Traf’s Ray James awarded OAM for service to veterans
 Baw Baw News   By // 19:58, Sunday 24 June 2018

Ray stands with the Trafalgar cenotaph outside the Trafalgar/Thorpdale RSL

Trafalgar/Thorpdale Returned Services League president Ray James has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to veterans and their families.

This story was first published in the 14 June 2018 print edition of the Baw Baw Citizen. Get your free copy from retailers across Baw Baw today.


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Ray is no stranger to the spotlight, though whenever he’s acknowledged he likes to pass the thanks on to those around him. In 2013 he was named Baw Baw Shire Citizen of the Year, and in 2018 received the Trafalgar Community Development Association’s Citizen of the Year award.

Now with an OAM to his name as well, Ray wants to know who put his name forward “so I can have a word with them!”

“I feel a bit chuffed,” Ray told the Baw Baw Citizen ahead of Monday’s official announcement.

“It’s a great honour to be seen by others to be deserving of such an award.


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“It’s not just one person who does all that work to be honoured in such a way. Other people must think of you and what you’ve done or achieved to be worthy of such an award.

“I think it’s an honour.”

Ray has been integral to the growth of the sub-branch, successfully getting the Trafalgar cenotaph moved to the RSL grounds, away from the busy highway. He was also key in the project which saw the Narracan Honour Board moved out of a largely disused council chamber and into the RSL.

He is now overseeing another major project: the construction of a shed which will allow for bigger and better functions.

“I think it’s something that’s just grown,” Ray said when asked what has driven him to contribute so much to the RSL.

“And this RSL was actually built by World War I returned service people. You can see their names on the honour board They built this RSL. They moved into it in 1921, so it’s been here a long time.

“Of course the town’s change a lot since those days, the cenotaph, it was difficult marching against the flow of traffic on the highway and with the advent of mobile phones and people distracted when driving, it wouldn’t have been long before there could have been a problem.

Ray found out he was a contender for the honour around six months ago.


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“I was told to keep it quiet and I didn’t know whether to tell my wife or not,” he said.

“I did and she did a fantastic job. Didn’t slap the gums too much.”

Ray is proud of what his RSL branch has come to mean for locals and veterans alike. He is especially proud of how inclusive the branch has become.

“I’ve heard it said before, it has probably become an iconic place in Trafalgar,” he said.

“We have now what we call affiliate members, who are people who have some kind of affiliation to the services. That could be grandfather, uncle, auntie, within Australia that you’re affiliated with somewhere along the bloodlines.

“It doesn’t have to be direct. It can also include our allied forces.

“It’s quite easy now to become a member of the RSL. Anyone who comes in here doesn’t get out the door without an application form.

“It’s those people who are going to see this RSL continue on. It won’t be the service people one day in the future. The wars will be fought with drones, and [of course peace] is a dream we should all hang on to, but I encourage people to join the RSL and become involved, purely and simply because our core function is to remember.”

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