Radschool

Newsletter

Vol 11

Page 6

Anzac Day—2002.

The Anzac Day 2002 celebration in Brisbane, which seems to be getting bigger and better each year, was as good as you would want—from both a participant’s and spectator’s point of view. There was a huge number of marchers with the final bunch of Army blokes going down the street some 2½ hours after the start, yet the crowd of many many thousands refused to budge and stayed to the last. This year the march was led by the RAAF with the Navy second, and the Army bringing up the rear. Next year the RAAF goes to the back.

It was very interesting to see the make up of the crowd, there were blokes and their girls dressed in leather with tats and metal bits sticking out of them everywhere, there were grannies, young families, kids, old blokes, lots of girls, blokes in suites, mums with prams, they waved flags, clapped, cheered, called out, some had small banners saying “Thank You!”, in all, it was a very moving experience, and if you’ve never marched, you should.

Apart from the march which is a way of declaring to the public that you were proud of what you did, that you were proud of the Squadron or unit that you were in, that you were proud to be with the blokes that you did it with, it is also a time when blokes and blokettes meet up with mates from long ago, it’s a time when you can see someone you haven’t seen for 20-30 years, yet when you do meet again you chat on as though it was only yesterday. A lot of blokes did only 6 years, yet the mates they made in that short time they keep forever. Mates from civvy street “just ain’t the same” - wonder why - perhaps it’s something to do with the selection process………….

John “Porky” Donohue—at his first march, surprised at the huge crowd that had turned out to see him……...

Next year it’s our turn. We’ve been in touch with the people that control the march in Brisbane and written to them to ask for permission to march under the yellow Radschool banner that first came to life last year. If we get the OK, and we hope it’s just a formality, then we’ll fit in somewhere towards the back with 2 and 35 Sqns and we can march under the banner of the RAAF’s School of Radio. We’ve also been in touch with Allan George who is still in, and is possibly the RAAF’s longest serving member (from 1964-now), and we’ve asked him to lead us. Allan is not certain if he can get away, it will all depend on what’s happening this time next year, but he’s working on it and hopes to be able to make it.

The march and the socialising afterwards will be the start of our reunion in 2003 which we hope to make bigger and better than ever. Please try and make it.

Ted McEvoy was on 14 Appy and now lives in the West. The picture at left above was taken in Vung Tau in 1968, and looks like it was taken in the radio section in the 35Sqn hanger. You can see his figmo on the wall behind. From the look of it he only had about 50 days left in country when the photo was taken as there aren’t many squares left to fill in  (They must have changed them—the next batch of Figmo’s were much more interesting—tb) The bloke on the right is Les (Shakey) Addison. Photo at far left shows Ted in full flight at Romany’s restaurant in Perth after the 2001 Anzac Day march.

A couple of old ex-Radschool stagers, John Butler and Frank Alley sharing a beer or 6 back in March. 2002.

How many times have you seen a memorial in a park depicted by a bloke on a horse. Heaps of times I bet, but did you know that:-

·         If the horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

·         If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

·         If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Well now you do…

Printer fault. 

John Elliott saw our bit on Frognall a few issues ago, and writes: 

“In my early days at Frognall (era 1964) I was working on a teleprinter that had developed an intermittent fault and being new to the game I wanted some help to fix the brute. What followed went something like this”

 

Me (young and innocent, just out of Radschool) "Scuse me Corp's this here machine has developed an intermittent fault."

 

Him (old and grizzled tech with lots of experience). "Ha give me a look lad, these intermittent faults are damn hard to find."

 

Me (now spellbound and waiting for a lesson from the master) "Wots the best way to fault find these things Corp's"

 

Him - (Raising the machine to a height of 4 ft off the floor and dropping it)   "There you go, that’ll fix the bastard"

And I had to agree the intermittent fault had disappeared, and I had gained another theoretical tool to put in the toolbox of life.

Bruce Hart and John Morley sending a few ZCZC’s.

John is now producing award winning wines at Stanthorpe, Q.