding in Melbourne in October.
The torch will travel 50,000km and will be carried by about 1500 torch bearers.
The Rockhampton leg of the relay kicked off at the Rockhampton War Memorial and ended at the Rockhampton Regional Council Chambers with the lighting of the cauldron.