The family of Lance Corporal Spencer Henry Walklate were on hand at training on Monday morning to address the squad ahead of Friday afternoon's clash against the Roosters.
The players were educated on Walklate’s heroic exploits during Australia’s World War II campaign in Papua New Guinea as well as his 15-game career with St George back in the 1940s.
On April 11, 1945, Walklate was one of eight Australian Army Z Special Unit commandoes assigned to ‘Operation Copper’ – a reconnaissance mission to Japanese-occupied Muschu Island off the north coast of Papua New Guinea.
The mission was fraught from the start with the unit issued obsolete weapons and equipment but, despite many obstacles, Operation Copper continued their mission and successfully located concealed guns, sabotaged other weapons on the island, and gathered intelligence on Japanese operations.
In honour of Spencer Walklate
Unable to use their damaged equipment to signal the awaiting patrol boat for pick-up, the group split into two with Walklate last seen swimming out to sea with three other members of the operation in the hope they’d be spotted by an Australian plane or patrol boat.
After years of investigations by the Unrecovered War Casualties Unit, Spencer Walklate’s remains were discovered in 2013 in an abandoned medical dump on Kairiru Island.
Walklate’s grandson Todd spoke to the squad with his son, Tye, and grandson, Arlo, alongside him before watching the side’s field session.
