As the bodies of three Australian soldiers were lowered into the ground in Northern France, a Wodonga man rest assured his expertise helped contribute something to the service.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Russell Johnston has been a tailor for 69 years and counting, with 36 of those years spent as part of the Australian Army.
He most recently produced part of the slouch hats that sat on the coffins of three unknown soldiers buried on Sunday on the centenary of the Battle of Pozieres.
Mr Johnston said he was proud to honour the request that came through the Army Museum at Bandiana, where many of his restored uniforms are on display.
“A battalion in Queensland ordered them through the museum,” he said.
“The Battle of Pozieres was one of the worst battles for Australians ... The Germans buried most of them, but they just found these three bodies now, over 100 years later.”
Mr Johnston was based in Perth as head tailor and brought his title over to the Border in 1976.
“I’ve covered every war and served right through from Korea to Vietnam,” he said.
“Uniforms have changed 1000 times and I’ve created most of the medals, including five Victoria Cross medals.
“All of them have stories.”
When Mr Johnston was discharged in 1986, he was among a shrinking group of tailors that has since become even smaller.
“They don’t have an army tailor anymore, I was the last one,” he said.
“I knew two others, one in Albury, but they’ve both passed on now.
“There’s probably 10 or 12 in Melbourne or Sydney, a couple in Perth – not many.”
While Mr Johnston still creates uniforms and medals for the Australian Army, he spends much of his time doing the same for family members, retiring police officers and RSL representatives.
“It’s mostly families, doing so for memories and it means something to them,” he said.
“People have contacted me from Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, it’s mostly word of mouth.”
Mr Johnston guessed the number of medals he has created and restored would be in the vicinity of six digits – almost every medal there is.
“They’re all favourites, I don’t think I could pick any one of them,” he said.
“I always consult my reference book … I don’t profess to be an expert.”