The contribution of some families during this period was just enormous. Last week I had the great pleasure of speaking with someone from one such family, Nambucca Heads local Lena Crompton who joined the Australian Army during those war years.

Lena, who is 94 years young, is still doing very well considering she was born at Trangie NSW in 1926 and was baptised shortly after birth as it was not considered she would survive.

Growing up in Dubbo, Lena considered nursing may well be her chosen vocation however when the war began and her three brothers headed off in uniform, she decided, much to her mother's disgust, that the Army was also for her.

Lena explains that in those days women who went into the Army would often fill the jobs on the home front so that more male soldiers were freed up to be deployed overseas.

Not wanting to spend months undergoing clerical training, Lena opted to serve with the Army Postal Service, serving her initial period of service in Sydney. The volume of troops serving in those days meant these postal services were required to run around the clock.

The Army postal unit in Sydney was then situated in Surrey Hills and Lena recalls it was in eyesight of the notorious Thomo's Two Up School.

Lena was later transferred to Perth where she was put to work in the Army Records Office. One of the melancholy duties that Lena had to perform while in Perth was processing mail from Australian prisoners of war who had perished at the hands of their Japanese captors.

Fortunately for Lena and her family, her brothers, who served in New Guinea and Tarakan, all survived the war.

Also surviving the war was the handsome and charming Neville Crompton who had been training with the Army at Dubbo in 1943 when he met Lena, his wife-to-be.

Lena explained that Neville walked past her at the local swimming pool where he pushed her into the water to get her attention.

The two corresponded though the war years and were married in 1947. Neville served in New Guinea and Borneo as an infantry soldier during the war and his two brothers served in the same brigade.

Lena and Neville were five months away from their 70th wedding anniversary when he passed away in 2017. Neville was still playing golf at the age of 92.

After leaving the Army, Lena trained at technical college and worked until the first of their three children were born and later re-entered the workforce when she was in her 40s.

Lena worked in the city of Sydney for AMP and witnessed the building of the city's iconic AMP building. From there Lena went on to to be a court officer in the Supreme Court where she enjoyed eight very interesting years until retiring to Nambucca Heads in 1984.

Lena is an active member of the Nambucca Heads RSL Sub Branch and she and Neville maintained close ties with the veterans community, particularly fellow WWII veterans, all through their married life.

Last week I had the great pleasure of being able to congratulate Lena on receiving the commemorative medallion and certificate that has been struck by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to be presented to surviving former service men and women who served during WWII.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs, Darren Chester, has said that "While Australia can never repay the debt we owe almost one million Australians who served, this medallion and certificate are a small but meaningful way we can thank living veterans of the largest global conflict of the 20th century".

Lena and Neville's family combined had seven members serve in the Army during this war and in a way this medallion signifies all of their service and helps us as a nation remember them. Lest We Forget.

Hanging up the pans after eight years at Nambucca Heads

Drop-in tech helps for seniors at Nambucca