Led by former resident, Vietnam veteran and retired teacher, Trevor Youngman, the club members were returning to Victoria following their national annual general meeting in Alice Springs.

Mr Youngman said that the occasion in Alice Springs saw hundreds of veterans of VVMC and their bikes attend, which also included attending the Anzac Day Dawn Service and taking part in the parade.

Mr Youngman and his fellow club members paid a respectful visit to Mr Youngman’s uncle and aunt, long-term Peterborough residents, Bill and Maureen Revell.

“Uncle Bill is a great man and the one who got me interested in motorbikes, teaching me how to ride,” Mr Youngman said.

“In the days when Peterborough was thriving, Uncle Bill was in the local motorcycle club. They all rode English bikes and he’s told me how exciting those days were.”

“Our Chapter wanted to shake his hand and show respect for a man who was prepared to be different,” Mr Youngman said.

Following the visit, Chapter members started their engines and rode off in formation, in salute to the man who, like them, was prepared to be different.

Referring to John Pigot’s book, Leather-bred Heroes, the VVMC, formed in the early 1990s forged an “anti-hero” image for itself from the ranks of Vietnam veterans who saw themselves as disenfranchised following their return from a war that polarised Australian society at the time and, from which, many still bear physical and emotional scars following a return to a country that appeared cold and unfeeling to their experiences.

Mr Youngman and other Chapter members describe the VVMC as a “one percent club”, and riding either Harley Davidson’s or Triumphs has played an important role in pushing the identity and achievements of Vietnam veterans into the national imagination, with their club emblem being a grinning skull wearing a diggers slouch hat.

Mr Youngman said the club’s motto is, “Ask this of yourself, for what do you ride? The answer’s the same, for those who have died – Honour the dead, but fight like Hell for the Living!” Lest We Forget.

PHOTO: SPECIAL VISIT...Bill and Maureen Revell of Peterborough were paid a “visit of respect” by the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club’s Melbourne Chapter including Bill’s nephew, former resident Trevor Youngman. Mr Revell, a keen former motorcyclist, enjoyed the sights and sounds of some high performance Harleys and Triumphs, before the club headed home.