Anzac service at hospital

Brisbane Waters Private Hospital held a special Anzac Day memorial service for more than 100 staff, patients and returned servicemen and women in its Commemorative Garden on April 25.

General manager Ms Annette Czerkesow and Member for Gosford Ms Marie Andrews, along with several prominent Returned Services League figures including President of the Hardy's Bay-Ettalong-Woy Woy RSL sub-branch Mr Bevin Router, joined hospital staff and patients in remembering all aspects of Australia's defence history.

Ms Czerkesow said the hospital had been involved in commemorating Anzac Day for more than 10 years.

"In 1999, Brisbane Waters Private Hospital, with the help of the Department of Veterans Affairs, established our Commemorative Garden within the hospital grounds as a way of recognising and remembering the efforts of all returned servicemen and women," Ms Czerkesow said.

"As a nation, we should all be thankful to the men and women who laid down their lives for us so we as a nation could grow and prosper.

"But on this special day we should also look at the impact of war on not only those brave men and women who fought, but also the relatives and friends that were left behind and to the civilians who lost their lives as a result of living in a war torn country."

Ms Czerkesow said Anzac Day was particularly important to the hospital as more than 30 per cent of its patients are war veterans.

"The hospital is proud to give something back to the returned servicemen and women in our community with high quality health care," Ms Czerkesow said.

"The staff at Brisbane Waters always find the war veterans lovely people to care for and their humble and generous nature is something to be cherished."

The Anzac Day memorial service included a commemoration speech by local World War II veteran Mr Reg Sparkes and a reading of The Ode by Mr Bevin Router.

World War II veteran Mr Frank Lade and his wife Marie also took part by laying a wreath at the garden's memorial plaque.

Mr Lade of Umina served in Papua New Guinea and Borneo throughout World War II.

The 84-year-old said he was able to join the army at the age of 17 by lying about his age after hearing about the devastation from the Darwin bombing and the fall of Singapore.

"After hearing about the impact of the war on Australia, particularly after the bombing of Darwin, I enlisted in the army and went off to Dubbo for training," Mr Lade said.

"When I first got off the barge on the beach in Borneo I looked to my left and there was General Douglas Macarthur, Commander of the South West Pacific, and he had with him a two-man tank and two American MPs with submachine guns.

"It was amazing, we got about 500 metres inland before the Japanese machine guns opened fire on us.

"The bullets cut the grass right in front of our feet.

"General Douglas Macarthur soon directed the tank towards the spot where the Jap machine gun was.

"We were pretty happy to see the tank with us at that stage.

"But it wasn't until we got further inland that we realised General Macarthur and his tank were gone.

"We would have been more than happy for him to stay with us for the whole expedition with his extra fire power."

Mr Lade said he considered Anzac Day a special time because he can remember the mateship and loss he experienced.

"One mate died in my arms as a result of a Japanese sniper," Mr Lade said.

"It was his eldest daughters third birthday on the day he died.

"I remember him telling me about it in the morning of his death before we headed out.

"I will never forget him and that moment he died in my arms."

Press release, 25 Apr 2009 Annette Czerkesow, Brisbane Waters Private Hospital