Former president of the Gloucester Returned and Services League (RSL) sub-branch, Bob Murray was recognised for 50 years of service to the organisation during a meeting on Thursday, July 13.
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Mr Murray enlisted to the Australian Army when he was 15 and served during the Vietnam War as part of the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 1 Australian Task Force.
Calling on his experience in motor mechanics, Mr Murray spent most of this time providing civil service to the local people by assisting with any broken equipment needs.
Upon the completion of his service, he joined the Gloucester RSL sub-branch.
"I joined in the early 1960s and the RSL looked after me quite well,” Mr Murray said.
Reflecting on his tenure as president of the sub-branch, Mr Murray said he was inspired by World War I veterans to lead the Gloucester group.
"It's an honour really but it was a duty for the fellas that went before me.
"They taught me everything I needed to know about the sub-branch and to me that was a wonderful education because in those days you had to have active service to be a member of the RSL.
"The service has been good and the camaraderie in the sub-branch has been good so I have no complaints,” Mr Murray said.
He outlined how his first year of membership was paid for by the RSL, with the expectation that he would remain with the organisation.
With RSL memberships nationwide facing a gradual decline, he said that the support of the organisation is needed for current and future servicemen and women.
"It's important to keep it in the face of the public because without the RSL, we probably wouldn't have been here.
"We're not really honouring ourselves, we're honouring the people that went before us.
"It's a tradition we should still keep alive because we have got people here serving in dangerous conditions, which is probably worse then what a lot of us have served under because you don't know the enemy,” Mr Murray said.
He honoured all World War I and II veterans that assisted in his entry to the sub-branch.
"They are the ones who took me under their wing and encouraged me to be what I am in the sub-branch,” Mr Murray said.
Current president of the Gloucester RSL sub-branch Alan Vale said that Mr Murray deserved high praise for his tenured service to the group.
At the same meeting Beryl Murray (no relation to Mr Murray) was recognised for 50 years of service to the women’s auxiliary.
She joined the Krambach branch in 1966 before transferring to Gloucester in 1998.