Mum and Dad made a big deal of it, as I expected. Mum's parents, sister and brother, a couple of cousins, my sisters, and a few of my friends descended upon a Leagues Club for a huge dinner followed by more than a couple of drinks. I didn't need many presents, though there were a few jokes at my expense for wanting to go serve Britain rather than Australia, but even my friends understood why. "Well, at least Australia and Britain won't go to war," Patrick said, "Well, probably not anyway."

That was on the Wednesday night. The Saturday night was out with the boys, heading to the city as...