“He was the man to have on your
side - remorseless and indefatigable.
“We will miss you greatly, as
will that legion of men and
women you led and uplifted.”
Vice-president of the RAR Association,
Ted Chitham, paid tribute to his
departed president by quoting Neil’s
mantra: “Lead, follow, or get out
of the way” to open his address.
He said Neil was the truth of the
saying: “You can take the man out
of the military but you can’t take
the military out of the man”.
“His transition from the Army to
civilian life was simply an extension
of his duty of care and responsibility
to his troops to the broader well-
being of the wider Australian Defence
Family and the protection of their
service entitlements,” Ted said.
“He became a crusader and their
champion in representing their issues
directly to those responsible for
them at State and National levels.
“He sought to right the wrongs.”
He was involved in many
organisations, particularly in
Townsville, his initial support base.
He was patron of the Townsville RSL,
National Servicemen’s Association and
the Vietnam Veterans’ Association.
He was also a member of the Royal
Australian Regiment Association (RARA).
Ted said the RARA added a new role -
national representation to government
- and appointed Neil as an advisor.
Neil was appointed by Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd to represent veterans
on the inaugural Prime Ministers’
Advisory Council (2008-2013).
“Little did they know, they had
a tiger by the tail,” Ted said.
Neil was not going to be constrained
by restrictions in the PMAC’s terms
in his advocacy for veterans.
His infl uence was further increased
by his Fair Go Campaign website,
becoming an advisor to the Alliance
of Defence Service Organisations,
and by his direct actions in the
superannuation indexation issue.
“He was the epitome of the RAR’s
motto - Duty First - and the RAR
Association’s motto - Keeping
the Spirit Alive,” Ted said.
“His contribution to the Australian
Defence family was outstanding.”
Wife Jo Weekes (pictured, top right)
began her address with a quote
almost everybody who has ever met
Neil recognised: “Holy Frost”.
“Look at how many people
are here,” she said.
“Neil would have loved this.”
She said in the last seven months
of his life, he fought the toughest
battle he has ever fought.
“In the beginning, I was telling
everybody: ‘Superman is tackling this
as he does everything else, and he is
excelling as usual, and sailing through it’.
She said sometimes the cure
was worse than the disease.
“This was the case with Neil... his blood
just would not co-operate,” she said.
“He faced the following seven
months with the dignity and courage
we would expect from him.”
Jo said she used to tell Neil she would
be able to fi ll him with water and
use him as a sprinkler because he
had so many needle holes in him.
“Not once did he complain,” she said.
“Almost every day, we made the trip from
Bribie Island to the Wesley Hospital.
“Doctor visits, tests or transfusions, and
everybody said: ‘What a lovely man’.
“Yes, he was.”
She singled out people who helped
during the fi nal months of Neil’s life:
Ted and Karen Chitham, who, she
said took over from Neil seamlessly
Vivian Biggs, the oncology co-
ordinator for surgeon Dr Frank Tomlinson
Oncologist Dr Paul Eliadis, and
their Bribie Island neighbours
Bette and Max Hatcliff e.
“Neil and I had many in-depth
conversations during our daily
four-hour drives,” she said.
“He was a very intelligent man - he
knew the writing was on the wall, but
he told me he was very, very happy.”
CO 6RAR LTCOL James Hunter said
he was pleased the Battalion had been
able to provide the bearer party and guard
for the funeral, and he was especially
proud of the soldiers’ performance
during a very long ceremony.
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