George V. Smith Award 2023 - Presentation Speech

 

George V. Smith Award – 2023

Wesley College, Glen Waverley Campus

ANZAC Day Campus Commemoration Service

Speech by FOTOBAI Committee Member Greg Smith

27^th April 2023

 

Thank you Sheriden (Sheriden Vella, Head of Campus).

Wesley College community, and special guests - thank you.

My name is Greg Smith and I am here to present the 2023 George V. Smith Award for the best essay by a Wesley student about the Spirit of ANZAC.

I will also be passing on a very important compliment to your college, but I will leave that to the end of the presentation.

My Father, George V. Smith, was a Wireless/Air Gunner in B25 Mitchell Bombers during WW2. He served in 180 Squadron which was a British Air Force squadron. Many British Squadrons had at least one Australian, New Zealander, or South African in their crew. These crewmembers from other Commonwealth countries were called “odd bodies”.

When the Australian “odd bodies” returned home they realized they didn’t have a banner to march behind on ANZAC Day. So, George, and a few of his mates, set up the Odd Bods Association, organized a banner, which was made by workers at the Repatriation Hospital in Heidelberg, and set about achieving two main aims.

Firstly to provide a social network that could assist war-damaged aviators as they returned to civilian life. And secondly to ensure that their sacrifices, and more importantly the sacrifices of those who did not return, were not forgotten.

In about 2007, The Odd Bods Association and Wesley College struck up a relationship. George Smith visited Wesley College on a number of occasions both in classroom question and answer sessions, and attended this ANZAC service.

He believed that the relationship with Wesley students, who he described as “the influencers of the future”, was an important part of ensuring that sacrifices were not forgotten.

When George passed in 2015, Wesley, Friends of the Odd Bods Association, and the Smith family, set up an award that was designed to create an ongoing relationship with students. The George V. Smith Award for the best essay about the ANZAC Spirit is the result.

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 It is said that we never stop learning and over the past few weeks I have learned a lot about the Rats of Tobruk. The Rats of Tobruk were an iconic force in Australia’s WW2 history.

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra gives the following summary - “For eight long months, surrounded by German and Italian forces, the men of the Tobruk garrison, mostly Australians, withstood tank attacks, artillery barrages, and daily bombings. They endured the desert’s searing heat, the bitterly cold nights, and hellish dust storms. They lived in dug-outs, caves, and crevasses. 

The defenders of Tobruk did not surrender, they did not retreat. Their determination, bravery, and humour, combined with the aggressive tactics of their commanders, became a source of inspiration during some of the war’s darkest days. In so doing, they achieved lasting fame as the “Rats of Tobruk”.” 

 

I read one particular article that gave me lots of insight into the Rats of Tobruk including where the term “Rats” came from. I urge you to read the story. It makes for fascinating reading.

This article also identified three key character traits which were identified as Spirit of ANZAC traits. They were –

1.      Resourcefulness – you needed to be resourceful in the field.

2.      Enterprise – you needed to be creative.

3.      Recklessness.

I love that “recklessness” is considered a desirable trait. That sounds so Australian, and I guess that recklessness and bravery are often fused together in wartime action.

 

You have probably guessed that the article I refer to was the winner of this year’s George V. Smith Award. It was written by your fellow student, Kirwan Schoenborn, who unfortunately is away at a music camp at the moment, but we congratulate her for an excellent essay, and a worthy contribution to the long list of award winning essays.

Kirwan’s essay will be published as an article on our website this evening and I encourage you to put a note in your diaries to go to friendsofoddbods.com and have a read.

Kirwan receives a certificate of appreciation and a $500 online book voucher to assist with her future education.

 

And so to our very important compliment:

On Tuesday I attended the Friends of the Odd Bods reunion, and had the honour of sitting with two veteran aviators. They are both in their late 90’s and we discussed many topics including the Wesley ANZAC Service. They were both regular attendees here and have a very high opinion of your presentation. It was described as “solemn, yet uplifting, and showed great respect to veterans”.

In my experience, veterans in their 90’s don’t mince words. They speak from the heart, with honesty and directness, and I suggest that is the ultimate compliment. Congratulations to Wesley, and thank you for the opportunity to present here today.

 

Greg Smith