A serviceman's story in a photo book
In 2014 a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI was held in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, the place where the Australian Force captured German New Guinea, where the first Aussie shots were likely fired, and the first Aussie deaths occurred.
This is Jimmy! He's a 90 year old WWII digger and the son of a WWI veteran who was on the light cruiser HMAS Encounter that fired the first Australian shots in WWI. He's also the next door neighbour of one of our prolific photo book makers, Peter Stone.
Jim can't travel without assistance, so he convinced Peter to take him to Rabaul for the commemorative service. It was a very moving and memorable trip, and Peter ended up giving the historic address at the Dawn Service on 11 September 2013.
On return from Rabaul, Peter created a photo book about their PNG experience and also included information about Jim's father. When he presented it to Jim, "the joy in his face brought a tear to the eye. Now nobody can pass his unit without being invited to see the book. It's pleasure like this that make Momento books such a wonderful means of expression, as well as the opportunity to retain memories." (Peter Stone)
We've discovered that Peter is one incredibly active retiree. In addition to assisting mates, publishing a blog and designing books (19 to date) he hosts photo book classes for The University of The Third Age in his home of Yarram, Victoria. We think he's exceptionally kind for putting Jim's story together and apparently we share a mutual interest in preserving photos in print, and each other, as here's what Peter thinks of Momento:
Over the past 30 years I've created and published several traditional print books. I've had my share of frustrations using various software for page layout but none have been so simple to use as Momento's software. I have also enjoyed how easy it is to communicate with the staff. Email replies are always prompt and courteous, and actions such as downloading, exporting your layout, and ordering your book always results in an email to say that the action was successful. It takes 8-14 days before you see your treasured photo book but you will receive an email when it's dispatched by Australia Post, and it arrives in a sturdy cardboard container too. I was delighted with the ease of creating the photo book and the end result." (Peter Stone)
Thank you Peter, and enjoy your book Jim