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Season 1 Episode
- Season 1 Petty Officer Tommy Johnson
- Season 1 Pilot Officer Tony Boyd
- Season 1 Bombarier Ronald and Private Ernest Cavalier
- Season 1 Major Albert Moore
- Season 1 Sergeant Bill Brandis
- Season 1 Private Terrence Hippisley
- Season 1 Flight Lieutenant Bill Healey
- Season 1 Private George Hannaford
- Season 1 Les Semken – Darwin, WWII
- Season 1 Stanley 'Stunna' Johns
In Their Footsteps - Season 1 Episode 9 Les Semken – Darwin, WWII
0.00 60 minutes When the Japanese bombed Darwin on February 19, 1942, the damage was devastating – and the silence deafening. News of the attack was limited and most Australians were oblivious to the devastation on our own shores. Not that Les Semken needed a newsreel to know what happened; he saw it all unfold first hand.
As a civilian contractor working at Darwin aerodrome when the bombs fell, Les was so incensed he enlisted into the Army the very next day. This was a major turnaround for him. Until now, Les had no interest in joining up. The war had suddenly become very personal.
Nearly 70 years later, his granddaughter Kathryn is also on a very personal mission - to learn about the war that came to her grandfather and to Australia’s shores. Kathryn knows that at 90, Les won’t be around much longer to tell her the story himself – about that moment in time, which changed his life and shaped the fate of his family.
This is a tender tale about a 25-yearold woman, taking time out from her busy life to learn the lessons of an elder; to understand about the historic moments that shaped her grandfather at much the same age. It is a story about the wisdom of elders and the galvanising experiences of our youth.
