We were fortunate to be treated to a visit and talk by Chantal McKee’s husband, Colonel Phil McKee who also
happens to be the Burnham Camp Commander. Colonel McKee gave talks to each of the seniors and juniors, touching
on subjects such as his rank, what his “job” entailed, medals awarded to New Zealand soldiers and the uniform worn
in the first world war compared to now.
He discussed how soldiers wear their poppies (on the hat band) what ANZAC stands for and when/why ANZAC was
first celebrated. Half of those assembled raised their hands when questioned if they had been to an ANZAC
celebration, whilst the remainder were gently encouraged to do so if the opportunity arose.
In the question and answer session that followed the Colonel fielded questions such as: the number of medals a kiwi
soldier can get, what he thought the most important war was, the highest NZ medal awarded, who started WW11, did
the air force help much and “were you active in Galliploi?” – To which he replied tongue in cheek – “No, I’m not as
old as some of your teachers but I have served in other wars!”.
