(Today is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand).
Mrs W. Picton was hostess on Saturday evening at a delightful farewell dance for soldiers off to the war. Eleven of the soldiers farewelled were her grandsons. What a proud moment for the family!
A large number of town and country visitors met and enjoyed the hospitality of the Picton Estate. Dancing took place in the billiards room, which was artistically decorated for the occasion, and supper was served in the dining-room during an interval in the dancing.
Miss Macdonald’s orchestra supplied the latest dance music.
Mrs Picton wore a handsome gown of electric blue charmeuse, embroidered in beads in harmonious colours. She was assisted in her duties as hostess by her two daughters, Miss Picton and Miss Barbara Picton. A son and his wife, Mr and Mrs Ralph Picton, who are in town for the races, were also present.
Her youngest son and ten of her grandsons never returned from war.
To listen to the story being read click HERE!
Weave a Web 
How soon that optimism changed to grief – you capture it well Bruce.
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Thanks, Andrea. I read an old newspaper obituary (which unfortunately I can’t find) of a woman who had 19 grandsons killed in WWI.
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There are some horrific stories.
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The truth of this story is so appalling and so sad. I don’t know how a family recovers from that kind of loss.
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I don’t know if they ever do recover…
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The mind boggles.
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It does. And “boggle” must surely compete for being one of the best sounding words in the English language!
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Someone once told me that the two most beautiful sounding phrases in the English language were: “pickle relish,” and “cellar door.” Go figure.
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I wouldn’t dream of pickling the relish, nor of selling a door!
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Ah..a man of impeccable taste!
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So sad. Going off to war is not reason for celebrations.
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I think back then that every town in New Zealand had official farewells for soldiers going to the other side of the world to fight in support of the “Mother Country”. It was regarded as a noble thing…
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I wondered what you would serve up for Anzac Day Bruce. I’m glad it was real! I wish we could have an International Day of Peace, I’d celebrate that.
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I think people get the day muddled. ANZAC Day is a day of peace.
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As I read your words today, the solemn dawn service broadcast from Darwin plays quietly on the TV, just after a news report of a sixteen year old boy who was stopped before he could carry out a terrorist attack on an ANZAC parade in NSW.
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The 16-year-old’s parents should be sent to prison…
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Now that I expected. History isn’t something in books. It strides in and grabs people by the throat. Somebody else comes along and writes about it later…
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Yes – and so many written histories deal with the leaders and not the ordinary people affected by events…
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too much waste
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yes
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propaganda versus reality. And we know which one won. Sad times, Bruce.
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Sad times indeed…
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So wasteful
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Indeed it is… And more and more war is becoming a conundrum… what to do?…
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Search me
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