Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton, this is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate you on your election to your position, and I am sure it is one you will adorn with great grace—well done!

I rise today to congratulate World War II veteran and long-term Albany resident, former British Royal Navy signalman James Harness—known as Jim—on his receiving the Chevalier class of the Legion of Honour medal from the French government for the part that he played in the D-day landings.

Mr Harness, who has just celebrated his 91st birthday, was 18 years of age when he was part of the first assault wave that landed on Juno Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944. Standing on the bridge of his landing craft with his captain, he was subjected to direct fire while witnessing the carnage on the beach. He was lucky to survive the first wave of the assault and risked his life assisting in clearing the beaches for the second-wave assault. As a signalman, he communicated with incoming craft on where best to beach. His vehicle was severely disabled by a Belgian Gate and took a week to fix. On becoming operational, his boat ferried supplies from merchant vessels to the British and Canadian armies on Juno Beach and Sword Beach over the next few months.

Mr Harness stayed in Normandy from D-day until his return to Portsmouth in October 1944. He later served in a Far East fleet until Japan surrendered. His prestigious naval career included time in Sumatra, Malta, Hong Kong, Malay, Hawaii and the West Indies. In 1956, Mr Harness married his wife, Valerie, and he moved to Albany with his young family in 1966. He worked at the Albany Woollen Mills and Cooperative Bulk Handling until his retirement in 1983.

His son Chris approached my office in late 2014 requesting I support his father's application for the Legion of Honour medal, and I was happy to oblige. As a British citizen, the necessary paperwork required much toing and froing between the British and French embassies in Australia and abroad. Finally, on Saturday 20 August, I had the great pleasure of attending the official presentation of France's highest military honour, the Legion of Honour medal, to Jim Harness—a decorated British serviceman and much-loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather—in front of his gathered family and friends at the National Anzac Centre in Albany.

In awarding the Legion of Honour, the French government acknowledges the sacrifices made by veterans like Jim who participated in the liberation of France. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Jim and his family for ensuring that his efforts for his country were justly recognised.