Les Semken – Darwin, WWII

When the Japanese bombed Darwin on February 19, 1942, the damage was devastating – and the silence deafening. News of the attack was limited and most Australians were oblivious to the devastation on our own shores. Not that Les Semken needed a newsreel to know what happened; he saw it all unfold first hand. As a civilian contractor working at Darwin aerodrome when the bombs fell, Les was so incensed he enlisted into the Army the very next day. This was a major turnaround for him. Until now, Les had no interest in joining up. The war had suddenly become very personal. Nearly 70 years later, his granddaughter Kathryn is also on a very personal mission - to learn about the war that came to her grandfather and to Australia’s shores. Kathryn knows that at 90, Les won’t be around much longer to tell her the story himself – about that moment in time, which changed his life and shaped the fate of his family. This is a tender tale about a 25-yearold woman, taking time out from her busy life to learn the lessons of an elder; to understand about the historic moments that shaped her grandfather at much the same age. It is a story about the wisdom of elders and the galvanising experiences of our youth.