The Committee of the Remembering the HMAS Armidale Association Inc. recently reached out to the children of Ray Leonard to provide some thoughts about their father and an insight into his life.
Carol Reid told the Association “Dad’s integrity, loyalty, resilience and love of family and country were a constant presence during our youthful years. I remember well dad saying how vital it was to always be honest. Surely a wonderful quality to impress upon young minds and older ones too!
Dad used to call me ‘Blossom’ and I have happy memories of awaiting his coming home from work where he would allow us to ride on his back while he crawled around the living room floor, pretending to be some sort of large animal while we shrieked with excitement.
Every single year Dad marched on Anzac Day and we were just so very proud of him. Striding along, medals shining and thoughts no doubt filled with memories that we could not have even imagined.
This Anzac Day was honoured with equal reverence. Candles in the driveway, services watched on T.V., poppies on our jumpers, Anzac cookies on our plates and undoubtedly once again, unwavering memories in Dad’s thoughts.
This coming June 6th Dad will be celebrating 76 years of marriage to his wonderful and cherished wife Beryl who continues to be by his side in sickness and in health. Shortly after on June 28th we will be celebrating dad’s 97th birthday.”
Mark Leonard shared his thoughts of his father “grit and determination to overcome challenges, forged from his ordeal as a castaway from the sinking of the Armidale, was demonstrated in his post-war life as an extraordinarily hard-working university student, and later through his career as a focused and disciplined professional. On a sub-conscious level, I witnessed this work ethic, particularly through my adolescent life, and found myself adopting the same attitude towards study and work.
His love of the sea was another area that influenced my formative years.
After countless family days at the beach, I have found myself living much of my adult life near the ocean.
Luckily, I inherited his sea legs, which has served me well over the years with my various travels on turbulent oceans, making seasickness a non-issue. On such trips, I find myself outside on the deck, staring across the waves towards the horizon, and losing myself in the moment.
I cannot help but feel this affinity with the sea stems from Ray’s naval years.”
Paul Leonard shared with the Association “When I was young, Dad didn’t talk about the war. I knew he had served on 3 warships, but it just wasn’t discussed, and I instinctively knew why.
However, his skills as a Mariner became evident when he bought the family a very long wooden surfboard. This could aptly be called the Queen Mary of surfboards. It could accommodate the whole family; however, it would sink just below the surface, so it doubled as a submarine. With all the weight, it would roll over, throwing us into the water, so we just had to start climbing back on again laughing hysterically. We affectionately called our vessel ‘The Plank’.
For many family trips to Port Phillip Bay, it brought us immense joy and fun and this is only one story of life with Ray Leonard.
In subsequent years, and with Frank Walker’s book HMAS Armidale – ‘The ship that had to die’, there was much discussion and I grew to understand the depth of what Dad went through in WW2.”
The Association would like to thank the Family Members of Ray Leonard for their contributions.
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