Ladies and Gentlemen of all ages, good morning and thank you to the organisers for inviting me to give you this ANZAC day address and thank you to those who are in attendance to hear it. Last year I really enjoyed spectating at the service in Boonah and giving the ANZAC Day address in Maroon. So much so that I jumped at the chance to once again travel south this year from my workplace at RAAF Amberley and spend the day in what is a very beautiful part of Australia. And I might add, a much greener and more temperate part of Australia at this time of the year than in my home town of Perth in Western Australia.

Giving the ANZAC day address is a proud and humbling duty for me today. Let me explain why I feel both proud and humbled.

I feel proud because I have the current honour of being a member of the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Defence Force and being allowed to represent those two bodies today before you. Those bodies are, obviously the focus of a lot of attention on ANZAC day. You will be aware that this is occurring presently all over and offshore Australia, in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and the Middle East. This pride is neither boastful or personal, but more pride in the organization which I represent and whose reputation has been carved, not so much by the current members like me, but by those who have served in the ADF in days gone past. Living up to that legacy and reputation is a heavy responsibility, often thrust onto young shoulders. But it is duty that we willingly accept and proudly discharge.

And I feel humbled because I am acutely aware that in the audience today are many people who have served in a variety of conflicts and survived a good deal more hardship than I have endured. In this sense, the ANZAC day address has me speaking not so much on behalf of the current serving members of the ADF, but also with the long, active and bloody history of past members of the ADF as a backdrop. My own active service in the last three years has seen me overseas in East Timor and the Middle East for over 10 months and I can relate to the worry, loneliness, fatigue and absence from home and loved ones that the ANZACs and those who have served since then must surely have felt.
But luckily for me I haven’t had to endure the atrocious conditions, hardships, wounds, death and deprivations that characterized many of the conflicts of the past. I make no apologies for my good fortune of course but what I do say is that I am conscious that I haven’t been through a lot of what many members of the audience and many of those who march on ANZAC Day have. And to those former soldiers, sailors and airmen, I, like everyone else today, salute you.

But enough of what this all means to me as a current serving member – what might ANZAC day mean to you? Well I have a few suggestions. And I want to explain those suggestions by focusing on the simple expression we hear over and over again. That expression is LEST WE FORGET. What do those words really mean and why are they inscribed on ANZAC monuments across Australia?

Well the word “lest” is a bit old-fashioned today and might be a bit foreign to the younger members of the audience. So at the risk of sounding a bit like the lawyer that I am, I want to focus on it for just a moment.

Lest – means “for fear that” or “to prevent any possibility that”.

So when we say “Lest We Forget” we are warning ourselves not to forget. But the main point of my address today is to ponder briefly, just what we are warning ourselves against forgetting and why are we concerned not to forget? After all, if war is so terrible, why not forget about it? Well, I turn now to my thoughts on this important topic and the question I posed to you.

Firstly, we are course reminding ourselves never to forget the loss of life and heroic deeds and the terrible cost to the men and women who have served in the Australian Defence Force. But also we remind ourselves not to forget the terrible cost and sacrifices borne by the Australian community both in material terms (for example, with rationing) – and more importantly – the missing of family members, the dead who can’t and don’t come back, the mates left behind and the worry and the hardships suffered by those who are left behind anxiously awaiting news and making ends meet, whilst their loved ones are away.

We are to be grateful and we should remember those sacrifices because we don’t want future generations to be subject to the same painful experiences. That is the first reason why we should prevent any possibility that we forget those sacrifices.

Secondly, we need to remain vigilant to protect the rights and freedoms and the way of life we all too often take for granted. It took me quite some time to understand the words inscribed outside the Returned and Services League building in my home town which were

They deserve freedom - only those who are prepared to defend it.

I have heard a similar sentiment expressed in a different way – namely, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

So we shouldn’t forget and we need to remind ourselves that we need to be on our guard, watching the world around us and reacting to situations and nations and groups which threaten a peaceful world and the values we hold dear. Even if those nations and groups are not democratic, we need to look to ensure that they show respect for basic human rights of people and the rule of law.

We should negotiate, seek agreements and strive to work with other people and countries - but there comes a time when we must be prepared to fight for what we believe in.

