Tony Glynn

[1] Glynn was attending boarding school in Sydney at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill when the British colony of Singapore fell to the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942.

Due to widespread fear of a possible Japanese invasion of Australia, he and his younger brother Paul Glynn were called back to Lismore to finish their schooling at St John's College, Woodlawn.

While studying at Toongabbie in 1946 Glynn met Fr Lionel Marsden who, while serving as a chaplain in the 8th Division Australian Imperial Force (AIF), became a prisoner-of-war and was put to work on the notorious Thai-Burma Railway.

He visited both the sick and prisoners, taught Bible studies, ran youth groups, and organised aid deliveries from abroad.

In this last endeavour, he was assisted by his brother and fellow Marist priest Fr John Glynn, editor of magazine The Harvest, which publicized the order's overseas missions.

Glynn also made a point of forging close ties with members of the Buddhist and Shinto faiths, and would eventually lead seven pioneering Buddhist/Christian prayer pilgrimages to Pacific War sites, from Lae, in Papua New Guinea, to Nagasaki.

When news circulated of his impending departure, he was showered with gifts by parishioners, community organizations, and local dignitaries grateful for his services to the people of Nara.

Menzies personally arranged for Mark Foy's department store to provide space and took time out to open the exhibition in August 1958.

[citation needed] John Menadue, a former Ambassador to Japan, commented: "In his very direct way, Tony focused on the power of symbols and used them more effectively than any other person.

[9] Fr Paul Glynn, who has likewise been honoured for his achievements as a missionary and author, recalled: "Tony told me there is no cheap grace.

His image is preserved in a bronze plaque erected at Cowra, a city in country New South Wales that maintains close relations with Japan.