Heathcote great-grandmother Fran Rogers has the best recipe for bringing a taste of home to Aussie troops serving overseas.
Using her grandmother's World War I recipe, Mrs Rogers, 87, has baked Anzac biscuits to send in Anzac Day care packages to our soliders.
Between 2017 and 2019 Mrs Rogers baked more than 3000 Anzac biscuits for the Engadine RSL Sub Branch Anzac Care Package project.
For her efforts she received an Australia Council Medallion and Certificate of Appreciation.
"I was very embarrassed about getting the award when I consider all those poor people fighting the bushfires," Mrs Rogers said.
"I wanted to send something to the Australians serving overseas. People said they send Anzac biscuits from Woollies.
"I thought that I could make my own Anzac biscuits. I've always enjoyed cooking. You have to enjoy cooking when you have five children and three of them are boys.
"I could never cook enough. I used to say I think they had holes in their toes.
"I use my grandmother's recipe from World War I. I have a newspaper from the first Anzac Day in 1915 and it has a recipe for Anzac biscuits which is exactly the one that we used.
"I try and make about 120 biscuits with each mixture though I sometimes am a bit heavy-handed with the Golden Syrup and they don't always come out the same size."
Making packages for the overseas servicemen in a tradition for Mrs Rogers.
Her husband, Keith, was in the Navy and went to Korea to bring back the Australian soldiers at the end of the Korean war. He also went to England to sail back on the aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance.
"My nephew went to Vietnam so I used to send packages to him as well," she said.
Mrs Rogers puts about 12 biscuits in each package. She has also assembled Two-up kits with Australian and New Zealand pennies.
She has received thank you letters from soldiers serving overseas.
"One was from a New Zealand soldier. He told me that in New Zealand they don't send care parcels to the soldiers.
"It was the first time he had received a parcel with home-baked cookies."
Mrs Rogers' Anzac biscuits have gone into more than 700 care packages sent around the time of Anzac Day to Australian troops serving overseas.
She has already put her hand up for 2020.
"I should start baking again soon," she said.
Engadine RSL Sub Branch also presented Australia Day Council pins and certificates to another two of its tireless volunteers, Marcie and Brian McInerney.
This was in recognition of their work for the Sub Branch for more than ten years and their long-term participation in Anzac, Poppy and Legacy Appeals.
They are also lining up to volunteer again in 2020.
Engadine Sub Branch president Shane Tymms in presenting the awards praised Mrs Rogers and Mr and Mrs McInerney as outstanding, patriotic Australians.
