Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

My mother recalled an experience during the early 40's when she was home hanging out the washing on the clothesline. My dad arrived with a group of around 7 men, her only thought was what she was going to feed them with! Whilst my dad went inside the house the men told her they were his squad and that he was a great leader. She had no idea what they were talking about and said she knew better than to ask.

Once in a group of local women, a woman shared how she had a severely ill child and was distressed as her husband was serving overseas. My mother kept her counsel as she had been given a phone number to call if any of us was unwell. She had been promised that dad would be home within 24 -48 hours.

During WWII dad collaborated with the Sydney museum to transport crustations from the South Pacific to the museum collection. He has a number of letters from the museum thanking him for his submissions.

He was located on the Cocos Islands for a period of time. During a layover in Manlia I assisted an elderly gent with his luggage. On hearing my surname he asked if I was "Bill Prospers" daughter. He shared with me how he had been dispatched from England to the Cocos to meet with my father. He described dad as a bit of a larrikin but never to be underestimated. The gentleman was Sir Charles Moses and was a Brigadier General at the time of their meeting.

I have an album full of photos from this period that dad had taken with his Yoshika camera. He had spent some time at Rathmines training and I suppose he developed a love of photography there. I have a paper knife that he made from the windscreen of a downed plane and a piece of brass, he had made a few other items and a pendant he had made for my mum. He had been to the Emden site at some stage and had made a knife that I was never allowed to touch. For years I wore a wrap that he had bought on Cocos.

My middle sister was born in the early 1950's, my father did not meet her until she was almost 3 years of age. We have a photo of dad and mum taken during the 50's and dad is sporting a very fine pair of Rayban sunglasses.

During the 60's dad was in the reserves and I often helped him roll socks and pack his duffle bag. We all remember him removing and replacing insignia on his uniform. We think he was demoted once or twice. I would ask him when he was coming home and he would just grunt at me.

We were often short of money and my mum ran a tick at the local shop when I was very young. Dad was not paid until he came home from wherever he was. We struggled quite a bit. He would plant up vegetable gardens and fruit trees to help mum out when he was absent.

Dad did not ever attend or march in the ANZAC day parades but ran a commentary for us, often identifying individuals and sharing amusing snippets. He never belonged to the RSL and I asked him once why he didn't and he only ever said " they would not want me".

He could do anything, he took me camping and handed me a cardboard box with some food. I asked him where was the rest and he just raised an eyebrow. He made me a chocolate cake in a mud oven. He made the furniture we sat on and slept on. He tried to teach me judo and how to punch when I was a teenager, my mother was horrified but he said it was for my protection. He also taught me some pigeon English and some Japanese words all now forgotten along with the navigating by the stars and the Morse Code.

Dad told few stories about his servic, when he did it was the same few:
Like the time he acted as air traffic controller and was commended by the visiting dignitaries when he wasn't an air traffic controller