On July 9, Australia lost a true national treasure. A bloke who stood up. In May 1945, Edward (Ned) Kenna was in the midst of a raging gun battle in the hellhole that was Papua New Guinea during WWII.
Ned and his mates were held down on a ridge under heavy machine gun fire from the enemy. Ned stood up.
While his mates were being shot all around him, Ned stood up. No doubt thinking “Bugger this, I’ve had a gutful,” as only an Aussie digger would, Ned stood up.
The machine gunners zeroed in on him and rounds were passing between his arms and body! Ned was a mere 50 metres from the machine gun hide when he shot at the gunners until his magazine ran dry.
The job not done, he stood tall and called for another gun to finish what he had started.
For his gallantry, Ned was awarded the Victoria Cross.
He was bemused by the award as he saw it as just doing his job. Ned wore the medal not for himself, but for all his mates: some who made it home, some who didn’t.
The Aussie team in England battling for the Ashes needs some of this spirit. A bloke to stand up and who can inspire the team to follow. A bloke to stand up and say “Bugger this, I’ve had a gutful.”
Fear not, Australian history is littered with blokes like Ned, who stood up when it counted. We may well now be the underdog going into Tests three, four and five, but that suits us just fine, just as it suited Ned all those years ago.
Somewhere lurking in the Aussie team is a batsmen who will stand toe to toe with Freddy’s 150km/hr lightening bolts and say “Is that all you’ve got?”; who will cop the bruises and body blows and stand tall just as Ned did, until the job is done.
His motivation won’t be so he can look upon his average with pride, but so he can look his mates in the eye at the end of the day and be confident that he has done his job.
The funny thing about Ned is that in 1946 he was on a ship bound for England to meet the Queen, as protocol demanded.
On the boat, and with plenty of time to kill, Ned entered the deck quoits competition and made it to the final with a series of superb throws. He thought he had done very well with his final throw until the other finalist – a quiet, dignified chap with a steely glint – threw one better and took the comp.
The ever competitive Ned was furious at the loss and a very happy D.G. Bradman clinched another sporting victory.
The naysayers out there writing off the Aussies know little of our history or our constant triumphs in the face of adversity.
1-0 just makes it more interesting.
Somewhere in England right now is an Aussie player with a steely glint in his eye, gritting his teeth who can’t wait for the third Test and that first bouncer into his ribs because he knows, he just knows, that’s when he’ll stand up and say “Bugger this, I’ve had a gutful”.
Vale Edward Kenna. A bloke who stood up.
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