A lifetime of service: Lester Bootes' 50 years of helping veterans honoured

Lester Bootes told his mother he was bringing a girl home for lunch.

He had won her hand for the last dance in the School of the Arts hall the night before, and then walked blocks in the opposite direction to his home, just to see her safely to her door.

Something between them had just clicked. They talked easily.

He was a strapping young soldier, Joy remembers now. He remembers only trying to hold on to the person he was already so enamoured with, they had not even exchanged names.

"I said to myself, that was pretty clever," Mr Bootes, 91, said at the weekend with a subtle smile. Earlier, as he accepted the award for which he had come out at the weekend, with Mrs Bootes on his arm and a bar of service medals pinned to his chest, he had joked that he had not made too many smart choices in his life, but by far the best was Joy.

Mr Bootes joined the army when he was 17, and would spend his down time with Joy. She loved to dance, and had moved all around the state as her father filled jobs that had been left by soldiers who had enlisted in the last war, and was used to the transient life that comes with military service.

They married, and had children, travelled, saw the country, and finally put down roots in the Hunter and transferred to the Branxton Sub Branch in 2003.

Mr Bootes said he had never shied from good work, but the military gave him the push he needed. He was a quiet operator, unobtrusive but diligent.

The same quiet service that characterised Mr Bootes' military career followed in his years of volunteering as a member of the Branxton RSL Sub Branch, which on Sunday awarded him the RSL's highest honour - the Meritorious Service Award.

Mrs Bootes was similarly recognised for her support of the Hunter's veteran community with a quilt from the charity, Aussie Hero Quilts, which sends hand-sewn blankets and laundry bags to service people deployed abroad.

It was fitting that the first thing Mr Bootes did after the citation was read, listing his years of dedication to the Sub Branch, its members, and returned service people, that he thanked his "support team at the RSL".

Mr Bootes joined the Returned Services League in 1972 after serving more than 25 years in the Australian Army, including deployment in Vietnam. He was discharged in 1977 after spending a few final years with the Army Reserves, and spent the following half a century supporting veterans and their families.

His volunteering has seen him visiting veterans in hospital, supporting their families during times of loss, organising commemorations, fundraising and mentoring.

"Those who know Lester speak not only of his remarkable record of service, but of his generosity, humility and willingness to help wherever he is needed," sub branch secretary Cath Harvey read from the citation at the weekend.

"He leads quietly, mentors patiently, and continues to participate actively in sub-branch life through meetings, commemorations, coffee mornings and community events."

Mr Bootes described it as finding out what others wanted and needed and then finding ways to help on their terms. He wants to be of service, and for those who have served like him to have their legacies honoured in the ways that they want.

"My aim was to become friends with this lady," he said of that first last dance with Joy and the long walk to her door afterwards.

"That's the secret."