Kokoda

HISTORY AND HERITAGE

Such a famous name, Kokoda. Legendary. Imbued with, sacrifice, mateship, courage, and endurance.

In September 2022, a group of 20 hardy souls with strong King’s connections dared to discover what it would mean to visit Kokoda and walk the trail.

Prior to their Kokoda trek, the group led by Cameron Poolman (Foundation President), contacted the School Archivist Jenny Pearce to see whether there were any Old Boys directly involved in the Kokoda battles. The answer was difficult to determine, however Jenny did find six Old Boys who gave their lives during the broader New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War, and whose remains lie honoured in the Bomana Cemetery in Port Moresby.

During their trek, the group paid tribute to these Old Boys: Lieutenant William Rowland Wheatcroft Howell 33 years old, Private Norman Capel 35 years old, Lieutenant John Allen Grant 26 years old, Lieutenant William Harrington Barker Boydell 24 years old. Trooper Henry Osborne Norton-Knight 22 years old and Flight Lieutenant Herbert James Bullmore 27 years old were both Old Tudorians and King’s Old Boys. There are harder treks; longer, steeper, higher and more dangerous. But there is something so elemental about Kokoda. Something that, 80 years after the guns fell silent, still speaks to the heart of us all.

Edward Simpson (1986) shared some words about the groups’ experience: “The extraordinary terrain, the immense and intense jungle, the relentless and beautiful mountains, the humidity, the raging rivers. It is like you are stripped bare and taken right back to basics, and you need to respond, because – well – you will not make it unless you do.

We all trained hard, for months (and as they say, you cannot overtrain for Kokoda). Linear distance means absolutely nothing here, such is the topographical complexity. One kilometre can take you an hour. To go up, it seems, you first need to go down. And vice versa. One hill had seven false peaks on it, and despite knowing this in advance, it still managed to break our hearts seven times. You have good days and bad – good hours and bad. You ride the strong physical challenge, only to bump into the mental one, which then intersects with the emotional one. Despite all of this, we got there. All of us. Ten days in the jungle. All the way. Our group camaraderie was just terrific, supportive and fun (we had a bunch of amazing teenagers and a few dads). Despite the slips and falls, the tummy bugs and grazes, the scratches and blisters and moments of doubt, there is absolutely no doubt it was one of the very best things any of us has ever done. Lest We Forget.”

Edward Simpson (1986)

The group comprised: Cameron Poolman (1986), Ross Thompson (1986), Sam Paradice (1986), Edward Simpson (1986), Toby Lawson (1984), Sid White (2019), Matt Toll (current parent), James Watson, Hamish White (past parent), Mark Ritchard, Simon Edwards and Tim Palmer. The teens who accompanied them were Reggie Toll (Current student, Year 10 Britten), Ollie Thompson, Millie Thompson, Sarah Poolman, Mollie Paradice, Clem Paradice, Clancy Ritchard and Poppy Ritchard.