Trish Mullins — Toc H General Member

I had long heard about Toc H from my grandparents, but it wasn’t until recently that I reached out to learn more — and to make contact with Ray Geise. My husband Peter and I met Ray for lunch in Brisbane, and to our delight discovered that Ray and I had met once before, many decades ago, at my grandfather’s funeral in 1963. I was only two years old, so the memory is not mine, but the connection felt deeply meaningful.

Although I don’t have personal memories of my grandfather Pat Leonard, his stories, character and love of life live on vividly in our extended family. To us, he is simply Fafa — a name spoken with affection, but also with the weight of many stories. Fafa died young, yet his influence endured through my grandmother, who lived healthily into her nineties and made sure her grandchildren knew of his resilience, his faith, and his devotion to service. Today, Fafa’s four children are either nonagenarians or close to it, and the family has grown to include 15 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 8 great-greats!

Fafa was a man of many interests, and when he committed to something, he pursued it with wholehearted excellence. Some of my most treasured possessions are small mementos of his passions — each one revealing something of his character.

Each morning, as I eat my toast and cumquat marmalade, I use a pewter spoon topped with a kookaburra. Fafa took this spoon back to England after spending time in Australia establishing Toc H in 1925 — a quiet testament to his faith and service during and after the war. When I married and moved to Australia in 1984, my Grannie gave me the spoon to “bring back” to the southern land. She told me that Fafa had admired the ANZACs deeply during the First World War and remembered his time in Australia with Toc H with great fondness. She felt he would be pleased to know that one of his grandchildren had returned, spoon in hand.

On my dressing table sits a delicate edelweiss brooch, a brilliant blue. Fafa bought it while mountaineering in Switzerland, as a gift for my Grannie. He was both an adventurer and a romantic — even taking his new wife climbing during their honeymoon. A near-fatal fall on that trip deterred Grannie from future climbs, but not Fafa.

On my desk is his silver stamp box, shaped like a tiny treasure chest. He was an avid philatelist, and his stamp collecting speaks to his curiosity, patience and attention to the wider world.

His scouting memorabilia has recently been donated to the Scouting Museum in London. Fafa was a dedicated scout leader, and his children and grandchildren followed in his footsteps, becoming scouts and guides throughout our growing up years, and in many countries. His commitment to Toc H and scouting reflected his belief in leadership, service and practical character building for young people.

Fafa lived a full and adventurous life. He found resilience through his humour and practical faith, as shown in the letters he sent to his parents during his years in the first war trenches as a padre, and his romantic letters to my Grannie during the second world war. His loyalty and humility are legendary in the family stories told and re-told. I feel extremely fortunate to have had such an extraordinary grandfather!

Trish Mullins
Toc H General Member

Trish Mullins has just become a Toc H General Member and her story about her grandfather makes interesting reading and is important because it tells a lot about the early history of Toc H in Australia.