YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER |MAY 2022 | No.237
THE COATESVILLE CHRONICLE Email coatesvillechronicle@gmail.com | ph 021 724 001 | online coatesvillechronicle.com makes her feel sad. "The sadness I feel on the day is the general sadness that affects everybody on days of remembrance. It’s about remembering and honouring all those affected by war,” she says. “Service personnel and their families, whether they have been affected physically or mentally." However, this year Mrs Campbell also had good reason to smile. She was accompanied by both of her daughters shown below, Sue Campbell (left) who lives locally and Jenny Reed (right) who lives in Western Australia and was finally able to visit her mother for the first time since Covid restrictions closed New Zealand's borders. Mrs Campbell proudly wore her husband Alec's medals on the lapel of her suit jacket and will celebrate her 100th birthday in November.
Mrs Betty Campbell at Coatesville's dawn service
Up at Dawn for Anzac Service
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crowd of several hundred gathered on Anzac Day for Coatesville's dawn service at the reserve, including long-time resident Mrs Betty Campbell. At 99 years of age, Mrs Campbell could be excused for wanting a liein on a cool autumn morning, but instead she makes the effort every year to mark the occasion of Anzac Day in person. "I’ve always gone to Anzac Day services. Always taken part," she says. Unlike younger generations, both world wars have personally impacted her life. Her father Eric Bamford was
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in the Wellington Mounted Rifles as the padre and spent 1917-1919 in Egypt, caring for servicemen even after WWI ended. Later, her husband Alec Campbell was in the Royal New Zealand Airforce as navigator on Ventura bombers and served in the Pacific between 1943 and 1945. Mrs Campbell, a registered nurse, was just as much a part of the war effort during WWII, working at Auckland Hospital where she nursed returned servicemen. Her personal contribution to New Zealand deserves recognition. Although not given to sentimentality, Mrs Campbell says Anzac Day still
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MAY CONTENTS Safety audit for new bus stops Community updates from Scouts, Pony Club and Garden Club Coatesville's Anzac Day in Pictures Local Board news & CRRA report Work Visa changes Ailsa's May listings Classifieds Rollercoaster ride
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