A Proserpine World War II veteran, Private Edward ‘Eddie’ Charles Lade, returned home to the sugarcane farming town after two years’ service in the Pacific Theatre of War, bringing with him something incredibly special.
In a ceremony at the Proserpine Returned and Services League (RSL) Subbranch last week, Edward Lade’s nephew, Ian Lade, bestowed the local chapter with his uncle’s special spoil of war: a guntō – a Japanese, ceremonial sword produced for the Imperial Army and Navy.
Forged by Japanese swordsmith Chounsai Emura, the guntō was officially left in the care of the RSL for display by the Lade family on Remembrance Day.
Ian Lade, who had travelled with the sword on behalf of his cousin Janet, said his uncle had come into possession of the sword whilst in active service in the islands of Papua New Guinea during the Second World War.
“I feel very proud and honoured to present this to the RSL and [Proserpine RSL Subbranch President] Jason Raiteri on behalf of the Lade family. I didn’t know Eddie all that well, but what I do know is he was a bit of a larrikin,” Mr Lade said.
“Just like anyone who spent time in active service, you could see he suffered from it. This RSL meant a lot to him. I’m honoured to leave his sword here.”
Chounsai Emura, the Chief Warden of Okayama Prison during the 1940s, purportedly forged hundreds of swords within his prison walls, donating them to Imperial Japanese Armed Forces Officers.
“The legend of the sword is that this prison warden [Emura] had his prisoners forge the swords and sharpen them,” Mr Lade said.
“It was believed only one of his swords was ever brought back to Australia by a Lieutenant Colonel who passed it onto the Australian War Memorial; but I’ve got a little bit of a story for them that it’s not the only one!”
The sword now joins other war artifacts displayed at the local RSL, which the RSL Subbranch President Jason Raiteri said was an exceptional honour.
“On behalf of the RSL, I would like to thank Ian for allowing us to be the caretakers of this sword for as long as the RSL is here,” he said.
Ian Lade donated a Japanese guntō sword to Proserpine RSL and its Subbranch President Jason Raiteri
The sword was crafted in the 1940s before coming into the possession of World War Two veteran Edward Lade, a late Proserpine resident
