By Tanya Steele
Peter Haylock and Phil Kearsley had the good fortune to bump into each other at Yarra Glen’s Anzac Day service and had a reunion over 60 years in the making.
Both were soldiers in the same intake and training at an Enoggera (Gallipoli) army barracks in Queensland in 1962.
Peter originally came from Queensland and Phil from South Australia, the two trained at the barracks for three years.
Phil overheard Peter talking while they were sitting in the crowd at the service and began to put the pieces together.
“He just started mentioning things, and I’m sitting in front of him and that’s when my ears perked up,” he said.
Phil said he couldn’t believe it at first.
“We were in the same intake and the same year and we both turned up at Yarra Glen,” Phil said.
Peter said Phil talked to him and then he began to remember.
“Phil spotted me and eventually the cobwebs went away,” he said.
The duo discussed how their careers went, both branching off into different areas.
“He went further up the ladder than me,” Peter said.
“I went to Sergeant and he kept on going, going and going.”
“He went off and did his thing with the artillery,” Phil said.
Phil and Peter had the chance to ask about other people they both knew at the time, taking a little wander down memory lane.
“We brought up some names to talk to each other about and remember from those times and some are still around and live in various parts of Australia,” Phil said.
With plans to catch up further over the refreshments at Memorial Hall, the two men seemed pleased and happy with the unlikely reunion.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, it is all meant to happen,” Peter said.
