Towards the end of the war as the Russian army approached, Mr Nagy and his mother fled to Germany where they spent the next five years in a refugee camp at Koblenz.

The fear of another war breaking out led the Nagy’s to leave Germany for Australia and after time in a migrant hostel in Bathurst, John’s mother found work as a cook at the hotel in Koorawotha.

However the trauma of the war, the isolation of a new and alien country and the death of her parents and sister took their toll on Katalin and just as John was starting at Young High she was admitted to Callen Park Mental Hospital where she remained for the next 11 years

John now faced the prospect of having to leave school and find a job to support himself but on hearing of his plight, and the fact he was a promising student, the Rotary Club of Young came to John’s aid.

Under the club’s youth assistance scheme, members decided to give one shilling a week in support of John’s education and in the first year 79 pounds and nine shillings was collected.

The money covered his board with a local music teacher, a Miss Molly Whitehead, and the cost of his schooling and he was subsequently able to complete his leaving certificate and gain first class honours in combined physics and chemistry.

Fellow classmates remember his first day of school when he arrived wearing the traditional German dress of lederhosen, checked shirt and long socks, but this initial indiscretion was soon forgotten as John’s strong character became apparent.

Despite his English being poor, he was soon able to speak it fluently and said his best classes for learning the language were maths and science as he knew something of these subjects and so understood what the teacher was talking about.

He played in the school’s rugby league team for which he was awarded a “Blue” in 1953, was involved with the swimming team, was a prefect and also a talented musician who considered a career in music before finally accepting a commonwealth scholarship to study engineering.

The presence of Mr Nagy’s children on Tuesday came about after local resident and Rotarian John Hamblin heard of Mr Nagy’s story while at a small, informal reunion of students a few years ago.

“I had never struck such respect for a fellow pupil,” Mr Hamblin said.

“They knew how tough he’d done it.

“He was an inspirational guy and I hope that inspiration and the values he stood for rubs off on the award recipients,” he said.

After pursuing different avenues, Mr Hamblin eventually began ringing every Nagy in the Sydney telephone directory and finally found John’s widow, Sue, who had intending on making the trip to Young for the ceremony but was unable to due to health reasons.

From here Mr Hamblin was able to make contact with Mr Nagy’s children.

On Wednesday Stephen and Elizabeth Nagy met with Bernie Callaway and later Stephen visited former Young mayor Jack Howard, the only two surviving members of the Young Rotary Club who were involved with the initial assistance given to their father.

The siblings expressed their gratitude for the help and generosity extended all those years ago without which John Nagy would no doubt have had a very different life.

“We would just like to express our appreciation, he loved the town and he loved the people,” Elizabeth Nagy said.