Robert Wright, et al - 1955

My brother, Robert Wright, was born in 1937, meaning he was 12 at the time of my birth in 1949. 

Whilst recently going through some old family photos in the collection of my late mother, I came across the above photo of Robert, et al. He is in the middle row, third from the left (click on the image to enlarge it). I can see so much of our dear mother’s sweet face in this youthful photo of my handsome big brother. 

I already knew he played competitive rugby league in the 1950s, with Sydney’s celebrated Manly-Warringah team, so seeing him pictured in such a photo as this came as no surprise. I did not, however, know the story behind this particular photo, nor what the caption “Twelve N S Trg Bn” meant. So I googled it and discovered “The Mighty 12^th”. Or to give it its correct title, “The Twelfth National Service Training Battalion”. I had not previously known that Robert had been conscripted. 

Through subsequent online research, I have since discovered that at that time in Australia, young men were conscripted into the Armed Forces at the age of 18, which was in 1955 in Robert’s case. That would have probably been when he first left home, which explains why I have little remembrance of him, as I was only 5 at the time. He moved away permanently soon afterwards and distanced himself from the family for the remainder of his life. I don’t know why, but I have my suspicions. He never married. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 45 in 1982 and his remains are interred at Palmdale Lawn Cemetery and Memorial Park at Palmdale on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

To give you an idea of the difference in our ages - When the above photo of Robert was taken in 1955, I was in kindergarten at Narrabeen Infants’ School and would celebrate my 6^th birthday in the November of that year: 

Colourised: