When Fremantle’s 2021 Len Hall Tribute Game was called off due to a Covid lockdown in Perth, hearts broke throughout the Purple Army for WWII veteran Arthur Leggett, who was set to recite the Ode of Remembrance in front of a packed house for the Saturday night clash against North Melbourne.
Although Fremantle were able to get a camera crew to Arthur’s house to film him recite the Ode before the 6pm lockdown kicked in, he still missed the opportunity to do it in person.
Become a Freo member and be there for Saturday night's Len Hall Tribute Game
102-year-old World War Two veteran Arthur Leggett recites The Ode 💜 #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/zMrxDaIdw7
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) April 24, 2021
A year later and a year older, the 103-year-old is ready once again to take centre stage ahead of Fremantle’s blockbuster clash with Carlton in what will be the 25th edition of the Len Hall Game.
Arthur attended Optus Stadium on Tuesday evening for a rehearsal and said he couldn’t wait to see the ground filled with Fremantle fans.
“Of course, last year it was disappointing but with the Covid virus, I’m afraid we just had to confirm with what was going on for the good of the community,” Arthur said.
“It was a big disappointment because I had never been involved in anything of that magnitude, however we survived another year, we’re here today and I trust we’ll enjoy the day.”
One of WA’s last surviving World War Two veterans, Leggett spent four years as a prisoner of war in Germany and had to work on a coal mine in North Poland.
He said also he has his fellow Anzacs in mind when he stands up for the Ode.
“I always feel that it’s not about me, I’m representing all the fellas that didn’t come home. In that moment, that’s who I’m representing. Therefore, I owe it to them to carry myself with as much dignity as I can muster,” Leggett said.
“The Ode does mean a lot to me. There have been some magnificent men in the past who have been destroyed by war and who never came home. If you can stand up in front of 50,000 people and feel that you are representing them, it gives me a good feeling.”
Because of the impacts of Covid, this will be the first Len Hall Tribute Game since 2019. The 25th Len Hall Game continues a long tradition of Fremantle acknowledging the Anzacs going back to 1996.
