The first General Meeting of the 2/29th Battalion Association held as free men occurred at 7.30pm on 7 March 1946 at the Scots Church Assembly Hall, 156 Collins St Melbourne.

The purpose of that meeting was to mainly ratify the draft constitution which was adopted at a General Meeting held in Changi gaol in April 1943.

A copy of the original notice to all members is below:

Dianne Cowling, daughter of a returned POW 2/29th Battalion 'H' Force

As I stood before the entrance to the gothic stone building of the Scot’s Assembly Hall in Collins St Melbourne, 70 years to the day as my father would have done before me on that evening in March 7th 1946, I wondered how he would have felt.

From the time of his capture as a POW of Japan on 15th February 1942, he had been with his mates for twenty fours a day, every day, for 1276 days – then finally release

But with that release came a rapid and, for many, a shocking separation.

Thrown back into the normal Australian life they had been dreaming of in all those years of unbelievable torment, they found themselves suddenly separated from their mates to whom they had come to rely on for their very survival. Having to now look to their families - who could not possible understand - was a shock they had not anticipated.

How could these men explain to their families why they woke in the night screaming, or why they found it more comfortable on the floor because the beds were just too soft?

How could they explain why they asked for their favourite foods almost every meal, that they were fulfilling the promises they made themselves in the midst of their starvation?

How could their loved ones understand why they grew silent in the middle of conversation or jumped at sounds that reminded them of the nightmare behind them but still so fresh in their memories?

Their mates would understand but not their loved ones whom they must protect from knowing such horrors.

I’m sure as my father stood at the entrance of the big gothic-stone building on the evening of March 7th, 1946 he looked forward to being back with his mates again.

This would be the first time they had been together as a unit after their liberation, for the first meeting of their Association as FREE men.

***Now in 2016 with 2/29th Photos on display***

As I entered the hall, I looked up at the wood panelled walls, the original leather seating still in the balcony, the stained glass windows above, all much the same as it would have been 70 years ago, and I felt their presence.

At first the people trickled through the door. Then a steady stream, all looking around for a familiar face - just as our fathers would have done before us.

Those who had arrived early rushed to greet those they had known as children, or had come to know over the years at the various reunions and functions held by the 2/29th Battalion Association over the years.

It was obvious to me the ties, forged in the jungle over 70 years ago by our father’s, when their very lives depended on each other, when they stood side by side to bury yet another mate who had died unnecessarily of a curable illness or disease, or from cruel beatings, or worse still, a slow death of starvation and depravation, were reflected in our presence there today.

The clock on the wall crept closer to the exact time of the original meeting and the descendants grew quiet in anticipation of the roll call to come. Many had brought photos of their father, grandfather, uncle, or cousin; photos of young, eager, handsome men - some still boys, dressed proudly in their uniforms, some glad in tropical gear, all smiling as they looked forward to the ‘great adventure’ before them.

I looked around the sea of waiting faces, young and not so young, and I pictured the soldier they were here to honour proudly standing behind them, glad they were not forgotten.

Simon Lovett, grandson of Captain Charles Lovett B Coy (A Force) and current president of the Association, opened the meeting and called upon the Reverend Richard O’Brien to bless the proceedings. His daughter’s, great granddaughters of Captain Lovett, had helped by greeting each person as they entered the hall ready with a program and information on where to go.

Gary Simmons, son of Lt Philip Simmons HQ Coy (F Force) and current Treasurer spoke the ode and the words with genuine feeling just as our father’s before us would have. The words grew all the more poignant to me as I looked upon my own father’s young face in the photo before me.

I thought of the many for whom the war had come to an end in the Battle at Muir where the Battalion had faced overwhelming odds. Six hundred men were sent to deal with a supposed two hundred ill-prepared enemy. Instead the men of the 2/29th encountered fifteen thousand crack troops of the Emperor of Japan’s Imperial Guard, already battle hardened in their years of fighting the Chinese.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the 2/29th halted the Emperor’s advancing troops who were supported by tanks, machine guns and five hundred deadly Zero’s in the sky. According to Battalion records, the 2/29th had lost only two hundred and fifty-five of their mates before the fall of Singapore. According to General Yamashito, the tiger of Malaya, the Imperial Guard casualties were much greater.

Before these gallant survivors were finally liberated another four hundred and twenty-six of their mates were dead.

“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn”

How much more meaning those words must have had for their mates standing alive, together again as a Battalion for the first time since liberation, as they looked around the room to see if everyone that had been on the ship home was still surviving.

So many were so very ill in August / September 1945, some too far gone to survive for long. As the last words echoed in this hall .....................

“At the going down of the sun and in morning

We will remember them”

.....................each of the men standing there would have been thinking of each and every one of their mates and how they met their end.

Joy Derham, daughter of Private John Lonsdale, A Coy (F Force) read out the apologies of dignitaries unable to attend but who nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the occasion. None of the 8 surviving exPOW’s were able to attend, and many other descendants who wanted to come but couldn’t despite the best of intentions.

Then Joy, as current secretary also read out the original ‘Notice of Agenda’ for the historical meeting. One by one, descendants of the original ‘Office Bearers’ were called to stand for their family member. Some who were expected didn’t make it but many did. I watched each descendant come forward and announce their connection, and again was convicted of the survivor’s determination.

The men of the 2/29th’s tenacity to never give up, never surrender, never be beaten was self evident by the presence of these descendants now 70 years later.

Some of the 2/29th miraculously escaped from Muar and Singapore, their ingenuity and bush skills ensuring they reached Australian shores and were never taken prisoner but evaded capture and lived to fight another day.

Those who were POW’s had come through the ‘Pit of Hell’ and got on with life. These men, heroes every one, married, held down jobs, succeeded in business, had children and persevered despite all odds against them. They didn’t give up when they were starved and beaten. They didn’t give up when they saw their mates die of curable diseases or worked to death before their eyes. They didn’t give up when they came back to their home towns where no one understood or could comprehend what they had gone through. And they didn’t give up on each other when they were finally freed after 1276 days filled with unspeakable horrors.

So here they were 70 years ago filled with excitement at seeing their mates again, mates who had been instrumental in their mutual survival.

My father never missed a chance to get together with these men who truly understood because they too had known the same experience. With them he could be himself - warts and all. There were no secrets.

In the years after the end of their captivity, the men of the 2/29th went on helping each other survive - always looking out for each other, one day at a time.

I looked at Grant McKay, son of Corporal Leonard McKay, B Coy, (Sumatra) and current Committee Member, looking very dapper in his double breasted suit and spiffy hat. He reminded me of my father who would have been dressed very much the same, always in his spiffy suit and hat and ready with a good yarn - just as Grant was doing, entertaining us with his good humour.

Dad would have eaten well before the meeting, drank his fill (and some) during and after, finally being poured into his ride home and seen safely to his bed and the giant hangover to follow.

It was thanks to Gary who sowed the seed and persevered to obtain the use of original hall, and to Simon, Grant, Joy and their families. And to everyone else who made this, such a special night to remember.

We, too, look to the future as our father’s before us when in 1943 they formed the 2/29th Battalion Association in Changi Provence while still in captivity. We, like them, want to teach our children to continue to honour all who had fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy every day.

We carry their memory in our hearts and minds eye .................

“Lest we forget”

2016 Re-enactment of the first AGM

2016 Reunion Luncheon