Bayly family to pay tribute to loved one

An Albany woman who attended the first dawn service at Mt Clarence 85 years ago will honour the memory of her father who served Australia during World War I.

Joan Bayly, 92, was six years old when she accompanied her father James Atkinson Dodds up Mt Clarence behind Padre White on April 25, 1930.

"It was very early in the morning and dark," she recalls.

"I was holding my dad's hand.

"Going up, I could hear them talking about a lot of soldiers and ships, but I was more worried about the bushes scratching my legs and, when we got to the top, I was amazed there were no soldiers or ships."

Private Dodds served with the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion during the Battle of the Somme and spent 18 months as a prisoner of war before returning to Albany at the end of the war.

Although Mrs Bayly is not well enough to attend the 100th dawn service on Saturday, three generations of her family will attend to honour her father's memory, which lives on in a memorial seat at the Desert Mounted Corp Memorial.

"It is a very meaningful occasion," Mrs Bayly said.

They will be among about 4000 people who pack out the site to pay their respects at an event the Albany RSL Sub-branch has spent five years preparing for.

Special functions committee chairman Laurie Fraser said organisers had put huge amounts of hours and effort into fine-tuning every aspect of the weekend's memorial services.

"Due to the outstanding international coverage Albany got during the centenary commemorations last year, we anticipated those who could not get to Gallipoli for the dawn service would come to the place where it all started instead," he said.

Mr Fraser said he was pleased with this week's preparations.

"Everything from fine-tuning the transport system, getting the infrastructure into place, rehearsals and briefings with all the agencies involved, to hamburgers and tomato sauce for the gunfire breakfast … we have been flat tack making sure it all runs smoothly," he said.

City of Albany chief executive Graham Foster said the City had worked hard to put together a program to support the RSL's commemorative events.

A dawn service will be held at 5.30am on Saturday at the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial.

Visit http://www.anzacalbany.com.au for a full list of events and services in Albany.