John Hector of Jamestown was awarded an Order of Australia Medal on Australia Day, recognised for his “service to veterans and their families through the Returned and Services League (RSL) of Australia, and to the community.”

He has lived in Jamestown for all of his life, except for the two years in which he was in national service.

Mr Hector has a long history of volunteering within the Jamestown community, which started when he joined the Jamestown RSL sub-branch in 1969, after service with the first Australian Field Hospital in Vietnam.

In 1979, a road accident forced Mr Hector out of work and he turned to volunteering to help other people, and said he felt like he was “making a difference.”

Over the next few years, Mr Hector volunteered at St John Ambulance Brigade, the Country Fire Service, Meals on Wheels, the Jamestown Scout Group, Jamestown Community School, and was a road Safety Instructor.

Mr Hector served as President of the RSL sub-branch for four

years and was on the committee for 19 years, and was awarded

life membership of the RSL in 1994.

Mr Hector said that the highlight of his time with the RSL was the restoration of a World War I cannon, which is now on display in Jamestown’s Soldiers Memorial Park.

He said that the cannon was becoming dangerous, and the council at the time planned on ‘letting it rot’, but Mr Hector, with the help of Catfords Engineering, restored the cannon.

Throughout his time in the RSL, he also obtained grants to have the kitchen remodelled and to have air conditioning installed in the RSL.

In 2001, Mr Hector was awarded the Meritorious Medal, the highest medal that the RSL can bestow upon its members, for his outstanding contribution to his local community and the Returned Services League.

Only three of these medals are awarded in each state, each year.

Mr Hector remains humble about his achievements and on receiving his award, explained that he was “shell-shocked.”

He had received a letter in September explaining that he was being considered for an Order of Australia Medal, but wasn’t expecting to be awarded the prestigious award.

“Why me? What have I done?” he said.

“To me, I’ve done nothing. I don’t think I’ve done anything extraordinary.”

Mrs Hector said that she was very proud of her husband, and explained that they work in a team – they were both able to commit to volunteer work over the years because they could rely on each other.