Morwell resident Tom Pritchett laid a wreath for his father at Thursday’s Yallourn-Newborough Anzac Day service for the 68th consecutive year.
His father Robert William Pritchett was a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps in World War II and died as a prisoner of war in 1943 after he was captured in Singapore.
The now 77 year-old Mr Pritchett was just five years-old when his father left from their home in Yallourn for war in 1940 after attempting three times to enlist and being knocked back because he worked at the State Electricity Commission.
Despite only having one real memory of his father, Mr Pritchett has chosen to honour his sacrifice every year since his family were notified of his death, laying a wreath at the memorial on which his father’s name is engraved.
Mr Pritchett said he was also now able to give back to the organisation that helped his family – Legacy.
He and his wife Maureen are legatees and regularly meet with war widows in the Latrobe Valley.
