Grant’s service remembered on ANZAC Day

‘It gives me great pride to put on my service medals and be there with others on ANZAC Day.’

Grant Donnelly is a Link Wentworth resident and ex-servicemen, who served in the Army for 15-years. As ANZAC Day approaches, Grant’s story and reflections are a poignant reminder of the sacrifice and enduring legacy of all those who have served their country.

Grant recounts, ‘At 17 and four months old, I signed up for the Army, inspired by my father’s service during World War II – although he didn’t want me to join!’ Keen to escape foundry work at a young age, Grant made the decision to enlist in the Army. He served firstly in Ordnance, which is military supplies, such as weapons, ammunition, vehicles, tools and equipment. Later, he worked in the kitchen, then as a Clerk in provisioning, stores and supplies, and was later trained as an instructor.

‘I didn’t see active service, but my last unit was a field force unit, it used to be called ‘Field Force’, but they changed the name to ODF, which is Operational Deployment Force. So, if any conflict was going to happen around the world, I would have 24 hours of notice to deploy’. He was stationed at different bases across the country during his 15 years of service, including Townsville and Wagga Wagga, noting that as well as the valuable skills he acquired, the common thread was the fellowship and camaraderie forged between serving soldiers.

Grant emphasises the importance of the values instilled in him during his time in the Army – in particular discipline, respect for others and non-discrimination. He says that serving alongside people from a wide range of backgrounds built a sense of inclusivity ‘I take people for who they are. I don’t discriminate against anybody at all.’

On Anzac Day, Grant will be attending the dawn service at Memorial Park, as he has always done.  ‘My father was a World War II veteran. He served in the Middle East, he was with the 25th Division and served with the eighth Army, which was under the command of Montgomery. And he fought in Jerusalem, in Bethlehem, and he was also in the desert as well. So, I’m partly flying the colours for him and what he did in his service, for our country. It gives me great pride to put on my service medals and be there with others on ANZAC Day’.

‘Of course, I think of my father on ANZAC Day. I think of him every day. Every year at the Dawn Service, I look at the Memorial and I look at the names of people who served in the Great War, World War I, World War II. I can feel the sense of the brutality of war. And how hard it was for them. But they shone through. And the ones who made it back, well, they did that through sheer guts and determination’.

Grant plans to pass on his service medals to his niece and nephew, hoping they will be a small reminder of his commitment to serving his country, for future generations.

On ANZAC Day we commemorate all servicemen and women, with special mention for our Link Wentworth communities and families that include servicemen and women, past and present.