Work begins on Tamworth war memorial young veterans

Work has officially started on a memorial for all Australian Defence Force personnel to service post-1973.

It will take pride of place in Railway Park, alongside the city’s war memorials dedicated to veterans of WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, the Boer War and the National Service Men.

Tamworth Young Veterans’ (TYV) chair Rebecca Linich will pass the memorial on her way to work everyday. If she sees anyone paying their respects, she plans to pull over for a chat.

“The memorial is a sense of accomplishment and a sense of acceptance from the community, that we do matter,” Ms Linich said.

“In a way, it’s representative of our military skill transitioning into civilian skills. It’s the transition that’s the hardest.”

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RSL affiliate member and the “pro-bono” construction supervisor Terry Lane said memorial would consist of a rendered-sandstone ring wall, with a polished concrete map of the world in the centre.

“The map will show the more than 40 deployments the Australian Defence Force has been involved in since 1973,” Mr Lane said.

“There are only five post-1973 memorials in Australia, so this will put Tamworth on the map.”

Tamworth RSL sub-branch president Bob Chapman while the RSL got the wheels turning, the organisation was proud to take a backseat, and guide the young veterans.

“We realised that these young people wanted to build it themselves,” he said.

“They’re our future. We want them to feel embraced and accepted.”

TYV deputy chair David Howells said was important for the group to spearhead the project.

“By taking ownership of what we’re doing, we’ve bonded together,” he said.

“Hopefully this memorial will encourage others to join us, so we can work together on issues that affect other young veterans.”

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson, who is also member of the Tamworth Young Veterans, turned the first sod.

“This memorial goes some of the way for our young veterans and their families and friends to focus and remember them,” Mr Anderson said.