Post Script.. to story yesterday. During WW2 Dad served in the RAAF, and was stationed in New Guinea. During that time, a young, reserved young man, from a coastal farm in Queensland, enlisted in the RAAF, was posted to New Guinea, and obviously became part of the unit that my father was in. After returning home, and being an only child, he eventually inherited the family farm. He was an only child, and had no children of his own so he decided to subdivide his land on the the proviso that streets were named after people he had admired and had obviously made quite an impact. There is a street in Southport named Birtwistle Street. Yes, it is named after my Dad. It took a wonderful woman, who grew up in the same area, and decided to research the history of these street names , a massive undertaking, to track down my Dad, because he has an unusual middle name. She then contacted Mum, GREAT EXCITEMENT!!!!!!! My siblings and I all spoke to her, she was also really excited !! Thanks to her hard work, there is now a plaque in Birtwistle Park, with the names of all servicemen who were immortalized by street names because they made a big impact on this gentle young man, in an extraordinary time. It is nice to know somebody else saw the the things we did in Dad.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:53:53 +0000