By KATIE DE VERTEUIL
WHILE Anzac Day has always been a date of great significance for local Vietnam veteran Neil Beasley, this year is sure to be one to remember.
The ex-seaman has been selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs to lay a wreath on behalf of all Australian veterans at the dawn service of Villers-Bretonneux, France. The service will be broadcast live from the Memorial back to Australia and to the people of France.
Travelling with his wife Jean, who also served in the navy, Neil is both proud and humbled by the honour.
“There are plenty of others they could have chosen; I didn’t think they’d pick a sailor from Queensland,” Neil said.
“Anzac Day has always been an important occasion in my family and I can tell you now that I’m not going to have a dry eye from start to finish.”
Neil served with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for 20 years having signed up as an 18-year-old back in 1958.
For the first 12 years he worked as a cook, and for the remaining eight, as a member of the naval police.
As part of the Far East Strategic Reserve, Neil took part in various operations in Malaya, Singapore, Vietnam and Borneo.
“I really loved every day in the navy,” he said.
“There’s nothing quite like being at sea, out on the open ocean.”
Neil’s love of the navy may have also been slightly coloured by the presence of his lovely wife Jean, a radio operator for the RAN who he met onboard.
“She chased me until she caught me,” he laughed. The lovely couple have now been married 54 years.
When they travel to France this week, the Beasleys will take the opportunity to visit the graves of a number of relatives who fought in France during WWI.
They will also be presenting the Victoria School in Villers-Bretonneux with two framed prints by renowned Australian Artist and family friend d’Arcy Doyle.
The Victoria School was built in 1923-’27 as a gift from the children of Victoria, Australia to those of Villers-Bretonneux as proof of their love and good-will towards France.
Some 1200 Australian soldiers, fathers and brothers of these children gave their lives for the recapture of the town on 24 and 25 April, 1918.
On the building there is an inscription ‘Do not forget Australia’.
While they have no personal connection with the school, Neil and Jean wish to show their gratitude on behalf of Australia for remembering the love that was shown all those years ago.
“Most places you go, two or three days after Anzac Day nothing more is said until the following year,” Neil said.
“This school has a plaque to remember all year round, and for us that is really incredible.”Neil is a loyal member of the Tewantin/Noosa RSL club and is a life subscriber to the sub-branch.
He has recently passed on the role of vice-president of the Noosa Vietnam Veterans Association and has served on the committee for six years.
