Grati-Tuesday 20th May 2025

    

Happy Tuesday Friends!

I hope everyone had a great week and weekend and got to spend some time doing what you love.

 Grab a cuppa or cool drink, sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude and photos!

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Hi Ann S,

I hope this email finds you well! I am the very fortunate recipient of the Aussie Hero quilt that you made. I cannot thank you enough for the effort and care you put into creating this amazing quilt (Jolly Roger was perfect). I had an excellent time showing it off to my friends, family and of course, my mates in uniform back home, who were very envious of my flash new kit!

I don’t think it can be understated, just how much of an impact receiving a package from home can have and mean to us while on deployment. I certainly appreciated this warm reminder of the people and the places we left behind to come serve overseas.

Thank you for writing about your family and your own experiences, I enjoyed reading about them. In particular, thank you for sharing the very personal stories about your father. Even from the short descriptions of him you gave, I got the sense that your father was a strong and good natured man. It was nice to read that your father was able to receive his service medals on the 50th anniversary of the war. They are a small, but significant way of recognising his service and sacrifice, especially having served in places such as Rabaul.

Similarly to you, my partner is also very passionate about keeping the memories of the veterans in her family alive (her great grandfather on her Australian side, and her great Opa on her Dutch side) through the collection of medals, military records, photos and even through interviews with her grandparents. With so few veterans of that time left with us, their stories become more and more precious, and most importantly they are the best reminders to both everyday Australians and service members of the sacrifices they made and the importance of preserving the foundations of the world they left for us.

I also enjoyed reading about your grandchildren, of note, I hope your granddaughter is enjoying her time in the Navy GAP Year program, it is a wonderful opportunity to get some great life experiences and to get a sneak peek into a possible career in the Navy. I always find it so interesting just how similar or dissimilar twins can be, but it is great to hear that her sister is also highly motivated and able to pursue her studies so close to home.

The Navy has afforded me many great opportunities to travel and meet people from across the country and around the world. The wealth of culture, history and peoples that lie beyond our own shores certainly make for eye opening and memorable experiences. However, as wonderful and interesting as these opportunities have been, it has always reminded me of just how lucky we are to live in Australia.

I would like to once again extend my sincerest appreciation to you and all the people involved with Aussie Hero Quilts, not just for the quilt, but for the small piece of home that came along with it.

All the best to you and your family from sandy Bahrain!

Kind regards,

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Dear Sue N,

I have received my Aussie Hero Quilt that was made by you and was blown away by how beautiful it is when I opened it while I was actually at work to pick up a client (who happens to be a Veteran) to take him to the RSL. The client and his wife were also very impressed with the quilt.

I take my hat off to you for the time you spend doing these beautiful things for Veterans. What you are doing is tremendous & I am extremely grateful to be a proud recipient of one of your masterpieces. You should be very proud of yourself for what you are doing.

I am the same age as you, did 22 years in the Army Reserve and in that time I married, had 2 children, divorced when the kids were about 5 & 6 and have been battling on my own ever since, those kids are now 32 & 33. 

The 32 year old has given me 2 beautiful granddaughters who are coming up to 4 & 6. I am still working and am currently doing home support work.

Thank you very much again for what you have done, I will treasure it.

The cat is Sue N's. Its her photo from Weekly Dispatches!

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Good Afternoon Layton Family,

Thank you for making my laundry bag, could not be happier, everyone on the base is very jealous of the design and wish they thought of it haha.

Thanks for the Tim Tams also, they were gone within 10 minutes.

A bit about myself, I am 31 (in June), I have a wife and a 2 yr old Son who live in Queensland.

We plan on posting to Sydney at the end of the year, so we will see how that goes.

Thank you for sharing your family with me in your letter, we have some common similarities with my siblings whom are also Nurses, Military and Apprentices of some sort.

Lastly again,

Thank you for doing what you are doing.

Regards,

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Good Afternoon Rita J.

 

  Firstly let me apologise for my delay in getting this reply to you, it’s a busy time to be a member of the Navy!

