Historical information

Colonel Sir Alfred Kemsley's reply to the opening speech delivered by Lieutenant General Sir Phillip Bennett KBE, AO, DSO when he unveiled the Memorial Plaque and opened the Donovan Joynt VC Club at Puckapunyal on 23 March 1983. Sir Alfred talks about his long friendship with Donovan Joynt, beginning with the battle in France in which Joynt won his VC, and acknowledging the difficulty he had in persuading Joynt to be memorialised by this project at Puckapunyal. He also cited Joynt's involvement with Legacy, which as a foundation member and an early Melbourne Legacy President himself Kemsley would have been aware. Together with his friend Donovan Joynt, Kemsley became one of the most committed advocates for the creation of a Shrine of Remembrance on St Kilda Road as a 'worthy' memorial to Victoria’s 'unparalleled efforts during the Great War'. He played an active role in the defeat of a counter-proposal for an Anzac Square in Spring Street. In 1938 Kemsley was appointed to the trust established to administer the Shrine, later serving as its deputy-chairman (1952) and chairman (1978-84).

Significance

Not only was the opening performed by the Chief of General Staff, Lt Gen Sir Phillip Bennet, the response by such an illustrious Australian as Col Sir Alfred Kemsley is evidence of the high regard in which Donovan Joynt was held.

Physical description

3 x photocopied typed sheets, black on white

Inscriptions & markings

Minor corrections in blue biro.