THE Moree RSL Regional Military Museum will host political heavyweights Barnaby Joyce, Mark Coulton and Jamie Chaffey in December to present medallions to the families of Noel Dean and James Shepherd, who both served their country during World War 2.
Military museum trustee, John Tramby, said family members of the late Mr Dean and Mr Shepherd will receive the medallions at a special ceremony on December 5.
“These medallions, in honour of those men and women who served and who are no longer with us, will be presented by the honourable Mr Coulton,” Mr Tramby said.
“One is Noel Dean, who served in World War 2 with the 61st transport company. We will present his son, Tony, with his father’s medallion.
“The other is James Carl Shepherd, who also served in World War 2 in the second 163rd Australian transport company. We’ll present the medallion to his son, Robert, in recognition of his father’s service,” he said.
The museum, which opened to the public in July, will also hold a special morning tea for war veterans and their families this Saturday, November 30.
“Reaching out to veterans and their families – irrespective of whether they are members of the RSL sub-branch or not – is an obligation, to make sure they’re being looked after,” Mr Tramby said.
“We’ll have a casual morning of coffee, tea and camaraderie, and we warmly invite veterans and their families to come along and say hello, and have morning tea with us.
“It’s a catch-up, just to make sure they are doing OK. They have no obligation or responsibility to join the sub-branch, but we have a responsibility to ensure they’re being looked after by the Department of Veteran Affairs, and to make sure they’re not forgotten,” he said.
From left: Moree RSL Sub-Branch president John Williams, branch member Darryl Brady and museum trustee John Tramby.
On Monday, December 9, the museum will host its first school excursion when students from St Philomena’s School tour the facility.
Moree RSL Sub-Branch president, John Williams, said the visit will be an eye-opener.
“A lot of the kids wouldn’t have seen anything like this,” Mr Williams said.
“We’ll form them into groups of three and take them through the museum for a tour, and explain some of the history.
“There will be a morning tea, and hopefully they’ll have a good time, enjoy themselves and discover what our museum is about.
“Also, if they have relatives who served in the military, we can look up their records and let them know a little bit about that history as well.
“We can do the research and get the information to them at a later date – we can do that research for anybody who’s interested in finding out more about their ancestors military involvement and history,” Mr Williams said.
