ANZAC Day – A daughter remembers her father who landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915
Suzie Windred (pictured below) has worked at DDB Sydney for 18 years. Her connection with the ANZACs? Unbelievable as it may sound, Suzie’s father (pictured left) landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.
My father, George Kingston, was born in 1893 and on the outbreak of war in 1914, was one of the very first Australians to enlist, being issued with the number 14 in the AIEF (Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force).
Embarking on the transport ship Orvieto, Dad’s battalion was sent first to Egypt before heading to its fateful engagement at ANZAC cove. In letters home, he describes his unit’s “minimal” training and tells of how they came under “heavy fire from coastal batteries” before even landing.
The battalion served at ANZAC until being evacuated in December 1915… by which time, it had lost a third of its strength defending the beachhead.
Dad later saw action in France and Belgium and was discharged from the AIEF in January 1919, after an incredible 1495 days abroad.
On his return, he got married, but no children came. After Dad’s first wife passed away, he re-married and had two girls, late in life – me, and my sister Jillian Miller, who actually worked in the finance department of Clemenger Sydney for 20 years.
My father never spoke of the war, but he read about it constantly – up to five books a week, sitting in his armchair, smoking like a chimney. And although he was born into a very Christian family, he returned from war a committed atheist.
I recall, as a child, my father regularly taking me to visit his old comrades, many of whom were injured or disabled. He himself had suffered a leg injury in France.
We grew up in Coburg, a very multicultural suburb of Melbourne. At that time it was the first wave of European immigrants – Italians, Greeks, Hungarians, Swiss. Because my father had spent so much time abroad and picked up languages very easily, he was able to communicate with all these new arrivals, and he was very popular in the area.
He was a fantastic father. Very attentive and loving. He used to pick me up from school. But because he was so much older, people used to say ‘your grandfather’s here.’
The irony is that he became a security guard, riding armoured cars. He used to joke that he’d left the war for a job where he could get shot any minute.
I joined DDB Sydney in 1997, when we were still based in Berry Street in North Sydney, but not many people in the industry know about my ANZAC connection. I prefer to keep it quiet, because it tells people how ancient I am!
Advertising has been my life – and there’s no doubt it’s a far cushier life than the ANZACs led – and yet like many industries today, there are many things we can learn from what is at the heart of an ANZAC.
For example, we work so much better when we’re unified. We are all under a lot of stress nowadays. And that’s not always such a bad thing – the toughest steel is forged in the hottest fire, so they say. But the best way to get through it is by sticking together. We need to foster that spirit of mateship that the ANZACs had; we all need to get together regularly. And if that needs to involve drinking, let it be so.
In addition, it is sobering to consider that the young boys who landed at ANZAC cove were younger than our grads. And they arrived into what I can only imagine must have been hell.
If I would like people in our industry to take out one thing from the ANZAC centenary, it would be for our youngsters to have more of an appreciation of what these boys went through. Because at the end of the day, they fought for us all.
10 Comments
Wonderful story Suzie
You must be ever so proud of your dad
Thank you for reminding us of the personal connection
Lovel tale Suzie, and lovely to see you’re still manning the fort yourself:)
Thank you Suzie. A very personal and moving tribute to your father.
My grandfather, after whom I’m named, was in the second wave at Gallipoli. In fact, in his small diary [which I proudly care for], in the space reserved for April 25, he simply scribbled in pencil ‘A perfect day in hell’. As a bandmaster, he, like all his fellow band members, was a stretcher bearer. Of the 30 band members he served with only he and one other survived. Imagine that. He was shipped out of Gallipoli weighing little more than 5 stone suffering from dysentery. He never said a bad word about the Turks and never a good word about Churchill. In remembering his service I’m not glorifying war. I’m simply honouring the service of good and decent men, like Suzie’s father, my grandfather and the countless others, who served their country selflessly in its time of need. Lest We Forget.
That’s an incredible story. Brings it right home. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful tribute and reminder to continue honouring those who fought on our behalf. You are one of the lucky families who’s legacy will continue on as part of the Australia History.
What a story Suzie. And beautifully told.
Fantastic read Suzie!
Incredible story, Suzie. Thank you for writing it
Intriguing and very touching what a good man he must have been Suzie. Thanks for telling it. This time and November 11th particularly always special in our household in England when I grew up in the 50’s & 60’s. My father was a major in the 17/21st Lancers, a tank regiment, his brother a lieutenant in the Queens Royals was killed on the beach at Anzio. His other brother survived, but suffered as a result of being a tail end charlie in a flying fortress, he was completely incapable after two tours of duty (a miracle in itself) of holding down a job or having any relationships. I hope to be able to put it into context for my granddaughter one day, and that she not knowing them will always appreciate what they and so many others did for us all.
Dear Suzie,
Fabulous story and so well told, Suzie. And … you’re looking great!! Miss you. Ade x