Spirits rise on Remembrance Day

By Sam Hall
Updated November 6 2012 - 1:16am, first published November 11 2010 - 10:23am
Cyril Bevan of Wollongong greets Bill Atkinson of North Wollongong before the service at Wollongong cenotaph. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
Cyril Bevan of Wollongong greets Bill Atkinson of North Wollongong before the service at Wollongong cenotaph. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

It was a gathering 92 years in the making, but for those at Remembrance Day commemorations in Wollongong yesterday, it was a 29-year-old who epitomised courage and determination.At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, about 400 people stood at the Cenotaph in MacCabe Park to mark the end of the bloody conflict that was labelled the war to end all wars - and honour all of Australia's war dead.A minute's silence was held to commemorate the signing of the Armistice when World War I officially ended.Shortly before the bugle sounded the lament of The Last Post, applause broke out for one individual's sacrifice.Commando Damien Thomlinson was fighting in Afghanistan last year with the 2nd Commando Regiment when the vehicle in which he was travelling hit a roadside bomb. His legs were blown off in the explosion and he was lucky to survive.The spirit of the 29-year-old, whose story has been widely broadcast, capped a day which was as much about appreciation as sorrow for his harrowing story."Everyone should be aware of the Australian spirit and how that spawns from World War I," he said. "I think it's something that every Australian should be proud of."Pte Thomlinson told the Mercury he felt honoured to address the Wollongong gathering. "Being told that I epitomise courage is a pretty big torch to carry but I'm happy to see that people like to hear my opinions on it," he said."I personally don't see what I did as that much courage but more of a recovery. I look at people like Scott Palmer - he's the one that crawled forward and found me in the wreckage. That's courage."Pte Thomlinson said he was looking forward to returning to service. "I want to be deployed," he said. "To those who are still serving in Afghanistan, keep it going, boys."City of Wollongong RSL sub-branch president Peter Poulton said he was delighted to see more younger people commemorating Remembrance Day because "it is where we remember all our war dead", he said.

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