Community
2 May, 2025
Panmure pays its respects to prisoners of war
THE families of nine district soldiers who were held as prisoners of war shared in a heartfelt tribute as part of the Anzac Day service at Panmure.
In excess of 100 people gathered at the Panmure War Memorial last Friday to pay their respects to those who have served in the defence of their country.
The service in Panmure each year centres around a theme, and as part of this year’s theme a direct descendent of each of the nine district prisoners of war was present.
During the service, Mr Wallace read out an overview of each of the soldiers before presenting the family members with envelopes which contained all military records and details, in addition to tags which the family members carefully added to the chain of honour surrounding the Lone Pine at the memorial.
The family members had travelled from across the state, including Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat to be there in remembrance.
“This year’s theme centred around prisoners of war, primarily those in World War Two,” he said.
“We found out there were nine soldiers in this district who went to war, were captured and imprisoned.
“Two of them never returned.
“These fellas were in prison, primarily in Malaya, Singapore, Greece and Germany.
“I don’t know how they survived, but somehow, they did, and we remember them today.”
The service was held with watchful eyes to the sky, as those behind the event had organised a flyover from a 1943 bi-plane Boeing aircraft.
“It was built in America by the Boeing company, the same one which gave us the 747, so they know what they’re doing,” Mr Wallace said.
“The plane was used as a training plane for the navy over in America, and there are only three of them left airworthy in the world.”
At the conclusion of the service, a special moment was shared when the family of Private Ronald Richard Bence, a member of the 2/29th Infantry Battalion and one of the prisoners of war being honoured, were welcomed to receive a restored portrait of the World War Two veteran.
Mr Wallace choked up recounting having been alerted to the portrait being found discarded in a skip in 2018, and the process through which the history of Private Bence had been collated to return to his family.
“Ronald Richard Bence lived in Nullawarre, where he worked as a farm labourer before going to Melbourne and enlisting in to the army in 1940,” he said.
“Upon completing his training, he was among those sent overseas to prevent Japanese advancement on Singapore.
“The battalion fought with great courage to try and hold the Japanese advance, but to no avail. Ronald, and a large number of his fellow soldiers, were captured on August 15, 1942 and were imprisoned.”
Mr Wallace recounted how terrible the conditions had been, with the prisoners of war being provided with no clothing, no medical supplies and no sanitation.
“Mosquitos flourished, carrying diseases throughout the camp,” he said.
“Sadly, Ronald contracted malaria and died as a result in 1943. He now rests in Myanmar War Cemetery, in Thailand.”
Among the speakers in attendance was Moyne Shire Council mayor councillor Karen Foster, who said she had been looking at photos of soldiers who served Australia and was struck by “a strange sense of looking back through time”.
“If only they could have known they were creating a legend. A spirit. The Anzac Spirit,” she said.
“A spirit of courage, tenacity and mateship.
“That spirit has endured more than a century, it has held to shape our culture, and our sense of what it means to be Australian.
“Courage, to this day, comes in so many forms – much like our fierce determination to look out for one another.
“The Anzac Spirit lives on in us all – we can’t change the past, but we can honour it through our actions and our daily decision to embody that spirit.”