It’s not a case of war-mongering or being overly belligerent of course because the situations which give rise to war can often result from a lack of understanding, of compassion and the basic necessities of life – so we need to work towards ensuring those basic needs are met for everyone. And we need to work towards doing away with the fear, ignorance and intolerance, that often give rise to the willingness in others, to take-up arms. Compassion, tolerance and understanding are of course things we can all strive for every day.

And thirdly, we should never forget and always strive to remember and honour the particularly strong Australian qualities that allowed the men and women of conflicts gone by – to prevail, often against the odds and in revolting situations. Of course the ANZAC legend is so seminal and important in shaping our national character because it was the first time that the forces of what were previously separate colonies, fought as Australian forces. Previously, in the Maori Wars, the Sudan and South Africa, it was the colonies that sent forces to assist in other wars. But with the ANZACs, they went under the Australian banner and represented a newly sovereign nation in Australia.

On the question of what qualities allowed the men and women of the Australian Defence Force to prevail and succeed, you can in many respects - take your pick. But for mine there are a few that we should never forget. I’ve served overseas with two multinational forces and there are three characteristics for which the Aussies stand out.

Firstly, give people a fair go. No matter what their colour or creed or station in life. Hear them out – make up your mind only after listening or carefully observing them and don’t jump to conclusions about what they are like or want – just because of where they come from or what they look like or what others tell you. Tolerance is very important – we must continue to give others, who on the outside look or seem different to us – a fair go.

Secondly, mateship. Looking after your mates and making sure they are alright and sticking together, in a healthy way, allows everyone else to prosper and endure. Not only does it feel nice, but it helps everyone to get by. We live in a world where the focus is increasingly on individual rights and material wealth. But what about others and our obligations to them and to each other? Mateship and teamwork are qualities that the ANZACs showed. Today, those qualities are more important than ever.

And thirdly, tied to giving others a fair go and looking after your mates is the quality of hard work. Ultimately, you make your own luck and shouldn’t blame your misfortune on bad luck. My favourite sportsman once said that the harder he worked, the luckier he got. Not everything can come at the push of a button - even though some marketers would have us believe, that enough money or the right gadget can do it for us and bring us what we want. If we believed the T.V. we can have the house of our dreams and the garden we want overnight. Or those marketers would have us believe that by taking out the right loan or by buying the right product or dialing the right number or taking the right pill, we can have what we desire – right now! While this is alluring and seductive and accordingly appeals to people, it is simply untrue. The valuable things come from hard work and over time.

It’s worth noting that the ANZAC legend and the brave exploits which gave rise to it wasn’t achieved in a day, rather, it occurred over 8 gruelling months, with lots of preparation and prior training. Oftentimes, the slackers and the dreamers will fall by the wayside. We need to remember that we need to work together and not at cross-purposes and that hard work, combined with a bit of cunning, does, usually and eventually - pay off. It’s easy to have the idea and to start something. But sticking to the job and toughing it out are the real guarantees of success. Or, to borrow from ANZAC-inspired vernacular, digging in and keeping your head down is your ticket to success. By showing patience and fortitude and by helping each other out in hard times and seeing the funny side of a bad situation, you can, despite the odds, pull through. This is hard work – but this is Australian and it is very effective.

So in summary - we utter those words “Lest we Forget” for many

reasons. These reasons include honouring the men and women who have served with the Australian Defence Force in the past and who, quite rightly, have pride of place on ANZAC Day. But they also include reminding ourselves of the horrors of war and how we need to be tolerant of others and work to understand them, in order to avoid those horrors. And it also serves to remind ourselves of what makes us Australian and the qualities that characterized the brave deeds of the men and women who served on the Gallipoli peninsula some 89 years ago. Particularly those of giving others a fair go, mateship and hardwork. The Gallipoli landing was a long time ago, but the reasons for remembering it are as strong as ever – and that is why we say – LEST WE FORGET.

And finally, I’d like to finish where I started, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a proud and humbling moment for me today and thank you for the opportunity to address you.

An address given by SQNLDR Christopher Ward

No. 82 Wing Legal Officer, RAAF Amberley

- at Kalbar and Boonah