Hardys Bay Anzac Day service to honour women

This year’s Anzac Day memorial service at Hardys Bay Club on April 25 will honour a local woman who served during the second world war.

The service will recognise the contribution of all women, especially nurses, who have proudly served in the defence of our country.

It will honour those who worked in nursing and medical support, in factories, on farms, and in a variety of civilian volunteer roles,  pioneering the way for the women who serve in the Australian Defence Force today.

The special guest will be Jean Jackson, 101, who signed up for a spot in the Royal Australian Air Force  in 1942.

After enlisting on May 2 that year, Jean served until her discharge on December 12, 1945.

At first, she was climbing up and down ladders working in the stationery department, before she worked (her “mustering” or “trade”) as a cinema operator showing training films to young pilots.

For the past two years, despite her age, Jean has been the special guest of Ipswich RSL in Queensland, including a tour of Amberley Air Base where she served, and she also led the Anzac Day parade in a vintage Jeep.

At her 100th birthday celebration in November 2023, at Wagstaffe where she is a resident, Jean was finally presented with her medals and certificate of service and discharge.

This year’s Anzac service at Hardys Bay Club begins at 11am at the cenotaph, with flags to half-mast earlier at 6am.

It will involve, as usual, the school captains of Pretty Beach Public School, an address narrated by two people on the contribution of women, presentation of wreaths by nearly 20 local organisations, musical items and a poetry recital.

It will conclude with a Vietnam veteran reciting the Ode Of Remembrance and the playing of the Last Post and the Rouse.

The club bar and restaurant will be open from noon, with a band playing throughout the afternoon and flags raised to full mast at 3pm.