November 1 has been a significant date in Roma Page's life.
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On that date, 70 years ago, she married her husband Robert Charles Page at St Andrew's Church in Weston Creek. Then, on their second wedding anniversary, she received a telegram informing her of her husband's death.
The telegram said he had died of illness in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, but years later the truth emerged.
It was only fitting that Captain Page's real story was told in detail on Friday, his wedding anniversary, at the Australian War Memorial's Last Post ceremony.
After his widow, as well as nephews and nieces who had travelled from across Australia and New Zealand, laid wreaths in honour of her husband, their uncle, visitors to the memorial were told of Captain Page's heroics.
In 1941 he put his medical studies on hold to follow in the footsteps of his father, a WWI veteran, and enlist. He later joined the Z Special Unit, a top secret group formed to conduct operations behind enemy lines.
He was decorated with a Distinguished Service Order for his role in Operation Jaywick, in which he and five other men paddled canoes into Singapore harbour and attached limpet mines to Japanese ships. They destroyed or seriously damaged seven ships.
Following the successful mission he returned to Australia and married Roma Prowse.
Due to the secret nature of the unit, he couldn't reveal to his new wife what he'd done and nor could the army tell him he had been honoured for "his courage and devotion under extreme hazardous conditions".
His next mission, six months later, was his last. Captured by the Japanese in September 1944, he was imprisoned, found guilty of espionage, then in July 1945, aged 25, just one month before the end of the war, Captain Page was beheaded.
"We've read so much about him and can't imagine what he must have gone through, particularly when he was captured by the Japanese," nephew Bob Elvy said. "A very brave man, the Japanese themselves said 'The best way we can execute you is by beheading you, that's our most honourable way because we believe you're so brave.'"
Back home, his wife waited for his return. "We waited and waited for them to come back, but they never did; then we waited for something official," Mrs Page said.
It finally came, the fateful telegram delivered on November 1.