Russell Harvey Eames says he has lived a wonderful life.
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Born in Deniliquin on December 17, 1923, Russell will celebrate his 100th birthday this Sunday.
When asked what has changed most in the world in his lifetime, Russell said “life is the same, but different”.
“Everyone still lives the same, just different and not as hard,” he said.
Russell and generations of Eames’ before him have lived in Deniliquin their entire lives.
The only time he left for an extended period was during his war service.
Russell is one of four sons born to Florence Lillian and Alfred Edward Eames.
Alfred spent 17 years droving sheep out near Hillston, coming home when he could while Florence stayed home with her children.
“My brothers Claud, Maxie, Ray and I would all ride our bikes to school from where we lived, but if it were wet, we would take the horses.” Russell said.
After finishing secondary school, Russell began work on a station with his father before joining the army.
“When I was 17 and a half, I rode a horse something like 15 miles to sign up for the Army, but I lied and put my age as 18.”
His first encounter with the offensive was his first overseas commission to Balikpapan in Borneo.
He was a soldier in the 33rd Guard Regiment and was tasked with guarding army equipment and supplies.
‘‘When I joined up, we went to Dubbo for training to be reinforcements for the 18th and 19th battalions.
“We agreed to go away once we finished our training, but then Singapore fell.
‘‘That’s when we went to the landing of Balikpapan for 12 months.“
Russell is now Deniliquin’s last surviving World War II veteran, and holds his duty during the war in high regard.
He sees it as being just as important as that of any other of his mates.
But like many of his generation, Russell does not like speaking much of his war service in specific terms.
“My experience in the war was like everyone else; it was the war.”
What many might not realise, however, is that it is Russell’s time overseas that led him to play Deniliquin’s town Santa Claus for more than 46 years.
“It was around Christmas time, and there were a few kids around where we were set up (overseas),” he said.
“I think we put some lollies in a few bags, and the boys put cotton balls on my face and I went around as Santa handing out the bags.”
When he returned from service, he only thought it right to continue the tradition.
He would sit in the “Christmas set-up” at the Deniliqun RSL playground and listen to what all the local kids wanted for Christmas.
When Mr Eames was asked what had changed his life the most over the past century, he simply pointed to his wife, Eunice.
The two have been married for 75 years and have two children, five grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.
Their pairing was literally the result of a parnter swap.
Russell was originally dating Eunice’s sister, and Eunice was dating Russell’s brother.
The two met when the group went on a double date.
In a previous interview with the Pastoral Times, for their 70 anniversary in 2018, Russell joked that it wasn’t his looks that made Eunice fall for him.
He said he liked her because she was a “nice girl”. He still thinks she’s a “nice lady, just a bit older now”.
After 18 months of courting, they married on November 13, 1948, in the Salvation Army Church, previously called the Methodist Church on Edwardes St.
They went to Melbourne for their honeymoon and began living their life in their Junction St home in Deniliquin.
In recent years, Eunice has moved into Orana Aged Care.
But Russell makes an effort every day to visit his wife for lunch and a cup of tea.
Celebrations for Russell’s birthday will be held later this week, and the local postie will be a frequent visitor delivering letters from King Charles and other dignitaries to mark the milestone.