 

  Secondly, and most importantly, thank you so very much for my magnificent quilt, it is everything I could of wished for and is now a truly prized piece of my Defence story.  I have previously received laundry bags over my 12 years but this is my first quilt.  I am a 43 year old Marine Technician who has served for nearly thirteen years in the Navy, I have been lucky enough to perform some incredibly rewarding and humbling things in my time, and these quilts really let us know how appreciated we are.

 

Thankyou again for your work, I will treasure it for the rest of my life.

 

Kind Regards

 ***

Several volunteers were lucky enough to deliver 160 random laundry bags to HMAS Canberra recently.  It was great to see them all laid out and the crew come in and select their bags.  Below are some of the thank yous we have received so far!

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Good morning Clarissa L,

 

I am emailing to say a massive thank you for a laundry bag that was made by you.

 

This gesture of appreciation is hugely appreciated and brought a smile to my face when I received it today.

 

Once again, thank you for your kind gesture!

 

Kind regards,

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Good morning Helen W,

 I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the lovely laundry bag you made. This thoughtful token of your gratitude to the ADF was very well received and is greatly appreciated.

 

To give you a quick background of myself; I am 35 years old, married with 2 children. I am currently posted to HMAS Canberra. and my family reside over in WA. Due to schooling for my children, we chose not to relocate the family with me. I have served in the Royal Australian Navy for 12 years and have enjoyed every moment of it.

 

Kind Regards,

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Dear Sonia J,

I'm writing to sincerely thank you for the gorgeous laundry bag I received last week. I now have the bag with a fish print on one side and women sailors on the other. 

Before joining the RAN last year I was a fish biologist, and being on the water has always been an important part of my life. This bag spoke to me as soon as I saw it and it fits my personality well.

I appreciate the effort, care, and creativity that went into making it. I'll treasure it. 

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Good morning Bridget R,

 

First and foremost, thank you, I absolutely love my Laundry Bag. Being an avid drinker of coffee, from Italian heritage, and not to mention that blue is my favourite colour – it is the perfect laundry bag for me. In an environment of standardised uniforms, haircuts, boots, and monochromatic interiors, a vibrant and unique laundry bag is one of life’s little luxuries and puts a smile on my face every time I look at it hanging on my bulkhead (what we call a wall!).

 

Thank you for your service to the community through your 40 years of nursing; part of my role in HMAS Canberra is to work with the Health Department, which is lead by two Nursing Officers, who are two of the most devoted and valued members of our team.

 

Not that I am trying to recruit your son to the Defence Force… but, I grew up in rural Far North Queensland and joined the Defence Force in search of adventure and a better life. I can say without hesitation that I have found both, and whilst the Defence Force can ask a lot, it has given me more; one of the best decisions of my life. Anyway enough on that, please pass on my regards to your family including the two adorable sounding dogs.

 

Aussie Hero Quilts – This is my second laundry bag, and the work that Bridgette and your team does is invaluable. Please accept my heartfelt thank you.

 

Yours Aye,

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Hello Sonia J,

Guess what? I happen to be the lucky person who got your beautifully crafted laundry bag!!

Our canteen staff randomly asked would you like the one with fish pattern, I said why not. I have to say it's beautiful. You have put a lot of effort in it. I wanted to sincerely thank you for taking your time to do this for us.

Your personal note was extremely touching, I think more so its the timing of it for me as well. My wife and one year old daughter were overseas for nine months while I was getting posted between cities and only got back two weeks ago. It just happened that I am heading out to sea for a week from today and then will be on and off for next couple of months. It was hard to kiss my daughter good bye this morning while she was deep asleep.

Your message really made my day, thank you for the positivity and having us in your thoughts. And yes your son is right, it is always thrilling to get such a wonderful gift from someone who you wouldn't otherwise meet. The messages that comes with it are even wonderful and precious to us.

Thank you again and gave a great day.

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Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.  Tuesdays would be so totally boring without them!

Cheers Bel P

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