Doreen, 100, remembers Gallipoli veteran, Uncle Les
Anzac Day holds a special significance for Mrs Doreen Pope (100) of Oakbank, as she remembers her Uncle Les, a returned serviceman who fought – and survived – at Gallipoli.
‘Uncle Les was on the first wave at Gallipoli, and survived,’ says Mrs Pope.
‘He was in the Third Light Horse, and he had only spent a week abroad before being very badly injured and shipped back home.’
‘He lived with us for several years after the war.’
‘I was only a little girl, but I remember him talking about “shrapnel gully.”’
Thanks to her family connection, in 2015, Mrs Pope was chosen in the ballot to travel to Gallipoli for the 100th anniversary of the beach landing. but she opted instead for the comfort of a 36-day Anzac Centenary cruise on the MSC Orchestra retracing the path of the first Diggers through Sri Lanka and Egypt- along with her daughter and son-in-law and grandson Nick.
Her daughter, Margaret, says, ‘We went on a ship full of dignitaries and celebrities, including Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano, Ross Wilson, Bruce Woodley, John Williamson and Normie Rowe.’
‘The ship was moored in the bay on Anzac Day, and we watched the ceremony from there.’
‘The hill was a bit much for me,’ says Mrs Pope; ‘I mean, I was 97.’
‘I always remember how we had all caught this awful cough while we were on the boat,’ she continues.
‘However, during the two minute’s silence, there wasn’t a sound from anyone. The respect shown was incredible.’
‘Everyone on board that boat had a personal connection to Gallipoli, so we were an odd bunch of people, who never would have met usually.’
During the stopover in Egypt, where they visited the Valley of the Kings and the Pyramids, Mrs Pope remembers being carried in her wheelchair down the stairs deep underground to the Pharaoh’s tomb by Nick and his father and two ‘very nice’ men, who she later realised were Daryl Braithwaite and Normie Rowe!
Mrs Pope lives independently in her home at Oakbank, with support from Resthaven Murray Bridge, Hills & Community Services.