Kayde Pugliese-Camillo knows the trauma that war-time brings.
The nine-year-old, who turns 10 this Anzac Day, has a long history of relatives who have served our country.
And he’s proud to start his birthday by attending the annual Werribee RSL dawn service where, on the cenotaph at Station Place, the name of his great-great-uncle John Chamberlain is etched.
“I like getting up early in the morning and doing the dawn service, and I like Anzac cookies, and talking about Anzac Day to everyone,” Kayde said.
John was born in Shepparton and moved to Werribee with his family at a young age.
He enlisted in the Australian Army in his early 20s, fought in World War I and is believed to have been killed in Gallipoli.
Another one of Kayde’s great-great-uncles, Frederick Dyer, also served in World War I. He was killed on the Burma Railway.
Then there was great-uncle Raymond, who served in the Navy during WWII, and great-grandfather Leslie Chamberlain, who was a cook in the Navy during WWII.
Kayde’s grandmother Maree Camillo said although both men came back from war, they were left scarred by what they had seen.
“They never spoke about it in those days,” Ms Camillo said.
“My dad used to have nightmares nearly every night. The only time he spoke was when he was getting older.”
Werribee RSL will hold an Anzac Day march on April 23, starting from the Wyndham Cultural Centre and finishing with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Werribee cenotaph.
A dawn service will be held at the cenotaph on Anzac Day.
