July 11, 1920 – October 26, 2007
On October 26 my wonderful father, Howard Broadstock, died aged 87.
Below is the eulogy I gave at his funeral on Tuesday October 30.
Thank you everyone for coming today. From as far afield as
Queensland and Bendigo. Thank you all for sharing dad’s
life either directly or indirectly – friends, colleagues
and family.
Thank you to everyone who has played a part in caring for
dad in the last few years especially the staff at Allawarra
and Wilani; and thank you to Winton Knop and to everyone
who has made this service of thanksgiving possible.
I must start with an apology; not to you the audience; but
to dad. I am humbled and humiliated that I cannot do
justice to your wonderful life in a few moments, but I’ll
do my best for you.
A life of 87 years – over 31,000 days – some 762,000
hours!!
That’s a great deal of time and I can say with some
authority that dad wasted very little of it. Howard
Broadstock was not a slacker, never guilty of indolence. He
was always on the go, always doing something. He was a busy
man and even in his last few years he was still saying that
he had jobs to do!
Dad was born Clement Howard in Kadina, in South Australia
to working class parents on July 11, 1920 – but it may have
been the 13th
of July – and he didn’t like the name Clement from the
beginning.
I can’t remember him talking very much about his mum,
Florence or his dad, Henry and he hardly mentions them in
his book, other than to say how much he loved them, but he
does relate many happy childhood memories and youthful
years filled with good, honest manual labour in an era when
life was simple and tough. He was the second youngest of 6
siblings – Ken, Jean, Ron, Arthur, Jack and Ella – all now
deceased.
One can only imagine that skinny, naïve 19 year old from
the country town leaving his parents and family from
Wallaroo train station in the oppressive South Australian
heat in 1939 and heading off to Melbourne to become a
Salvation Army Officer. Heading off on the journey that
would define his future. Not a journey of uncertainty or
adventure but one of clarity and commitment.
You think he might have picked an easier profession or
calling – perhaps a fireman or a railway worker, or a
composer – but not dad, that wasn’t the way he was wired.
His conversion at an early age had already decided his
future.
He may not have heard of the 19thC missionary James Hudson
Taylor, but I suspect the sentiment of his words were
ringing in dad’s ears all the way to Melbourne:
The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it
is a command to be obeyed.
And dad was obeying – he was on a mission and to quote from
a film that I’m sure he never saw, The Blues Brothers, he
was a on ‘a mission from God’.
So dad’s life was set – the blue print was there – it was
now just a matter of allowing the great architect to fill
in the gaps and make the plans complete. O to be so sure of
one’s purpose in life so early - as he was!
He was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer on January
8, 1940 and was let loose on the world with great
enthusiasm and zeal. His boyhood dream had become a
reality! William Booth, The Founder of the Salvation Army
said:
The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his
surrender.
Dad’s surrender was total
Several Corps appointments followed:
1940 at Yea with Wally Constable
and Sale with his great mate George Jones, and he tells of
hundreds of miles of bicycle riding, growing his own
vegetables and endless days of meetings and open-airs and
collecting
1940-42 at Altona with John Beasy.
1942 he became Commanding Officer at Burnley in Richmond
and set off his life long support for the Richmond Football
Club. In those days officers weren’t allowed to attend
football matches! But that didn’t stop dad from being a
passionate supporter. I will never forget him watching a
game and yelling ‘kick the ball’!
In July 1942-1943 he went to Golden Square just outside
Bendigo and here he was to discover gold – the gorgeous
Valda Jean Sayers. He called her his ‘nugget of gold’ and
she was to be his companion and love for 61 years. From
here his life is inextricably entwined with Valda’s.
She joins him in the Salvation Army as an officer in her
own right and as a woman of many talents and great strength
and together they continue the great commission that dad
had started.
But I slightly digress as dad continued his work alone,
firstl at Broadford in 1943-1944 and then at Red Cliffs in
1944.
Like all young men at that time of war dad was keen to do
his part and eventually was appointed as a Red Shield
Welfare Officer and served in North Queensland and then on
the islands of Morotai and Ambon where he remained until
February 1946. He didn’t speak much about those days but
they had a profound effect upon him and I will always
remember the Samurai sword he kept rather guiltily in the
cupboard. For dad, it was never a cheap souvenir of his
time there and he was relieved, I think, to return it to
the owner’s family in the 1970s. Dad made many life long
friends and colleagues during this time – Bill Shaw, Roy
Darlow, Charles Stevenson and Koos Korputty, just to name a
few.
Upon returning to Australia dad finally married the long
waiting and long suffering Valda Jean at Golden Square on
April 13, 1946. You will see a picture of them below that
shows a very handsome Howard and a radiant Valda both with
that indescribable glow of optimism for the future.
