Off the Record: Happy Father’s Day to a man with Albany running through his veins

100 PER CENT ALBANY Norman Angove was born in Albany, raised in Albany and he served in the defence of Albany after the start of World War II. Having recently turned 100 and celebrated Father’s Day in Albany, it’s only right that he gets a mention in the local newspaper. If those last two sentences didn’t convince you that Norman was an Albany man through-and-through, try this next one. The Spencer Park centenarian currently resides at Annie Bryson McKeown Lodge, an aged-care facility on Angove Road — a road named after his family. OTR is told that Norman’s great-uncle was well-known surveyor and Albany figure William Henry Angove. Norman was born in Albany on May 6, 1922. Records show he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces at the age of 19 in 1941, serving in fixed defences at Albany and Fremantle with the fortress engineers. He was transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in July 1944, eventually serving overseas a year later, when he was posted to the 2/2nd Australian Field Company in New Guinea and then Morotai. He was then sent to Japan as the part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force and did not return home to Australia until May 1947. Rex, the youngest of three children, said his father often spoke about World War II and how he had seen the “horrific” devastation in Hiroshima. After the war, he worked as a postman, and helped his father establish the greens at Albany Bowling Club, where was the greenskeeper for about 20 years. Last month, the City of Albany invited Norman and his relatives to Eyre Park, where Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington unveiled a plaque in honour of his 100th birthday. On Sunday, Rex managed to run the aged-care COVID gauntlet and catch up with his old man for Father’s Day. OTR will leave it to Rex to describe the man. “He lived through the depression, through hard times and just got on with it,” Rex said. “He was a very hard worker. “There was no choice, really. There was no seeking help, no dole — he just got on with it, the old-fashioned way.”