Lloyd Parker-Manderson had only been in the role of RSL Sub-branch president two months before it was time to don the medals for Anzac Day commemorations.
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“Having Anzac Day right at the beginning was daunting, but good,” Lloyd said.
When the sub-branch AGM took place in February this year, Lloyd thought he might throw his hat in the ring for the position of vice-president, a role he had previously occupied at the Kurri Kurri Sub-branch.
Circumstances changed, though, when outgoing president Ron Irwin declined to be nominated this year, and secretary Ian Martin nominated Lloyd for president as a result.
“Ron stepped aside and he’s the vice president now and my mentor,” Lloyd explained.
Lloyd enlisted in the armed forces when he was 16 to become an apprentice army mechanic.
“I did my nine years and then decided to try something out in the big wide wonderful civilian world and went from there.”
He didn’t join the RSL until 2006 when he joined the Kurri Kurri Sub-branch.
“There was a fair gap between when I decided to get out [of the army] and when I joined up. I suppose I’d come to terms with my military beginning,” Lloyd said.
“I had mixed fixed feelings about it; it was one of the reasons I decided to get out at the end of my time. I felt comfortable to go back into being with people who were military minded.”
Lloyd’s goal as president is to attract younger members. The membership has fluctuated around approximately 100 members for a while.
“We’ve been getting new members, then we’ll get a couple of members fall off the perch.”
I’ve settled in nicely into the area. I think the town is full of wonderful people. That’s what I was looking for.
Lloyd and his wife live in Mt George. They moved to the area two years ago, having previously owned a real estate agency at Abermain in the Hunter Valley.
“We knew that times were going to get tough in the real estate industry. We could see it happening. And we pre-planned that we were going to move away somewhere,” Lloyd said.
“So we used to go for drives when we had a spare little bit of time away from the business, and we stumbled across Wingham, and we thought ‘yes, we like this little town’. We sold our business and moved up here for a tree change.
As well as being trained as a mechanic, Lloyd is also a horticulturist by trade and now has his own handyman micro business.
“I put my horticultural skills into use for ourselves. We have our own veggie patch, chicken and ducks. Almost hippy style!”