The small,long-serving Shrine Guard – which has protected Victoria’s iconic war memorial year-round since 1935 – has welcomed eight recruits ahead of Remembrance Day.
Long-time Shrine guards Peter Scott (left) and Andrew Campbell-Burns (right) will soon be joined by new recruits.Simon Schluter
The Shrine Guard is made up of select Victoria Police protective services officers (PSOs) who have undergone specialised training to conduct ceremonial and security duties at the Shrine.
Five women are among the intake,a steep jump in representation given only three other women have served in the guard in its 87-year history.
On Tuesday,Katrina Spackman,Simarpal Kaur and Loredana Giusti completed some final ceremonial training with experienced guards Peter Scott and Andrew Campbell-Burns.
They will stand guard as Melbourne holds its first Remembrance Day service without restrictions at the Shrine since 2019,after over
Recruits Katrina Spackman (left),Simarpal Kaur (centre-right) and Loredana Giusti (right).Simon Schluter
Kaur,a Sikh,moved to Australia from India to study,before joining Victoria Police – the only woman in her academy class – in 2012.
Her great-grandfather served with the British Indian Army,while her brother is now in the Indian Army and her son has joined Australia’s ranks.
“As a female from a completely different culture,it makes me even more honoured that I’m part of Australian history now because I’m connected to the Shrine,” Kaur said.
Spackman,who grew up in Britain and developed a passion for military history through her father,will be lowering the Union Jack to half-mast during Friday’s service.
“I might have a little tear in my eye when I do that,” she said.
While officers often wear the traditional Light Horse mounted infantry uniforms at ceremonies such as Remembrance Day,on Friday the recruits will wear their alternate blue uniforms as their khaki colours are not ready yet.
Campbell-Burns,better known as C-B,is a veteran of the Shrine Guard,joining in 1990 when the Protective Services Unit started providing officers.
He said the best part of the job was helping people connect with lost relatives and Australia’s war history – including occasionally showing revellers around the Shrine at 3am.
Melburnians pay their respects on ANZAC Day at Shrine of Remembrance this year.Chris Hopkins
“You get to reach people,” Campbell-Burns said.
The longest-serving Shrine Guard,who was also in the Army,said he was particularly touched when a woman at a war widows’ ceremony saw a likeness in him to her deceased husband. Every year – for a decade – she would return for a hug.
“It used to really affect me ... I had to make sure that I was on that ceremony,” he said.
The downside? Melbourne’s weather. “You freeze there at night and boil there in summer,” he said.
“I’ve walked around the place on nightshift with ice in my moustache,” Campbell-Burns said. “We’ve put an egg on some foil down on the front steps and we cooked[it].”
Scott,the oldest guard at 70,will also be stationed at the Shrine on Remembrance Day. He said he would think about his father,who fought for the British Army in World War II,during the minute’s silence on Friday.
“It’s a fantastic place to work. Veterans that have died,their mother or wife might come to the Shrine and be in tears,and you sort of comfort them and they’re really appreciative,or you do a ceremony for them or something like that. They’re the high points,” Scott said.
Spackman said she would initially have one thought in mind during the Friday’s silence:“Just don’t move.”
“But on a more sensible note,I’m probably just remembering why we’re there. Remembering those that have fallen,and keeping the history alive,keeping their memory alive,in what we’re doing.
“And then don’t move,” she said with a laugh.
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