Lest we Forget
- jimchalmers
- Apr 25, 2014
- 2 min read
First published in The Logan Reporter on the 25th of April, 2014.
Among the first ashore at Gallipoli 99 years ago was Logan man Frederick Pope, one of the brave Australian soldiers from the 3rd brigade establishing the front line of the ANZAC beachhead.
Between that day and the evacuation in December that year, Pope's 9th battalion lost 236 men and a further 390 were wounded on that now-sacred battlefield.
Pope himself was shot in the shoulder on that first day, and later gassed in France and Belgium. He survived these wounds, and fought on for the War's duration.
He lived long enough to settle locally in Woodridge in 1923 with his new bride, in the house where a daughter still lives today. He worked as a timber getter and poultry farmer, and put his hand up again for service in World War II.
Frederick Pope is no longer with us but his memory remains, in the records and pamphlets and photos that have been so lovingly maintained, and also when we pay our respects on Anzac Day to the diggers who fell and those who survived, in theatres of war near and far, over the past century.
Being among the first onto the beach at Gallipoli, Pope has special significance for those of us who, like him, have made a home and a life in Logan. I'll be thinking of him and his comrades when I join four of the services held throughout our community.
By keeping his memory alive we honour all of them - in graves around the world. We also honour the contribution made by the veterans who still live in our community, from more recent dangerous conflicts. I look forward to talking with many of them this ANZAC Day, shouting a beer or two and hearing their stories of sacrifice and service.
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