0 @NI01668@ NOTE
1 CONC [glynnrod.FTW]
1 CONT
1 CONT Birth registry no. - 28548.
1 CONT Death registry no. - 14499.
1 CONT Died at age 23yrs.
1 CONT
1 CONT Les HIRT, wrote the following story of Wilfred RODDA:
1 CONT Mr & Mrs RODDA of Thorpdale had a large family and during the 1914
1 CONT war, four of their sons, Eddie, Ben and Harold went to France. In
1 CONT 1916/17, when the war was at the critical stage, Willie RODDA, their
1 CONT second youngest son, was working in Warrnambool, as a bank clerk. As
1 CONT soon as he reached enlistment age, he joined the A.I.F. and also
1 CONT went to France. Through the terrible winters of 1916/17, he
1 CONT contracted Tuberculosis and after a time was invalided out to his
1 CONT parents' home at Thorpdale in a dying condition and confined to bed.
1 CONT As was the rule in those days, Willie was discharged from the Army
1 CONT on his return. On hearing of Willie's return, my mother and I went
1 CONT the RODDA
1 CONT home to see him. I was seven years old, at the time, and I remember
1 CONT his showing us some souvenirs he'd brought back home. At this time,
1 CONT a WELCOME HOME COMMITTEE had been formed in Thorpdale, to arrange a
1 CONT public welcome home for each soldier on his return. Our cousin,
1 CONT Charlie MILLS, was President of this committee. A meeting was called
1 CONT and to Charlie MILLS' amazement, most of the Committee members voted
1 CONT against Willie having a Welcome Home, as well as the gold medal
1 CONT presentation.
1 CONT Charlie MILLS, then called a public meeting in the local hall, which
1 CONT was packed by friends of those who had voted against Willie's
1 CONT Welcome in the first instance on the grounds that Willie had
1 CONT enlisted while in Warrnambool. They said "Let him go back to
1 CONT Warrnambool for his Welcome Home." Before putting the motion,
1 CONT Charlie Mills made a wonderful speech, telling of Willie's dying
1 CONT condition. Despite Mr MILLS' eloquent speech, and his parents'
1 CONT prayers, that stacked meeting voted a second time against a Welcome
1 CONT Home for Willie RODDA. Next, Charlie MILLS obtained sheets of
1 CONT foolscap and canvassed the district for donations for a medal for
1 CONT Willie. A second sheet was added to the first one and that too was
1 CONT filled with names of donors and another sheet was almost filled. A
1 CONT special gold medal was orderer from Dunklings the Jewellers and
1 CONT suitably inscribed. I remember vividly Wilfred's father coming to
1 CONT the farm and asking how long the medal would be in coming, because
1 CONT as he said... "The Doctor had just been and says that Willie only
1 CONT has a week to live." Mr MILLS drove at once to the public phone,
1 CONT rang Dunklings and they rushed the medal and a special gold chain,
1 CONT together with a list of the donors, on behalf of the Thorpdale
1 CONT public. Before he died, three days later, Willie had written a
1 CONT beautiful letter to Mr MILLS, thanking him for all the pleasure he
1 CONT had given him in these last days of his life. Mr RODDA's medical
1 CONT expenses were extensive for those days. The Executive Committee of
1 CONT Repatriation took the matter up at MR MILLS' request, with the
1 CONT result that the government changed the rules to the effect that no
1 CONT soldier be discharged until proved medically fit. The department
1 CONT paid the medical expenses for Mr RODDA, the account amounting to 208
1 CONT pounds, 6 shillings and 9 pence, a lot for those days. A P.S. to the
1 CONT story... The Medal and chain with a watch attached is now in the
1 CONT possession of Reginald STIRLING... son of Edith
1 CONT (RODDA) STIRLING, Wilfred's sister... who resided at Yinnar in
1 CONT Gippsland.

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