Major (Retired) Sidney Norman Penhaligon, MBE formerly of Bunny Street, Weston and, more recently, Adria Village at Stirling passed away on 5 March 2021.
Sid had an interesting life. He left school at the age of 14 (in the middle of the depression) and worked in a local grocery shop – cycling the 25 kilometer return trip from home to work. In 1941 with Australia at war, Sid, now aged 17 enlisted. The family does not know how this was achieved given the minimum entry age was 20. He met Marie, his wife, in 1943 and they married the next year.
After the war Sid had a number of jobs and completed a two-year course in wool classing. When national service was reintroduced in the early 50’s, Sid re-enlisted and went on to have a long career in the army that spanned more than 33 years.
He had numerous postings over the years and had operational service in Japan, Korea and South Vietnam. In 1972 he was granted a commission, as a lieutenant, and in 1978 was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his service as the Administration Officer at the Joint Services Staff College.
Sid was very proud that there had been a Penhaligon involved in every major conflict since the Boer War. And he was thrilled when his grand daughter Deidre joined the Army Reserves.
After discharging from the Army, with the rank of Major, he became the Secretary/Manager of the Royal Canberra Golf Club and later worked at Parliament House with the Department of the House of Representatives. During this time he was given the task of planning the move from the then Parliament House into the new Parliament House building. A job Sid described as his most challenging!
Sid had a keen sense of social responsibility and this was reflected in his active involvement with the Masons, the Probus Club of Weston, the RSL, St Peter’s church at Weston, the Artillery Association and various community groups. Over many years, including when Sid was over 80, he was involved with feeding the homeless. He was one of the original foundation members who provided a financial guarantee to enable the building of St Peter’s church at Weston.
At his funeral, his daughter Michele described her father as a person of energy who had a positive outlook on life. She said that his family, his Christian faith, the Army’s cultural and ethical values, were the pivots around which Sid’s life revolved. She said ‘if you look up a definition of goodness, it is about character, integrity, honesty, generosity, moral courage and the like. My father had all of this and more. He lived his life with love, with dignity, with passion and with pride. He was a proud Australian and the extended Penhaligon family loved, respected and admired him’.
