On Anzac Day this year, when Australia stops at 11am for a minute’s silence, Greg Rossborough from Tongala won’t just be honouring one of his relatives, but two.

The Rossborough family’s fate was intertwined with war.

Greg’s great uncle Richard Rossborough landed and fought in Gallipoli in World War I while his father, Fredrick Rossborough, fought in New Guinea during World War II.

Greg said talking about war did not come easily to his father — it was not something discussed over supper or a coffee.

“The blokes from World War II never like to speak about what they saw … you really had to worm it out of (them),” he said.

However, a writing competition through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs unveiled information about Greg’s dad and his uncle’s experiences in the wars – providing insight into the mind of an Anzac.

At the age of 28, Richard signed up for the Australian Imperial Force with his mates to go on the “adventure of a lifetime”.

He joined the fight at Gallipoli as a digger in May 1915 — digging trenches and bunkers, but also actively fighting.

That same month, on May 31, Richard was wounded in action — badly enough to be sent to England to be treated and to recuperate.

He returned to active service in September 1916 and, that same month, the man with the service number 225 was killed in action by an enemy trench mortar attack.

A letter sent by a chaplain of the 8th battalion, George W. Carter, conveyed the news of Richard’s passing and burial in Bedford House Military Cemetery, to his mother, Esther, on September 27, 1916.

“Yours is a deep sorrow, dear Madam, like that of so many who in this awful war are giving their best and dearest for King and Country and for freedom and truth,” Mr Carter said in the letter.

Richard’s nephew Fredrick spoke about the impact of his uncle’s death on his family at Anzac events, and said it was a devastating loss.

Fredrick, who passed in 2022, lived to tell the tales of both he and his uncle’s war experiences.

He served in the 24th AIF, first sailing overseas in February 1943 to the battlefield in the south-west Pacific, where would stay in service until the end of World War II.

His active service included 18 months in New Guinea and 12 months in Bougainville in the Solomon Islands archipelago.

In 1944, his unit — the 24th battalion — played a large role in carrying out raids on villages held by Japanese soldiers in the Sepik and Wewak area.

The 24th battalion also played a decisive part in the battle of the rivers, where Fredrick participated in “fierce action” at Anderson’s Junction.

In May 1945, he was wounded in action — shot in the hip and the upper arm.

The citation for his military medal said Fredrick was shot when he was distracting enemy soldiers from his comrades who were caught in “very heavy crossfire”.

“His ruse succeeded, and the men were able to take cover … He continued to call the fire onto (himself) so that the platoon commander could locate and bring tank fire to bear on the enemy positions, enabling the platoon to capture their objective,” it said.

Fredrick was sent to an army hospital at Torokina, Bougainville, where he was operated on to remove the bullets, but the operation was unsuccessful and both bullets remained for several years.

The shot in his arm had penetrated into his side and lodged in his lung.

Fredrick said the doctors assumed it must have passed through a tree first otherwise it would have killed him.

After the war ended in 1945, he was sent back to Australia but was curious to see more than just jungle, as he had for the past four years.

He joined the British Commonwealth Occupation Force voluntarily and spent 14 months in Japan representing Australia, sending Koreans back to Korea, and performed guarding and ticket duty on trains.

After exploring Japan, he was sent back to Australia to be treated for his gunshot wounds that had finally caught up with him.

For eight long years the bullet in his lung was a permanent reminder of his time in the war, before it caused complications and needed to be removed.

Fredrick was dedicated to his service until he died on April 28, 2022.

He was a welfare officer for the Rosebud RSL and later at the Tongala RSL, and spoke of his experiences at Anzac events.

Greg, like his father, has retold his relative’s stories on many occasions and said doing so was crucial to keeping the Anzac spirit alive.

“I used to say to kids, if you have aunties, uncles and grandparents who have been in war — ask them about it, get the information,” he said.

“Once they are gone — the stories go with them.”

This April 25, Greg will be honouring the memory of both his father and great uncle by wearing Fredrick’s medals, each of the seven a reminder of their family’s connection to the spirit of the Anzacs.

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Monday, 2nd June 2025

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