Faye and Carol Moses moved to Port Macquarie in September 2005 as Community Pastors with Coastside Church. Carl was the Chaplain of the Port Macquarie RSL for 10 years until he retired last December.
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They have been at every Anzac Day service for 10 years. Faye did the photography for the RSL at all their events while Carl read the prayer.
As well as the community, welfare and counselling work they did together, Faye ran Coastside Scrapbookers for 12 years until she also retired in December 2019.
"Anzac Day will be very different for us this year," Faye said.
We asked - who will they stand for at the end of their driveway at dawn on Saturday morning?
Faye has shared this beautiful story of Victor Henry Williams who served in World War 1. The story is from the point of view of his mother Charlotte. Faye was inspired to write this when she had the Patriotic Crochet framed in 2018, 100 years after it was completed.
Charlotte worried. Her oldest son, Victor, had gone to war. He was only 5 feet 5 inches tall and his fair complexion made him look younger than his almost 19 years of age. Victor preferred his quiet life as a fisherman on the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn. And now, here he was, in Europe she supposed, surrounded by men, filth, injury and death.
Charlotte could only pray that Victor would survive and come home safely. She had already lost his father at the age of 32. Far too young to die, far too young to be left widowed with children. But now they were growing up and leaving her with time on her hands.
Time to worry. But also time to pray, and to crochet. "Patriotic Crochet" the pattern in the newspaper supplement said. "ANZAC - Our Hero, We're Proud of You". That was so true. No matter what happened, Victor was her hero. He was a good son and a fine example to the younger children.
Oh how she missed him! But while he was away she would crochet this tray cloth, to show him when he returned. No time to waste, it would all be over in a few months.
But it was years, not months. Victor had shipped out with the 34th Battalion in 1916. During his time away Charlotte received two of the dreaded cables from the Australian Imperial Force. There was some relief that Victor was not dead, but wounded, how badly she had no way of knowing. "Satisfactory progress" was all the information she had.
The 34th Battalion was originally sent as replacements for those killed in Gallipoli. They fought on the Western Front. Passchendaele saw them with a casualty rate of 50%. This was a major defeat but some months later, replenished, they were part of a victory at Villers-Bretonneux.
Finally, there was peace and in July, 1919 Victor came home. He was alive!
Charlotte's prayers had been answered. He had suffered gunshot woulds to his right leg, then to his left leg and arm. But he was alive, and home!
Charlotte proudly spread the Patriotic Crochet on the tray table and then covered it with his favourite foods. Family and a good home made cup of tea, that's what he wanted.
During the afternoon the teapot was spilt - onto Charlotte's crochet! "It will wash out." she said. "He's home, that's what's important today." In the celebrations it was forgotten, and that small stain at the bottom of the tray cloth never did wash out.
Victor had suffered severe wounds but recovered enough to take on a job as Marine Fireman (stoker) with the Port Jackson Steamship Company. Sydney to Manly, Manly to Sydney many times a day.
Some years later, at a dance, he met Edith. She was taller than he was with a ginger complexion. But she had a good sense of humour and wasn't too prim and proper. Like him, she loved the water.
Edith worked in Sydney but lived in Manly, so she always managed to catch Vic's ferry home. They cleaned a little corner in the engine room for her and she'd enjoy watching him work while they crossed the harbour several times until the end of his shift.
In March 1928 at St Matthews Church, Manly, they became man and wife. Charlotte was delighted and prayed that soon she might be a grandmother. Again, Charlotte's prayers were answered. A baby was on the way. Vic was sure it was a boy. "Our Jimmy" he christened the growing bump.
Edith stopped work and enjoyed making a home for them. Having worked as a dressmaker and tailoress for years, this was her time to sew for her own little family. The baby was due in late January.
One day in October she had a message. Vic had a fall at work and had been taken to hospital. He had slipped going from the ferry deck down to the engine room and hit his chest. When she arrived at the hospital he was awake and talking, promising her that he would be home soon. Of course he would be, he had survived more than this. She would let his mother Charlotte know in the morning. Edith didn't want her to worry.
Edith was taken back to her parents' home to rest. Late at night that rest was interrupted by another message. Edith was needed at the hospital.
He looked so peaceful there in the hospital bed. Pale, which was unusual, but still her handsome Victor, soon to be the proud father of their Jimmy. She hopped it was a boy, for his sake. Edith touched his hand, then kissed his forehead. He was stone cold.
Victor Henry Williams died of "heart disease" according to his death certificate. He was 32 years old, the same as his father. The funeral was held in late October 1928 at St Matthews Manly, the church where Victor and Edith were married only seven months before. "A crying shame." so many said. "Survived the war only to die after an accident on the ferry."
Edith and Charlotte considered suing the Port Jackson Steamship Company for their contribution to his death but were advised that there was no way two women could take on a large company.
So together with their families Charlotte and Edith grieved. Their one hope was the arrival of the baby. Born in Manly on the hottest January day in memory, Victor James Williams was huge and healthy.
Charlotte often made the trip to see Edith and her growing grandson. She gave the tray cloth to Edith, stain and all. "It's made to be used" she said, and it was used every time she came to visit.
The tray cloth and the story has passed down through the generations. As the only granddaughter of Victor and Edith it's now in my possession. Now over 100 years old it is no longer used but has been framed, stain and all.
The Patriotic Crochet tray cloth is a tangible memory of my great grandmother Charlotte and her life. As we remember those who served in wartime, we also remember those who stayed home, who worried, prayed and crocheted.
Who will you stand for on Anzac Day?
If you're setting the alarm clock this ANZAC Day, we want to hear who you'll be standing for - is it for a relative or an ancestor who has served? Where did they serve and what was their sacrifice? Or are you a veteran yourself? Please feel free to include a picture of yourself or your loved one.
Send information about who you will be standing for to tracey.fairhurst@austcommunitymedia.com.au