Guest Speaker Trish Skehan
She spoke about her book ‘The Secrets of Anzac Ridge:
In Flanders Fields’.
She was enthusiastic and passionate about the subject matter and
spoke of many people who were engaged in WW1 in the Flanders fields of France.
The book’s “secrets” (The Secrets of Anzac Ridge) are the personal, often private,
stories from diaries and letters that reveal the human reality of war beyond official
histories.
The book weaves together the experiences of various people, including
Australian soldiers like James Armitage and General Sir John Monash, as well as doctors,
nurses, and gunners.
Many members purchased books from Trish.
Guest Speaker was Richard De Grijs
Richard is a Dutch astrophysicist based at Macquarie University in Sydney. He is a volunteer guide and consultant with the Australian National Maritime Museum. He tells how, after World War II, the Commonwealth government sought to establish a permanent base in the Australian Antarctic Territory and assert sovereignty.
For their expedition vessel, they overhauled an old polar favourite, MV Wyatt Earp. Plagued by problems during the 1947–48 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition, its crew turned a potential disaster into the navy’s first and only successful polar research expedition.
Members enjoyed Richard’s story and had a few questions after his talk.
Our guest speaker was John Quek from ID Support of Service NSW. He talked about personal information scammers who impersonates you and stated that Australian seniors are a favorite target.
He listed the various types of scams and how they contact us. John suggested that we set up key codes with our family to ensure any messages from scammers (such as needing urgent money) are genuine and never to click on an email if you are unsure.
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