Ninety-five-year-old Barney Greatrex loves his chooks and watching rugby, but 71-years ago he was doing something very different, as his 11-year-old great-nephew and namesake Barney told a huge crowd at Freshwater's Anzac Day service.
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Showing no signs of the nerves that had made his little knees shake before the service began, young Barney Brownlow said his great-uncle was the only survivor when a Lancaster plane was shot down flying over enemy occupied France during World War 11.
"Uncle Barney was the bomb aimer," said young Barney. "And he was the only one who managed to parachute to safety. He (Barney Greatrex) pushed out the escape hatch and jumped into the night sky."
Barney read out the names of his uncle's six crewmates who had been killed. They were Allan Collins, Reg Gill, Morris Worth, A.S. Jones and Paddy Rankin. The last was Wally Einerson, a Canadian, who had flown 49 operations and was due to go home after that flight.
The year 6 student from Harbord Public School stole the show, appearing after a message from the Prime Minister Tony Abbott and before a moving tribute by the Premier Mike Baird.
Over the years, Uncle Barney kept in contact with the French family who saved him and the families of those who died that day.
The Premier Mike Baird later sought out young Barney, shaking his hand and congratulating him on a speech that tied the past to the present.
"Seeing these young kids, I know the future is in great hands," said the Premier.
It was a day for "freshies" of all generations. Mr Baird remembered one of the first Australians to be killed at Anzac Cove, Fred Reynolds.
"He was a 20-year-old, who loved his surf, loved his mates, and loved his country, it could've been any one of us," said Mr Baird. As an engineer, Fred Reynolds was one of the first to land at Gallipoli 100 years ago. Early on the morning that he died, Mr Reynolds wrote to his family that he knew "not all of us will come back."
The Premier thanked the traditional owners of the land, and said he was pleased to see that Australians were "finally recognising our Indigenous brothers and sisters."
In a lull while the crowd waited for the fly past by four RAAF fighter jets, the Harbord Diggers Club's Master of Ceremonies said peace had reigned in recorded history for only eight per cent of all time, about 268 days in total.
Young Barney finished his short speech by saying he knew his Uncle Barney "gets upset about the mates he lost, but he also tells me about all the mates he made. It reminds me of the importance of being a good friend when things get tough."
