By ALESHA CAPONE
AFTER 24 years of service in the Navy, sprightly senior citizen Albert ’Bogie’ Knight still shows no signs of slowing down.
The Point Cook grandfather, 65, is a volunteer pension officer with the Melbourne West Sub branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia.
The sub branch runs a free service for all veterans and their widows across the West – not just Vietnam veterans – for help with pension claims and welfare issues.
Mr Knight said although the sub branch held these sessions once a week at the Kelly Park Community Centre located next to the Werribee RSL, veterans from outside the area were welcome to attend.
“We’ve got our area but we also outreach to blokes across Brimbank and all around there,” Mr Knight said.
“We help everybody, doing welfare and pensioner officer work for RSLs.
“What I enjoy most is helping others.
“I was sitting there a few years ago and a bloke came in and he needed help. I felt so useless that I couldn’t help him and I felt I was letting him down.
“I decided on the spot it was time I put my hand up and do some pension officer training, so I could help out blokes like him.”
Mr Knight said some veterans did not want to try claiming a pension or look into welfare issues because they disliked authority.
“We are not like that. We are there to help them,” he said.
Mr Knight said he could easily relate to people who might not have had the best of experiences in the armed forces, although he enjoyed his time in the Navy.
“For the first eight years before I became caught up in the marriage game, I thought the Navy was personally invented for me to drink beer, chase sheilas and play rugby,” he said.
Contact Werribee RSL on 9741 5525 to make an appointment or Ray Matthew on 0400 107 130 or secretary@melbournewest.vvaavic.org.au for more information.
