Kingsgrove resident Barry Stevenson has been presented with his father’s wartime medal 73 years after the end of the Second World War.
Barry’s father, William Robert Stevenson, served with the Civil Constructional Corp in Queensland during the war.
William and his family left North Queensland at the height of the Japanese threat to Australia in 1942, moving to Brisbane.
William, a plumber by trade, enlisted in the Civil Constructional Corp.
After the war, the family moved to South Hurstville.
William passed away in 1985.
Some seven decades later, the Governor-General posthumously awarded William the Civilian Service Medal 1939-1945, which the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet says “is for civilians who served in arduous circumstances in support of the war effort as part of organisations with military-like arrangements and conditions of service.”
Labor Federal Member for Barton, Linda Burney, presented Barry and his son Bryan Stevenson, with William’s medal.
Bryan has continued the family’s legacy of service having spent 14 years in the Army Reserve with 23 Field Regiment based in Kogarah.
Barry Stevenson is an active member of the Penshurst RSL Sub-branch and helped to organise The Commemoration Service last November marking the Centenary of the World War I Armistice.
“I wish Dad was around to receive this medal,” Barry said.
“But he and our family were always aware of his wartime service in a civilian capacity and that’s what really matters,” he said.
Ms Burney said, “It is important that we take this opportunity to honour the legacy of civilians and the tremendous contribution they made to the nation’s war effort.”
You can find more information on how to apply for the medal here: https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/its-honour/civilian-service-medal
