From the icy winters of Korea to the heat of Vietnam, Syd Webster has experienced extreme conditions in service to his country.
Now 92, Syd is reflecting on his years in the military as he joins fellow veterans from Sandgate RSL Sub Branch to commemorate ANZAC Day with a Dawn Service and March on 25 April.
Syd joined the army at 18, training in Japan before being deployed to Korea, where he spent his 21st birthday in a snow-covered trench.
“It was in September and we had a heavy snowfall and at that stage, the war had settled down a hell of a lot,” he said.
“I had copped a 24-hour overnighter and we were underneath this pine tree and burrowed out a little hole there to observe the other troops.
“It was bitterly cold, dropping down to negative 27 degrees Celsius. We would put a round through our rifles every hour to keep everything from freezing up.”
After Korea, the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment took Syd to Malaysia for Operation Claret.
“The jungle is far more pleasant than freezing your ears off,” Syd said.
A Life of Service and Sacrifice
“Because I had been in signals before the Korean War, everyone thought they’d load me up with a radio,” Syd said.
“Our packs would weigh more than we would. We’d have to hump radio gear, rations, ammunition and rifles around for two weeks or more.”
Away from the safety of his fellow soldiers, with only a handful of blokes, Syd set up relay stations on VHF, which required a line of sight between each radio.
To get enough signal, they threw wires into trees using tins of peas, but one time they needed to get higher.
“We had come across this strangler fig – I said we should all get up there and operate from there, but they were all scared of tree pythons,” Syd said.
“So, I got up there and I knew from the length of the aerial it was 163 feet.”
But the enemy was coming. Syd’s mates scattered, leaving him stranded in the tree while the enemy camped below. Needless to say, Syd didn’t sleep well that night.
In his mid-thirties, Syd was sent to Vietnam with the 9th Battalion Royal Queensland Regiment.
“With my luck, I got off the plane and walked straight into the 1968 Tet Offensive,” he said.
“The Tet Offensive lasted two months and was a particularly bloody part of the Vietnam War.”
While Syd’s service covered vast terrain, he humbly acknowledges the sacrifices of many others.
“I was one of thousands,” he said. “A lot of people put up with what I did.”
Join Syd at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service from 5am at Sandgate War Memorial Park. Then form up at 8.50am for the 9am March around the park and along Brighton Road.
Read more stories from the Sandgate Guide print magazine here:
- The Hidden Cost Of Digital Distraction
- Manage Your Passwords Effectively
- They Also Serve…
- Noisy Visitors From The North
- Art An Easter Sweet Treat
- Childhood Friends Skip To Glory At World Jump Rope Championships
- Share The Dignity Toasts 10 Years Of Impact And Gratitude
- Local Youth Collecting 50,000 Cans For Cape Town
- Drainage Funding Top Of Wish List For Deagon Ward
- Alfred No Match For Bayside Spirit
- Local Author To Release Two Hilarious New Children’s Books
- How You Can Help The Environment
- Meet Australia’s Wildest Stars
- Celebrating 25 Years Of Artrageous Creativity And Community
- King Of Atlantis Rev Up For Charity Ride
- Shoes, Books And Breakfast Initiative To Support Local Kids
- Organic Gardening In April
- Choose Bob At Brisbane Comedy Festival
- Things To Do Around Sandgate For Easter
