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Thursday, 12 May 2011
Page: 3916

Mr BALDWIN (Paterson) (09:50): I rise today to pay tribute to John 'Jack' Charles Bradley who sadly passed away on 9 April 2011. Jack contributed a great deal both to my electorate of Paterson and to our nation through his military service. He will be sadly missed by our community. Jack was born in Newcastle on 16 June 1926 to Harry and Mary Bradley. After leaving school in year 5, he did paper runs and other odd jobs to make money before taking a position as a dockhand on Stockton ferries. It was during that time that Jack realised his love of the ocean and consequently his next job was as a seaman off the Newcastle coast.

On 22 June 1944, Jack enlisted in the Army. He was keen to serve his country. So when his mother refused to sign his application form, rather than accepting defeat, Jack got the barmaid to sign it. Accepted into the Australian infantry as private No. NX203909, Jack completed six months at Singleton training in the 41 2nd Infantry Training Battalion, followed by 28 days at Canungra Jungle Warfare Camp. From there he was posted to Cowra and on 27 August 1945 he left Australia on the first embarkation of the MV Duntroon to Changi, Singapore. Like many diggers, Jack never spoke much about his time at war except to say that he was on the first ship to release prisoners of war and the first person he saw was his mate whom he did not recognise except for his hair. He was discharged on 28 November 1946.

Following his time in the Army, Jack took a job at BHP before going back to work on the ocean he loved so much. He then met, fell in love with and married Doreen. Over the next few decades, he and Doreen made their mark on the Port Stephens community through their tireless volunteer work. You would be hard pressed to find anyone on the peninsula who did not know Jack and Doreen. In 1993, Jack had his first colon cancer operation, followed by another in 1997. After suffering with Alzheimer's, he sadly passed away on 9 April 2011. It is right that I should pay tribute here today to Jack, who fought for our nation and served the Paterson community with the highest distinction. For Jack, as long as he had money in his pocket it was Christmas Day—such was his outlook on life.

To Doreen, I say you will have your good days, you will have your tough days but you will always have your memories and, more importantly, you will always have our support. John, may you have found peace, may the wind in heaven always be at your back and may the seas be smooth. God bless you. You will be sadly missed.