The best man was John MacIntyre and the bridesmaid was Rita
Greaves. Their honeymoon was two nights in the exotic
location of Castlemaine coupled with the very romantic
advice: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath!
From here it is difficult just to talk about dad’s life
alone – after all he wasn’t; he was now part of the
Broadstock team!
In April 1946 the Broadstocks went to Ranelagh in Tasmania
and their association with the Knop family started then.
Then to Kent Town in 1948 making life long friends such as
the Rowes and Mrs Baillie. Back to Tasmania, this time to
Burnie in January 1951. Then to Prahran 1952-53 and then
Oakleigh 1954-55.
I apologize again, because it is impossible to do justice
to their 10 years of devoted hard work as Corps Officers;
the long days and busy schedules that were part of
Salvation Army tradition in those days. So many friends
made and so many lives helped.
By this time, three boys had also joined Team Broadstock –
not that we were given a choice! Harvey born in Hobart,
Tasmania in 1948. Lynden in South Australia in 1950 and I
in Richmond, here in Melbourne in 1952. So it wasn’t just
corps work that mum and dad were doing in each of those
states!
In 1955-56 dad answered the call again and was involved as
a Red Shield Officer in what was called the Malayan
Emergency based in Penang, and he seemed to thrive on the
experience. Typical of dad, again he made many life long
friends while he was there – such as the Kiffs, the Pages
and the Blakes.
He was also very grateful to Brian and Alma Corfield during
this time for their great support of the still long
suffering and long waiting Valda Jean, at home with 3 young
boys!
Even as a child dad had always had a husky voice and it was
part of the reason for their change from corps to social
work.
From 1956-1958 they were stationed at the William Booth
Men’s Hostel in the city and my first memories are of that
place. We lived in a damp and dingy house opposite the
Flagstaff Gardens.
Then on to Lyndon Lodge as Managers from July 1958-January
1964. What a place for a kid to grow up in; a house that
looked like something from a horror movie with turrets and
gargoyles, lots of space to run around in, a tennis court,
a gymnasium, table tennis and billiards – what more could a
young family ask for! And we lived on one of the richest
streets in Melbourne!
Again many friends were made, in particular the May family
and the Leggett family, and I will never forget watching
dad and Colin Leggett battling it out on the tennis court.
Neither liked to lose, but it was indicative of their drive
and commitment in everything they did.
I musn’t forget to mention Don North and Ray Vorhauer, two
of the young men from Lyndon Lodge who in later life showed
their appreciation for dad and mum’s work. That meant so
much to them both.
Dad was also a good musician, on accordion and cornet, and
mum had a lovely singing voice so it is perhaps not
surprising that their three boys all have a great love for
music. In March 1959 dad was off again, this time on tour
in New Zealand with the Melbourne Staff Band, of which he
had been a member for 3 years.
Dad loved to travel – often to mum’s distress- and he took
up every opportunity to broaden his ministry. He even found
time to be a chaplain on a migrant ship from Perth to
Melbourne.
From January 1964 to November 1968 mum and dad were
appointed Superintendents at Box Hill Boys’ Home and from
here we three boys were very fortunate to attend the
excellent Camberwell High School. I have many wonderful
memories of this time – again there was a swimming pool,
but also playing lacrosse and cricket, being a Patrol
Leader in the boy scouts and our long association with the
Hawthorn Corps.
In between all of this work dad and mum still found time to
take us on holidays – usually to Kadina or to Bendigo to
visit our grandparents - but also to the wonderful Parkdale
camp, various places on the Mornington Peninsula – Rosebud
and Rye - and the occasional eventful trip interstate! They
were wonderful parents and although they had little money
we always seemed to have what was needed. I remember dad
bought me a new cricket bat when I started playing in the
Senior team.
In 1968 dad was selected to attend the International
College for Officers in London – a great honour – and he
and mum headed off for several months leaving us three boys
in the capable hands of Ms Baillie. After England they went
on to the World Social Conference in Helsinki.
What a wonderful opportunity for them both to travel and
experience the world-wide network of the Salvation Army.
From November 1968 to June 1976 mum and dad were appointed
as Superintendents to the Bayswater Youth Training Centre
for young offenders. Dad’s philosophy and commitment was
always simple and clear. He had a motto for the boys IADOM
= It all depends on me!
Again, what a place to grow up – a beautiful country
setting of 100s of hectares, again a pool, tennis and
basketball courts and a working farm! A fascinating time –
being around boys the same age as me but whose
circumstances were often so unfortunate.
