DESCRIBED as a ‘tinker, tailor, soldier, spy’ by Cumberland RSL Sub-branch President Greg Read, Major Matt Jones entered the Australian Defence Force (ADF) after graduating from Duntroon College keen for a life of adventure.
During his 20-year career with the ADF, the Homebush West resident was not short of adventures but now pours his energy into raising awareness and support for returned veterans as well as exploring how to improve relations with North Korea, especially in light of the US election.
With a background in artillery and two uncle mentors who also served with the armed forces, Matt, now 52 and ‘conversational’ in Korean, Chinese and French, was a member of the Third Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) Parachute group, involving high-end strategic capability with the ADF and in partnerships with other countries.
“I was deployed to East Timor as the ADF’s Plans and Operations Officer at a time when there was a lot of domestic instability and it was our job to help transition them to their own independent sovereignty,” he said.
“I’ve also assisted other operations in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Australia’s border protection.
“I’ve dodged bullets but have certainly been luckier than many; I haven’t been standing on a two-way firing range which a lot of people like to romanticise and it definitely was a blessing not to be exposed to that level of violence.
“There were many stressful situations but working as an army intelligence officer gave me the opportunity to meet a diverse range of people and form close associations; there have been rescue operations, identifying victims and accessing areas via parachute that had been completely cut off, I’ve jumped out of many aeroplanes.
“Although a lot of these operations were in peace time, the high-level training was vital in keeping a high level of readiness should Australia find itself in that situation.”
An accomplished sculptor and artist, Matt recently won the Napier Waller Art Prize through the Australian War Memorial (AWM) with an oversized tapestry which is an “unorthodox” self portrait.
Able to be viewed online, the work was acquired by the AWM who also bought his highly commended entry last year which was a large scale work with embroidery and patchwork depicting a maritime signal flag with the theme, ‘I require assistance’.
“Maritime signal flags always carry a meaning even the Battle of Trafalgar’s Lord Nelson had his flag spell out the theme phonetically which was ‘England expects every man to do his duty’,” Matt said.
These wins followed him being awarded with Cumberland Council’s Art and Photography Prize in 2017.
Looking forward to the Remembrance Day service at Auburn Memorial Park from 9.30am on Wednesday, November 11, Matt said the day before he would be embarking on the Marine Corps Marathon, usually held in Washington DC, through Sydney’s CBD to raise funds for Carry On, a 75-year-old Australian charity for veterans.
“Remembrance Day is definitely a highlight of the year for me as it is such a wonderful opportunity to remember the thousands and thousands of people who didn’t return from war or returned changed,” he said.
“Today there is peace but still uncertainty and we should remember and honour the sacrifices of the past.”
“It’s especially important in our multicultural Cumberland as many of our newcomers have arrived from places that have been tragically ravaged by war; Remembrance Day should unite us all as everyone brings their own story.”
To donate to Carry On, email matt.jones@socialalchemy.com.au.
