Max Liddy’s load is twice as heavy as any other of the Year 11 students he has joined on the Kokoda Trail.
Each of the students is given a local soldier, who fought and died on the Kokoda in 1942, but for the first time in the 14 years Nationals MPs have been participating in the annual program, one of them is walking for two soldiers.
Incredibly, tragically, the men the Bendigo Senior Secondary College student has been asked to represent were brothers – George and Leslie Speechley.
Coming from Ironbark, north of Bendigo, 20-year-old Leslie was killed in action at Oivi on July 27.
His 24-year-old brother only made it to August 30 when he died at the pivotal battle of Isurava.
Sadly, Leslie’s body was never recovered, and he is remembered on Panel 5 at Bomana War Cemetery outside Port Moresby, where George is buried.
“Perhaps the most moving twist in the Speechley story is when Leslie died, his brother wasn’t even in Papua New Guinea,” Max explains.
“Leslie was in the 39th Battalion, which was a militia unit, and served with B Company, which meant he was amongst the first to cross the Trail and amongst the first Australians killed at Oivi, before the first battle to Kokoda,” he says.
“He died when a grenade was thrown into his foxhole, leaving no remains to be retrieved.”
His brother George had been fighting with the Anzacs in the Middle East and after his division was recalled he arrived in Papua New Guinea on August 12. And barely two weeks later he would be dead too.
The village of Isurava would be embroiled in one of several desperate battles fought by the Australian troops during their retreat along the Kokoda.
When the battered remnants of Leslie’s Battalion, still the only Australians confronting the Japanese, dug in for the attack they knew what was coming.
Fortunately, the delayed Japanese attack allowed reinforcements from the 21st Brigade to begin moving forward.
“George was in 11 platoon and, alongside 10 platoon, fought off more than 40 frontal attacks at Isurava,” Max says.
“In late 1941 with Leslie in Australia and George in the Middle East, neither they nor their family would have any inkling they would die so close to each other,” he says.
“It’s hard to imagine the impact that would have had on their family when the news arrived, one bad story after another.
“That’s the sacrifice I will be honouring on our walk, and at Bomana, as well as representing their family still living in Bendigo.”
Max trained hard in preparation for his walk – including climbing Mt Ida near Heathcote, tackling the gruelling Gentle Annie in Bunyip State Forest as well as three loops of the 1000 Steps at Tremont east of Melbourne.
The Nationals’ Member for Northern Victoria, Gaelle Broad, who co-ordinates the Speechley Brothers Kokoda Scholarship, says it is the support of local clubs and organisations which has enabled Max to make this trip.
“We have to thank long-term supporter, the Freemasons Foundation Victoria, along with the equally generous backing of Bendigo RSL, and the Speechley family,” Ms Broad said.
“The Speechley Brothers Kokoda Scholarship is about ensuring the next generation understands the immense sacrifices made by our local war heroes so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.
“The Kokoda campaign is a defining chapter in Australia’s history, and this scholarship gives Max, and will give other young people, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience that history firsthand.”
Contact: Gaelle Broad 0484 303 764 gaelle.broad@parliament.vic.gov.au