When I moved to Ballarat I needed my piano and dad
commandeered several of the boys and loaded it on to the
farm truck and drove it up to Ballarat for me. Needless to
say it needed a tune-up, but it was so typical of dad - he
was always willing to help and it always had to be now – he
hated procrastination.
In September 1975 dad was selected to attend the United
Nations World Social Conference in Geneva, Switzerland and
he and mum again travelled across Europe and then America
making many new friends through the Salvation Army network.
Finally, in June 1976 they were appointed as managers of
Inala Village some of the happiest and most rewarding years
of their lives.
There is no doubt that dad was affected by his years of
work – not spiritually, that never wavered – but certainly
physically and mentally and eventually this led to his
retirement in 1980.
Valda’s brother Gordon helped them buy a house in Bendigo
and from here they continued to travel and help out with
the Army work in that region.
They moved back to Melbourne and lived in Reservoir for 3
years before becoming residents at Inala Village in March
1985 where they have remained to this day.
Dad remained always busy: doing relieving work for the Army
in Tasmania, selling poppies tirelessly for the RSL and
becoming a proud Life Member; a trip to Japan in 1990;
several grand-children to attend to and many gardens to dig
up – he never lost his love for the land and manual labour.
There were many happy trips to Mackay, Tasmania, central
Australia and elsewhere, and watching his beloved Tigers.
He was tireless in helping his brothers and sisters and
their families and thank you to Trevor and Wendy Broadstock
for coming down from Mackay and for your love for dad.
Dad was always wanting to improve himself and he had
successfully completed several courses and he was always
sitting at his desk writing. For many years he regularly
wrote down his memoirs and in 2000 at his request I started
to put these memoirs into book form and finally in 2001 his
book 'The Story of My Life…. As I Remember It' was
published.
It was certainly a labour of love. Dad could be stubborn
and single-minded and a lot of negotiation occurred! I
finally edited it to 131 pages and if he had had his way it
would have been a 1000 pages – 300 of them just on his trip
England as he had kept a daily diary!
But wasn’t he a happy man to see it finished and so proud.
He turned into a book entrepreneur and distributor to rival
the world’s best!
But it wasn’t just an ego trip. I found a little note he
added in one book to a friend that said:
'Dear…. thought you could be interested in my book for the
modest cost of $10 as I wrote it to glorify God and with
thanksgiving to Him for his calling and the platform of
service the Army gave to me.'
I believe in the latter 10 years dad felt the need to
validate and affirm his life and his achievements, which of
course, is a natural thing to do for anyone, but especially
when one enters retirement.
To ask what have I done? What have I achieved? Will I be
remembered? The book was one way of doing that and there
were other things he wanted to see happen. But I am not
talking about his faith or his love for his family – these
things were secure.
But when one works with people and the transient nature of
personal experience it is not unreasonable to ask if I have
left something behind. Coupled with the fact that every
corps and every institution that dad worked in – with the
exception of Inala – had closed, possibly compounded his
desire to validate his life’s work.
Dad wasn’t a Beethoven, a Shakespeare, an Einstein, or a Da
Vinci. He didn’t create any great works of art, edifices,
literature or great musical works. He was a simple, simple
man with an extraordinary commitment and desire to be the
best man…the best Christian man he could possibly be.
William Booth, The Founder of The Salvation Army said
'Some men's ambition is art.
Some men's ambition is fame.
Some men's ambition is gold.
My ambition is the souls of men.'
My dad was an honest, decent Christian man who strove to
surpass his own human weaknesses. His life is a monument to
humility, selflessness, self-control, unswerving
commitment, unending generosity, good humour and undying
love for his wife and family.
His life has touched thousands of people and his influence
on our lives has been profound. He has been a shining
example and model for us to emulate. He has made us better
people and he has made this world a better place to live
in. Very few can claim such a legacy.
I can only say… dad, thank you so much for everything you
have done for me and my family….and I love you.
Dad always subscribed to Reader’s Digest and (when I was
younger) when it arrived we would go through the 'Increase
Your Word Power' section together, going over new and
difficult words..and dad I hope you’re listening, as
today’s word is
peroration,
the concluding part of the speech to inspire enthusiasm in
the audience.
And who better to quote than William Booth, whose great
dream and vision inspired dad to be the man he always
wanted to be, and whose words dad followed and lived until
he was no longer physically and mentally capable of doing
so:
While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight;
while children go hungry, as they do now I'll fight;
while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do
now, I'll fight;
while there is a drunkard left,
while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
while there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!”
Dad,
this has been your life, and it has been worth living.
I love you dad - Rest in Peace.
Valda and Howard's wedding day 1946
(back) Lynden, Brenton, Harvey
(front) Howard, Valda