Anzac spirit runs in family
When the call to serve went up after World War I broke out, Jock Williamson put up his hand.
Like so many other young men who sailed for foreign shores between 1914 and 1918, he met head-on unimaginable danger and hardship at Gallipoli and the Western Front.
The deeds of Jock Williamson and his mates helped forge what has become known as the Anzac spirit.
And his son Jim said he was appreciative to be going to Gallipoli for Anzac Day next year on the 100th anniversary of the first landings to honour that spirit after being successful in the national ballot, which was finalised yesterday.
Records show 42,273 valid applications were received for 10,500 places, of which 8000 went to Australians, 2000 to New Zealanders and 500 reserved for official guests.
Of this, 400 double passes went to Australian direct descendants of those who had served at Gallipoli, 400 double passes to defence force veterans and 3000 double passes to the general public.
Another 400 places were for secondary school students and chaperones outside the ballot, with places also reserved for widows of WWI veterans.
Jim Williamson, of Carlisle, who served in the air force in Vietnam in 1969-70, said his father was in the 16th Battalion and had landed at Gallipoli in July 1915.
Wounded in a shoulder in September, he was evacuated to hospital before rejoining the battalion to see action on the Western Front.
Jock Williamson was awarded the Military Medal, captured and made two escape bids before he was released at the end of the war.
Jim Williamson said his father died in 1965 and had never spoken much about the war.
However, his family always understood the lasting significance of what he had achieved.
