Rachael+E+HA

Leonard was welcomed into the world on the 23rd of April 1916. Valerie Rae Ryles was born on the 1st of March 1921. Leonard and Valerie got married on the 23rd of April 1940, a year before he enlisted in the Australian Army, at Koroit on the 25th of March 1941.

The weekend Leonard’s daughter was born was also the weekend of his sister’s wedding in Melbourne. At that time he was stationed in Puckapunyal and Leonard decided he would go AWL which is absent without leave and he got a ride in the back of a pie cart. The driver told him if he wanted to get in their he would take him to Melbourne, so he did this and went to Melbourne for his sister’s wedding, then came to Warrnambool on the train to see his wife and new baby daughter. He got back to Puckapunyal without being missed because some of his mates covered for him.

Grandma was three months old when Leonard went to Papua New Guinea. My Great Grandfather, Leonard John Ryles went to the Second World War, to fight for our country. Leonard spent most of his war years in Papua New Guinea as a mechanic and truck driver. He was in charge of the army trucks.

Valerie, his wife, was given a silver brooch from the Australian Government, which was given to the women of Australia who had men in the war.

She wore it a lot but not as much as she wore a golden brooch, in the shape of a slouch hat on a small pin and chain with a photo of Leonard in it, in his army uniform. All we know about the brooch is that Leonard gave it to Valerie. We don’t know where he got it. We are not sure if it was a government issue or if Leonard either made it himself, or had it made, but it was very important to Valerie. Valerie used to wear the golden brooch on the lapel of her overcoat which was close to her heart and she wore it the whole time when Leonard was away.

Leonard wasn’t then discharged until the 9th of January 1946. Grandma (Bev) was four and a half years old when he got home. During all that time, Leonard only saw her once.

Leonard received three medals from the Australian Government in 1946 for defending our country. The medals Leonard got were the 1939 to 1945 star which is bronze, the 1939 to 1945 Australian service medal which is silver and a silver war service medal.

Leonard didn’t talk much about the war, but one story he did tell my dad was when the air raid sirens went off, the men would run out of their barracks but Leonard used to stroll out. One man asked him why he did this, his reply was a mate ran out and jumped in a tank of diesel and was killed. Leonard’s theory was if I am going to die here there isn’t much I can do about it, so what is the point running. With that attitude he went on to live until he was almost 86.

Valerie died on the 11th August 1995 and Leonard died on the 27th of March 2002. Valerie died 4 months before I was born so mum and dad made my middle name Valerie. When they both passed away the three war medals and two brooches were passed down to my Grandma Bev. They were kept in a tin, but since Grandma has had them, they have been kept in a blue velvet box in a safe place. The medals and brooches have been kept as a keep sake in all that the men and women who went to war for us.

Even though the objects were Leonard’s they didn’t mean much to him because they brought back too many bad memories of the war. But know they are very much treasured and valued. The objects are very, very precious to his daughter (my Grandma) because he has now passed away.

In 2002 the objects were lost in a house fire and after much searching and digging, they were found in the ashes and sent to Melbourne by my mum to be restored to their original condition by replating and putting new ribbons on.

The person who found the gold brooch in the ashes, saw the bent metal which was actually supposed to be bent as a slouch hat, but he thought it had been accidentally stood on and bent. He actually flattened it out. Then we realised it was supposed to be bent so we were lucky it didn’t break when we bent it up again, because the metal had been through the heat of the fire. The restoration of the medals cost lots of money, but was well worth it. This is why the medals and brooches are very important to the family.

**Something that is special to me right now!** My special object: a family photo

"Mum, do we really have to do this? I really don't want to dress up in those old, weird clothes."

Time ticks by and it is our turn for the photos. I am sick of posing for all these photos. Time is dragging on and we haven't got a decent photo yet. Caitlin not smiling and Leigh giving cheeky grins, pointing a gun around is really starting to annoy me. My eyes are hurting and I just want it to be over and done with.

The photographer finally agrees she enough photos. The six of us are pleased. We sit there impatiently waiting for our photos to come up on screen. We sit there laughing at our photos. The photos of us in seventy’s clothes all looking crazy is something I will never forget.

It was fun laughing at each other but it was kind of embarrassing too. It is really special to me because I have memories of that night I will never forget and it is something I will have forever. Leigh was even trying to shoot two little kids with the gun. We were constantly laughing.