Both his parents were Anzacs who served in WWI – his Welsh-born mother Edith Jeremiah Easton served with the Australian Army Nursing Service in Egypt and on the Salonika Front and his father Percy Easton with the 21st Battalion on the Western Front.

Returning to Australia in 1918, Edith and Percy met and married after the war, eventually settling in Moonee Ponds.

Gil was particularly proud of his mother’s war service and was concerned at the lack of recognition often afforded to Australia’s war nurses.

Gil was only 15 years old when he enlisted in February 1940, the reason his Army Service File records his birth as 1920 rather than 1924.

His parents thought he’d never pass the induction but pass it he did, showing some of the determination that would stand him in good stead throughout his life.

He would serve with the 2/1st Army Field Workshops (Recovery Section) repairing machine guns and other military equipment in the field.

Gil sailed from Port Melbourne’s Princes Pier on May 5, 1940 aboard the Empress of Canada, and from Fremantle his ship joined the third and largest convoy of the 2nd AIF to leave Australia.

After disembarking at Greenock, Gil and his unit were camped on Salisbury Plain in June 1940.

He remembered the camp being strafed by enemy planes on their way back to base after bombing the RAF airfields during the famous Battle of Britain, earning Gil and his unit the Battle of Britain medal.

While in England he found time to visit his mother’s family in Wales.

In October 1940, Gil and his unit departed for Egypt and the Middle East, serving with the Australian 9th Division.

Here Gil took part in the defence of Tobruk, a siege that lasted 242 days, and witnessed some of the most intense fighting of the war.

Gil had vivid memories of this time, especially the bombing of Tobruk’s hospital.

After the lifting of the siege, Gil and his unit spent nearly 12 months recuperating and refitting in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria in preparation for the coming Allied offensive.

He would go on to take part in the great battle of El Alamein in July and October 1942, which began the turn of the tide of the war in the Middle East.

Here he served with the 78th Light Aid Detachment (LAD), 26th Brigade, 9th Division.

Returning to Australia in 1943, he went on to serve at the battles at Buna, Lae and Finschafen.

His elder brother, Emlyn, also served in and survived the Second World War.

Discharged on October 9, 1945, aged 21, Gil returned to civilian life in Australia.

He married Lucia and soon they were both overjoyed by the arrival of their daughter, Glynis.

After a stint in the furnishing trades, Gil began work in Melbourne’s thriving rag trade, obtaining a position in the storeroom of one of the industry’s material suppliers.

He remembered the large containers of goods spilling out on to Flinders Lane in the '50s.

But soon he approached his boss, another WWII veteran, seeking a position as a sales representative.

A natural salesman, Gil was given the chance and thrived. Gil had found his calling.

Soon he started his own material importing business, opening up business connections across the world and was one of the first Australian businessmen to import material from China.

He once showed me his business contact books, the old pages revealing the business cards of a forgotten era.

His international connections enabled him to obtain the best prices from the various markets across the globe for Australian manufacturers.

His personal business archive is a treasure trove for historians of Melbourne’s clothing industry and early business dealings with China.

Throughout his war service Gil was keen to record his experiences and those of his comrades with a small camera, creating a unique photographic archive of over 140 photographs capturing his service in the Middle East in WWII.

When Gil first showed me his photographic album I was amazed.

His photographs expand the visual memory of some of the greatest chapters in Australia’s Anzac story.

Yes, they include images from the siege of Tobruk and the preparations for the battle of El Alamein, but his photographs from Egypt, Palestine and Syria also show the streetscapes of wartime Tel Aviv, the Anzac Surf Carnival on the Gaza waterfront, the horse races at Heliopolis and Tel Aviv’s Ned Kelly newspaper stand.

In 2016 Gil, with the support of his family, made the decision to gift his archive to the people of Victoria.

He was particularly glad that descendants of his former comrades would now be able to easily access his photographs of their loved ones.

Gil’s photographs are now held for posterity in the State Library of Victoria.

One of the most poignant things I remember Gil saying about his wartime experiences was the importance of having a sense of humour.

He recounted how some of his wartime comrades would be emotionally shattered by the effects of the constant bombing.

Before the great battle of El Alamein, Gil and a fellow soldier enjoyed the nightlife of Alexandria in a brief moment of relief from the reality of war. For Gil, it was crucial to think of the good times and not let the war take over.