Family visits DVA meeting room named in their father’s honour
The late Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO was a distinguished Army officer and a dedicated champion of veterans. A meeting room in DVA’s Canberra head office has been named after Bill as testament to the huge contribution he made to the veteran community as Repatriation Commissioner, Principal Member of the Veteran Review Board (VRB) and as President of Legacy Canberra.
On 2 March 2022, DVA Secretary Liz Cosson AM CSC hosted a visit by Bill’s family – his wife Joan and daughters Kath and Erin. It was the first time they had been able to visit the Rolfe Room because of COVID restrictions. Also present was former Repatriation Commissioner Mark Kelly AO DSC who was Bill’s successor.
Joan Rolfe was delighted with the room and the decision to name it after her late husband. ‘It’s amazing,’ she said. ‘Really lovely. I’m sure Bill would have appreciated it.
‘He loved the military and that didn’t change once he’d retired from the Army. It was his life. He crammed everything he could into the years between his retirement from the Army and when he passed away.’
Bill (pictured on a visit to Gallipoli in 2010) grew up in Griffith, NSW, and entered the Royal Military College – Duntroon in 1965. In 1970, he was deployed to Vietnam where he served as a platoon commander and was Mentioned in Dispatches. It was in Vietnam that he was badly wounded by a mine, which led to both his legs being amputated below the knee.
Bill had been committed to a career as an infantry officer but suddenly found himself having to retrain. In 1982, Bill was the first Australian officer to attend the Graduate Course at US Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
He was then appointed Director of Army Legal Services in 1986 and Director General of Defence Force Legal Services in 1989. According to Joan, he was surprised by how interesting he found the legal profession.
Bill retired from the Australian Defence Force in 1992, when he joined the National Security Branch of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Legal Practice.
After five years working at the Attorney-General’s Department, he was appointed as head of the VRB – an independent tribunal responsible for reviewing entitlement decisions made by the Repatriation Commission. In 2007, he was appointed as the Repatriation Commissioner, and the following year was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to veterans. Bill sadly passed away in 2016.
‘Bill was a remarkable man who made a huge contribution to the Australian Defence Force as a serving officer and also to the veteran community following his retirement from the ADF,’ Ms Cosson said. ‘Bill was one of the veteran community’s staunchest advocates. The commitment and dedication he gave to the veteran community will leave a lasting legacy.’
Ms Cosson presented the Rolfe family with a list of recipients of the Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement – a category of DVA’s Anzac Day Awards.
‘We are so proud of Dad for the person he was and for what he accomplished in his career,’ said Kath who, like Erin, works in a Defence-related job.
‘It’s his sense of humour I often miss the most, and the practical support and advice he always provided to me, Erin and my brother, Brad.’
It is common practice for meeting rooms in DVA offices around the country to be named after significant members of the veteran community. Each of them displays a plaque detailing the person’s contribution to the Defence or veteran community. The final sentence of Bill’s plaque reads: ‘Bill Rolfe was a leading light in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. His good natured and thoughtful approach to every aspect of his work is a model to which we can all aspire.’
From left: Former Repatriation Commissioner Mark Kelly AO DSC; Kathleen Rolfe; Joan Rolfe; Erin Rolfe; DVA Secretary Liz Cosson AM CSC.