- Ted`s wish to be the last ANZAC -
05.01.2003 15:45:06
One of the last surviving ANZACs, Ted Smout, has passed another milestone, he`s feeling good and now he wants more.
"I hope to be the last survivor," he grinned.
World War I Veteran Ted Smout (right)
and his mate Eric Abraham
The irrepressible World War I veteran celebrated his 105th birthday in Brisbane yesterday, surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His party was held at the Greenslopes Private Hospital, where Mr Smout was recovering from a most auspicious accident last month when a 1.8m grandfather clock fell on him at his home at Sandgate, in Brisbane`s north. He later claimed he had come off "second best".
"I`m feeling very well," he said. "I don`t feel my age at all."
He received a bottle of scotch as a present from hospital staff and joked that he might be able to make it last until his next birthday.
Mr Smout said he had "enjoyed life", which in the war saw him serve at Armentieres, Messines, Ypres, Amiens, and Peronne before being discharged from the army in 1919.
"When you get old, you`re inclined to look back and think about the past," the republican said.
"In my 105 years, there have been many highlights. I`m extremely blessed with good health, and fortunately I`ve got all my faculties."
At last year`s ANZAC Day celebrations in Brisbane, Mr Smout was a picture of humility, dismissing all the fuss over a figure he regarded as "famous for being old".
But yesterday, he raised the bar. Wearing a brown cardigan and a bandage on his right wrist, Mr Smout announced from a wheelchair his plan to outlive the other World War I Diggers to become the last surviving ANZAC.
ANZAC Mr Ted Smout
"That`s my ambition," he said. "And I think I have a fair chance of doing it."
To do so, he will have to pass the nine other veterans still living in Australia. Among the centenarians is his long-time friendly rival Eric Abraham, who also lives in Brisbane and turns 105 in April. The last World War I veteran to pass away was John Munday, who died on December 5 last year.
(Photos: Courtesy of the Department of Veterans` Affairs)
acknowledge:
by The Australian
www.theaustralian.news.com.au
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