Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

James “Jim” Paizis was born in 1924, the son of Greek immigrants, in West Melbourne, and grew up in Carlton, learning English when he began at school. As soon as he turned eighteen, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy, serving on corvettes. Before long he was found to have “OLQ”: officer-like qualities. He became a Sub Lieutenant. As part of the commemorative website created in honour of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, 95 year old Jim Paizis has been interviewed about his memories of WWII and the much shorter, smaller Melbourne that he grew up in. It’s a fascinating interview: https://www.wwiiathome.com.au/jp.html

We used this blog to ask if anyone could tell us more about gun emplacements that were in Niddrie during World War II. http://mooneevalleyfamilylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2020/05/historymysterymonday-mystery-of.html And we got an answer! Peter Willoughby of Essendon Historical Society has shared a fascinating article with us that he wrote originally for their newsletter, back in 2013. The gun placements were part of an anti-aircraft gun station set up during the Second World War. Their site, on Keilor Road, was chosen because it allowed the guns to protect both the Essendon Aerodrome to the north and the Maribyrnong explosive factory complex to the south. At the time the site was open paddocks. Now, its around where the car park sits for Wallis mall. The decision to set up the station was made in August 1940 when defence planners meeting at Victoria Barracks saw conflict with Japan as inevitable, and the chosen land was compulsorily requisitioned indefinitely in September. Soon “Es...

Villers–Bretonneux Military Cemetery Sourced: Department of Veterans' Affairs ( www.dva.gov.au )  It used to mean just downing tools at work at 11:00 for a minute or so. It became memorable when we visited the Villers Bretonneux war cemetery to see the three graves and a wall memorial (no body found) of wife's forebears.  The beauty of the place belied its awful legacy, reinforced by the pock marks of the violence of the second world war. We were both proud of the care bestowed on the fallen and saddened by the spectacle. And this is only one of the many war graves scattered across the fields of Europe and elsewhere. I reflect on the many who returned damaged in body and mind, broken souls for whom the armistice would never bring peace.     

Lone Pine Cemetery 2000 Image Sourced from Department of Veterans' Affairs ( http://www.dva.gov.au/ ) Coming from an Italian background, I don’t have a direct connection with Remembrance Day having no family members involved in Australian theatres of war. My earliest memory of it, however, comes from my primary school experience. I remember being quiet and trying to think of fallen soldiers while the Last Post played through the classroom speaker. In later primary school years, we went to the War Memorial on St Kilda road and being told about the ray of sunlight that shines directly onto a particular spot at 11am on 11 November. I was so impressed by that. Much later, as an adult, my husband and I visited Gallipoli in 1987, before the days it became a pilgrimage, of sorts, for young Australian. We were driven around by a young Turkish man who still spoke about the respect the locals have for the fallen Australian soldiers. It was heartbreaking to see the artefacts in the ...

When I was at Primary School in the late 60’s, Remembrance Day was always marked with a minutes silence. I had no real sense of the importance of that silent minute until more recently when I unearthed stories of my own families involvement in WW1 and WW2. For me and my family, Remembrance Day is a chance to remember uncles lost in faraway places and a grandfather I never met who, as a stretcher bearer, helped probably thousands of men on the battlefields of Gallipoli and the Western Front. I also remember and think about my father who served in the Pacific in WW2. I think about the stories he told me as an older man and I am thankful that my own sons have not had to spend their 20s fighting in far off places.  Buglers sounding the "Last Post" 1943 Sourced from Australian War Memorial website ( www.awm.gov.au ) The minutes silence no longer seems to be marked as it once was, but I try to stop what I am doing at 11am on November 11th and think about my family. I ...

Maybe this could occur, but I suspect not! Travelling to the city each day for work in the 1960's, finding myself out of the office on an errand at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month when the whole city came to a standstill. Everything came to a halt, the trams in Swanston Street, pedestrians and all the vehicular traffic... The noise of a busy city absent, complete quiet for 2 minutes, is lodged in my memory. A silent tribute. A sign of respect for the fallen. My viewpoint looking down Swanston Street from Lonsdale Street right the way down to Princes Bridge and beyond, a city frozen for those few moments, unforgettable. Will it ever happen again in a city of nearly 4.5 million people?  Image sourced from: State Library of Victoria ( www.slv.vic.gov.au ) Annette is an obsessive family history researcher and regular patron at Sam Merrifield Library.

What Remembrance Day means to me is taking the time to reflect on the horror of the First World War and trying to think about what people must have gone through then. However as I have grown up I have seen the day change from a day where we stood still in the playground , to one where we don’t stop and reflect at all. I can remember working one day a few years ago and asking my boss if we were going to stop and pause for Remembrance Day like I always had done growing up. The response I got was that they didn’t do that as people who were visiting were not going to stop so why should we? I don’t know what caused this change in public opinion about the day, but I think people care more about ANZAC Day than they do Remembrance Day. Image Sourced from: Chris Radburn, Press Association Images, Britannica Image Quest  Steve is the Local History and Information Services Librarian at Sam Merrifield Library. To contribute to Moonee Valley Remembrance Day Memories please email ...

Remembrance Day is a reminder to us all of the cost of war and allows people the time to reflect upon this. However as time has passed Remembrance Day has gone from being the National day of memory for all wars to being sidelined by the more popular ANZAC day. As part of Moonee Valley Libraries Remembrance Day program we want to ask you a question: "What does Remembrance Day mean to you?"   Image created by: Cole Bennetts / Getty Images We want to know what it means to you and what are your memories of this national day of remembrance. How has it changed? Do you pause? Should we do more to ensure it's relevance? Has your opinion on the day changed? We want to hear your stories about Remembrance Day. We are asking for people to become Guest Bloggers of this blog and to tell your story to other people. We are looking for as many posts as possible in the lead up to Remembrance Day so don't delay. There will be no word limit, but we ask that you...

This Saturday, 15 August 2015, marks 70 years since the end of the Second World War – Victory in the Pacific, or VP Day. Nearly 1 million Australians served in WWII, around 30,000 were captured as POWs and 40,000 would never return home.  A commemorative service will be held at the Shrine of Remembrance at 12:00 For more information see the Shrine of Remembrance website