SYDNEY, 18 November  2025 – 

The Gallipoli Scholarship Fund is honoured to welcome Justcuts as a new bursary partner for 2026. Through the generosity of Justcuts founder, Denis McFadden, the Justcuts Bursary has been established to support a descendant of an Australian veteran undertaking a Diploma-level qualification in hairdressing salon management.

This bursary is especially meaningful, created in memory of Denis’s grandfather, James “Pop” McFadden, whose service in the First World War and legacy of character continue to inspire his family’s commitment to giving back.

“Justcuts’ support of the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund honours my grandfather, James McFadden. His friends called him “Gentleman Jim.” We called him “Pop.”

Pop McFadden served in the Australian 13th Light Horse Regiment as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. On the Western Front, his job was a dangerous one—to bring ammunition up to the line. He was gassed in the trenches and given exactly five and a half months to live by army doctors but went on to enjoy a long life of eating red meat, drinking beer and heavy cigarette smoking.

His nickname was “Feathers.” This was either a reference to the emu feather worn in the famed regiment’s slouch hat or because he won so many frozen chickens at his local bowling club meat raffle or maybe both. His name can still be seen on the club honour board: “Feathers McFadden.”

Pop McFadden was also my boxing coach. He taught me that boxing wasn’t really about hurting someone. According to my grandfather, it was more about not getting hurt yourself.

I was dancing, ducking and weaving while Pop held his leather focus mitt up as a punch point. There were one, two, three energetic right jabs and then a left hook into thin air, with a sideways stance to make myself a small target. And Pop McFadden knew about being a “small target.” He had dodged bombs and bullets at Passchendaele and Amiens in Belgium and France.

But above all, my grandfather wanted me to be optimistic about life, just as he was. And so, I was too.

As the founder of Justcuts and the creator of Justice Professional Haircare, I feel enormously proud that I can honour my grandfather’s memory and service in this way.

Denis McFadden”

We are deeply grateful to Denis McFadden and Justcuts for their meaningful support and the legacy they honour through this bursary. Partnerships like this strengthen our mission to provide life changing educational opportunities to descendants of Australian veterans.

To make a contribution and support the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund, click here