To mark Remembrance Day, Gloucester RSL Sub-branch will be holding a commemoration service at the Clock Tower commencing at 10.50am on Saturday, November 11.
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Organisers have issued an open invitation to the Gloucester community to attend the service.
On this special day, the nation pauses to honour and commemorate all Australians who have served the nation in war, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
It is a time to acknowledge defence personnel, both current and former serving, for their service, courage and sacrifice, in particular, the more than 103,000 Australian servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.
Francis J McGovern
Every individual who has served this country as part of the armed forces has a unique story. Here is only one.
Before passing away in 2023, aged 103, Francis J McGovern had been the last surviving crew member of the HMAS Perth.
After enlisting in 1939, Able Seaman Frank McGovern was initially deployed with the HMAS Westralia for 18 months before joining his older brother, Vincent aboard the HMAS Perth.
After the HMAS Perth was sunk by a torpedo attack on the night of February 28, 1942, Frank was picked up and loaded aboard a Japanese destroyer and thus became a prisoner of war. Sadly, his brother Vincent did not survive the attack.
For the 12 months that followed, McGovern toiled on the Burma railway and was starved, beaten and demoralised.
In 1944, Frank was being transported along with other prisoners on the Rakuy Maru to the coal mines and factories of Japan when the ship was sunk by American torpedoes. For three days he and 30 other predominantly Australian soldiers survived in a lifeboat before once again he was captured by the Japanese.
After arriving in Japan, he endured months of arduous work in the factories until, on the night of March 9, 1945, the United States commenced the deadliest air raid in history. Frank McGovern again miraculously managed to survive, despite the camp being reduced to ashes. The prisoners were transferred to another camp which was also bombed with Frank being injured, though once again he was lucky to survive.
Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Frank returned home to Australia. After enduring so much during his service, like many other veterans, Frank found it difficult to adjust to civilian life.
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