Whole School

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day, an opportunity for us to stop and pay our respects to members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. It is also a time to think about those who have served their country and did not die but who live with the consequences of war which can include both physical and emotional trauma.

The following extract is from an article published in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday 8 March 2000. It is from an obituary to Joe Lynch, an Old Boy of St Patrick’s College c.1936. He is an example of someone who although survived World War II, sustained such atrocities which would affect his life.

“Fresh from school, Joe Lynch, aged 17, joined the army. Months later he was with the AIF 2/20 Battalion which bore the brunt of the Japanese onslaught on Singapore.

When Singapore fell, he became a prisoner-of-war. Released at the end of World War II he was skin and bones, weighing only 32kg. Mr Lynch never fully recovered from the brutal treatment he received.

He was born to Joseph and Annie Lynch on June 17, 1923, at Lidcombe, where he attended St Joachim’s, the local Catholic primary school. He was later a student at St Patrick’s College, Strathfield.

After the war, Mr Lynch became a soil technologist, working throughout Australia and Indonesia on many engineering projects. He married Eleonara in June 1956.

Fellow POW Wal Kirley, who had enlisted aged 16, said in his eulogy: “Joe and I were friends for 59 years and during that time we saw many difficult times and many wonderful times.

“As a prisoner of the Japanese, he worked for two and a half years on the Burma Railway, a period Joe was never able to completely erase from his mind. I know because we were together during that perilous time.

“I believe that war is insidious and diabolical. But mateship is stronger and gave me a friendship for which I am eternally grateful….”

Many thanks to the Cassar family who brought this article to my attention. Matthew Cassar (Year 11) had a great uncle who served in the same Battalion as Joe Lynch, Jack ‘Johnny’ Cassar was also taken as a prisoner of war and spent the remainder of World War II as a POW in Changi. 

Please take the time to remember all veterans, those who have fallen and those who continue to live their lives beyond war and carry their battle scars within them. Lest we forget. 

Nikki Fochesato

Community Liaison Officer