Every year on Anzac Day Lithgow's Billy Cambridge and his family come together to commemorate the life of his father Tom Cambridge.
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Tom was a survivor of the infamous Burma Railway as a POW (prisoner of war) in World War II, and later worked as a typesetter at the Lithgow Mercury.
He enlisted in Sydney in 1941 to join the Australian Army at just 19-years-old. He served in the 2/29 Battalion, eighth division.
He was serving in Singapore when the Japanese came, turned off the water and left Australian soldiers to die of dehydration.
The Australian Army had no choice but to surrender all 41 soldiers to work on the Burma Railway, in which Tom became a POW at Changi prison for the next three-and-a half years.
Billy said each year his family would attend the dawn and main services held in Lithgow's Queen Elizabeth Park and lay a wreath to pay their respects, however due the continuing coronavirus pandemic, things would be a little different this year.
"After the services we would usually go to my brother-in-law Smiley's place and have breakfast which we've been doing for years but we can't do that this year..." he said.
Changing up their tradition, Billy and his family will be joining several other Australians this Anzac Day by standing at the end of their driveways at 6am to pay their respects.
"We are going to go out the front and we'll tune into the radio for The Last Post.
"My daughter is also going to make two wreaths," Billy said.
Anzac Day is like a holy day for Australia.
- Billy Cambridge
He said his grandmother used to make "beautiful" wreaths out of willow trees and his daughter would follow with the tradition.
"We have a willow tree out the back so she's going to make some.
"We're also painting the union jack on the door up the back and putting dad's slouch hat underneath it," he said.
He said one wreath would be displayed out the front for the 6am service with his father's slouch hat and medals and the other at the Queen Elizabeth Park war memorial.
"I've still got dad's slouch hat he wore the last time he marched so I'll put that out the front with a wreath and put the other one [wreath] on the cenotaph in town," he said.
Billy said his family would then enjoy the rest of a day with a barbecue and each other's company.
"We'll commemorate here at home, just me and my family, it will be really nice," he said.
Billy said Anzac Day had always been an important event in his family.
"Ever since I was a kid my family has always commemorated, it's a big thing in our life.
"Every Anzac Day, we used to go up the street, go to the march with dad and then after we would go down to the club and then go home and have pies, it's been like that since I could walk," he said.
He said even though Anzac Day services had been cancelled it was still important for people to pay their respects in their own way,
"I urge everyone to get out onto their driveways at 6am on Saturday.
"It's a nice and easy way to pay your respects and I know everyone in this town will get involved because Anzac Day is a big thing in Lithgow.
"You've gotta do it because a lot of people didn't come back [from war] and they did a lot for us.
"Anzac Day is like a holy day for Australia," he said.
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