Leslie Gordon Knight, DSO (7 March 1921 – 16 September 1943) was a Royal Australian Air Force pilot who served with the RAF’s Bomber Command during World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1943 for taking part in Operation Chastise while flying with 617 Squadron.
One hundred years ago, Evangeline Ireland (Sister Faith) found a young disabled girl left inside a chicken coop while her parents were at work. That incident led to her establishing Victoria’s first free kindergarten for disabled children: ‘Yooralla’ (an Aboriginal word meaning ‘place of love’).
William Burrell and his wife Francis (née Turner) were among the earliest settlers in Burwood. William, a blacksmith and farrier, conducted his business in Toorak Road. Of their eight children, Doug, Jim, and Wilfred served during WWI. Born in 1891, Doug was the first to enlist and joined the 1st Signal Corps Australian Light Horse, arriving in Egypt for further training before going on to Anzac Cove on 12 May 1915.
Belated happy birthday greetings to local resident, Freda Miles (née Webb), who turned 101 years old on 22 August. Freda was born in Northamptonshire England, where she worked as a tailor. She and husband Reg married in 1938 just prior to World War II; she recalls that they were only bombed ‘a couple of times’!
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