By Tania Martin
36947
Picture: Luke Plummer
BOB Simonds will be remembered as a World War II digger with a mission in life to help others.
The 86-year-old Cockatoo RSL president passed away peacefully at home on Friday 25 September.
He was known for two great loves, the RSL and offering a helping hand to anyone who needed it.
More than 200 people farewelled Bob last Thursday 1 October at St Lukes Church, Cockatoo.
His neighbour Jo Lemak said Mr Simonds always had a friendly smile and wave for everyone.
“He was great for a chat, too,” he said.
“There was nothing pretentious about Bob… he was a great listener and a humble man.”
Mr Lemak said the WWII digger never forgot his fallen comrades.
Mr Simonds enlisted in the war at the age of 17.
He was one of many young men who lied on their enlistment forms in order to fight in the war.
Mr Simonds was attached to the 4th field Regiment Jungle Division and served in New Guinea and later the Solomon Islands.
He moved to Cockatoo in 1958 and soon became involved in the town’s RSL.
Mr Simonds also became a volunteer at the Cockatoo Bush Nursing Hospital, transferring blood supplies and doing odd jobs.
He was known as ‘Mr Fix It’ and also affectionately called ‘uncle’ by many.
The beloved digger was also known around town as a great storyteller with an amazing dry sense of humour.
Mr Simonds took on the RSL president’s job in 1986 and was also instrumental in the rebuilding the club rooms following the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983.
Like most diggers, Mr Simonds was reluctant to talk about his war-time experiences.
But he did spend his life trying to make Australians understand that the war was not about fighting.
Mr Simonds used to tell whoever would listen that ‘we didn’t go to war to fight, we went to war for peace.”
Family friend Jeiren Bennette said his beloved ‘uncle’ helped so many.
“He wasn’t just a war hero, he was a hero for a lot of other things he has done… he was always there for me up until the last breath,” he said. Karen Bennette said Mr Simonds had always been her ‘rock’.
“I could ring him any time – day or night and he would be there for me… no questions asked,” she said.
Mr Simonds was known for always helping people.
In 2007 he was named the Cockatoo Senior Citizen of the Year as part of the town’s Australia Day celebrations.
At the time, Mr Simonds told the Mail he would continue helping people and his town as long as he lived. Cockatoo RSL’s Brent Rodgers said Mr Simonds will be forever remembered as a solider who never forgot the comrades he left behind.
He fought hard to save the RSL in 2007 when it faced declining membership numbers and was thrilled to see the crowds growing on Anzac Day every year.
“No one says the ode like Bob did,” Mr Rodgers said.
“Every time I go past the RSL, every Anzac Day or Remembrance Day, I will remember Bob.”
A community memorial will be held later this year to commemorate Mr Simonds’s life.
