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Range Veteran selected to attend VE Day ceremonies |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 06 May 2005 |
Flaxton resident Bevan Christensen, 84, has been selected as one of 17
veterans and one war widow to represent Australia?s veteran community
at the VE (Victory in Europe) Day commemorative ceremonies in Paris and
London in May.
?May of this year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II
in Europe and it is an honour and privilege to be selected,? Bevan said.
?We?re being farewelled by the Prime Minister at a departure ceremony in Sydney.
?We fly to Paris via London and spend a few days touring World War I
and World War II battlefields and cemeteries. Then we go back to Paris
for the VE celebration on May 8 at the Arc De Triomphe. Then to London
for a further wreath laying ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.
Bevan said the battlefields of Europe held deep emotional significance for him.
?A special point of interest to me is the fact that my father and two
uncles served in France on the Somme in World War I, the youngest of
whom was killed in action.
His name is engraved on the wall with hundreds of other fallen at the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.?
The enormity of what the allies had achieved in Europe was brought home
to Bevan on a trip there in the 70s where the locals are ever mindful
of Australia?s sacrifices in both world wars.
?I was in Europe in 1979 and I visited the big AIF cemetery at Villers
Brettoneaux. Villers Brettoneaux was the HQ of the AIF in 1918. It was
retaken from the Germans on Anzac Day 1918.
?The people of Villers Brettoneaux still have tremendous respect for
Australians after all these years. A bloke even loaned me his motorcar
while I was there (in 1979). It was a little baby Citroen with a
gearshift lever poking out of the dash,?? Bevan recalled fondly.
Bevan said 6198 Australian soldiers with no known graves are remembered
and honoured to this day by the French at Villers Brittaneaux.
?The kids at school there can all sing Advance Australia Fair and some
of the streets of Villers Brittaneaux are named after Australian
cities. They remember us all right.?
Bevan enlisted in the AIF in 1940 at 20 and was posted to the intelligence section of the 2/25th Battalion.
In April 1941 the Battalion embarked on the Queen Mary for the Middle
East where he saw active service in North Africa and Syria.
He was then posted to the Cipher section of the 25th Brigade which led to his attachment to a unit of 7 Division Signals.
In February 1942 Bevan returned to Australia and then saw further active service in New Guinea and Borneo.
Bevan rose through the ranks to be commissioned as a lieutenant and took his discharge at the end of the war.
Bevan has been involved in Freemasonry for more than 50 years where he
has served as the organist for Montville, Maleny and other Sunshine
Coast lodges.
He is also a member of RSL Mapleton sub-branch.
CAPTION: . Bevan Christenesen on the eve of his flight to France.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 May 2005 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
