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You can still read the whole Magazine the old way, see at the bottom of the page.

Contents.

Cry with someone.  It's more healing than crying alone.

Course Photos.

Back in 2013 we started to catalogue and display Course photos on our web site. With the help and guidance of the late Ted Ilton, we started with the RAAF Academy and after we'd finished that, because of requests from some of the ladies, we started on the WRAAF recruit course photos. We had help with the WRAAF photos from some of the girls and from a most helpful lady at the museum at Pt Cook and we were able to get copies of most of the 247 WRAAF courses the RAAF ran (the RAAF dropped the W bit after 247 and the girls joined the RAAF).

We applied officially for access to the RAAF's depositary of photos which are held in a climate controlled room at Pt Cook (we'd seen them when we were working at Pt Cook some years ago) as we wanted to complete the WRAAF section and start on other groups, such as Pilots and Comms people.

That was when the fun started.

Although given approval initially, all of a sudden excuses began to pop up as to why we couldn't get access. We have been able to build up a partly completed catalogue of photos, mainly because people had sent in copies of photos they have held over the years but try as we might, we couldn't get access to the RAAF's collection.

This went on for years and although to date there has been nearly 245,000 people access the site, we have not received one complaint, in fact we get heaps of 'thank you" emails because as far as we know, if someone wants a photo of one of the courses they were on years ago to show to their grand kids, (or whatever), there is nowhere else to go.

In desperation, we asked Ted McEvoy, who had corresponded previously with his MP, the Hon Ben Moreton, to approach him again and see if there was any way a door could be opened and we could somehow get access to the photos. Ted duly did that, he fired off a letter to Ben Moreton, outlining the years of frustration and stone-walling I'd encountered and asked if anything could be done.

Seems Ben Moreton was surprised at the lack of support I'd received from the RAAF as he fired off a letter to the Hon Darren Chester, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, asking him to look into it. It seems Darren Chester was also a bit surprised as he promptly replied to Ben Moreton advising that the photos would be made available.

Shortly after that, Ted received a call from WngCdr Grant Taylor, the CO of 2 FTS at Pearce, advising Ted that photos of all RAAF Pilot Courses were held at Pearce and if Ted wanted to, he could come out to Pearce and get copies.

Wonderful news - but a shame we had to resort to those measures to get something of benefit to many.

Ted drove out to the Base on Thursday 25 June and will again on Thursday the 2nd July and we must say, he was warmly welcomed by Grant Taylor who was very helpful and assisted Ted in every way possible. Once we get the JPGs from Ted, along with the names and course numbers etc, we'll collate them and update the site and it will be available to everyone - at no cost. The Radschool Association does this as a free service to its  members.

We suggest you have a look at the site towards the end of July.

Now that we've been given access to the Pilot's Courses, and the sky didn't fall in, we'd like to continue, next group we'd like to attack is the Navigators, we believe those photos are held at East Sale, then the big one - the Radschool Photos.

But one step at a time.   A bit thank you to Ben Moreton for getting the ball rolling, thank you also to Darren Chester for opening the door and thank you also to Grant Taylor for making it so easy for Ted.

Costco Offer.

Costco was founded in an old hangar in San Diego in the USA in 1976. It started life as the "Price Club"  and offered items to small businesses at a reduced price. It soon found by including non-business customers, its clientele increased greatly which meant it could buy more and buying more meant buying for less which meant it could sell for less which made it more attractive to buyers who bought more which meant buying more etc etc.

Its operating philosophy has been simple. Keep costs down and pass the savings on to its members. Since becoming Costco in 1997, the company has grown worldwide with total sales in recent fiscal years exceeding $64 billion.

Its warehouses carry about 4,000 SKUs (stock keeping units) compared to the 30,000 found at most supermarkets. By carefully choosing products based on quality, price, brand and features, the company can offer the best value to members.

Costco opened its first Australian store in Melbourne in 2009 and now has 12 stores through all states of Australia, except for Tasmania and the NT.

Costco is very conscious of the hardship and dedication of the Australian service men and women and recently put a deal together for the benefit of members of the Radschool Association.

Go to page 20 for the deal.

Fund raiser.

On the 7th March, we had a fund-raiser sausage sizzle at the Stafford (north of Brisbane) Bunnings store and what an experience that was. Bunnings have to be commended for this, they provide the marquees, the barbecue, gas, cooling fans, rubbish bins, the site, blackboard and even the chalk to write your message on the board, all at no cost. Their only requirement is participants must be a non-profit charitable organisation - which we are.

TPI/EDA travel on public transport.

Remember the big ballyhoo last year on the introduction of the Australian Defence Veterans' Covenant.   Remember this?

We, the people of Australia, respect and give thanks to all who have served in our defence force and their families. We acknowledge the unique nature of military service and the sacrifice demanded of all who commit to defend our nation. We undertake to preserve the memory and deeds of all who have served and promise to welcome, embrace, and support all military veterans as respected and valued members of our community.

Charity Classification.

100th Anniversary of the RAAF celebration.

We had to cancel our plans for the big get together in Melbourne next year but that doesn't mean we're cancelling all together. We've decided to hold our celebration next year in the ACT and to hold it over the ANZAC Day period and if you went through Radschool, whether Ballarat or Laverton, no matter what course, male or female, this event is for you. It also includes your husband, wife, boy friend, girl friend etc, who can join in with us in all events except the ANZAC Day March itself unless they have served. We're all getting on a bit and this could be our last hurrah - let's make it a good one. ANZAC Day in 2021 falls on a Sunday and we're planning to hold several events prior to that culminating in joining in the ceremonies planned around the War Memorial on ANZAC Day, including the Dawn Service, breakfast and the March itself. We're suggesting you spend 5 nights in Canberra, commencing Wednesday night the 21st April, and leaving the ACT on Monday the 26th.

Here's what's planned.

Wednesday 21st April.

An informal get together at the Ainslie Football Club that night. We hope to have a handout for everyone, setting out what's planned, etc.

Thursday 22 April

We've arranged with the Army for a conducted tour of  Duntroon. This is a marvellous base, full of tradition and wonderful old buildings and is definitely worth a visit.  This will start at 10.00am and should finish about 12.00midday. After Duntroon, we're planning we get together for lunch, unfortunately, the Corona problem has meant we haven't been able to get to Canberra to organise this, but once things return to normal we will and we'll let everyone know.

Friday 23 April.

We've arranged a conducted tour of the AWM after which we can all lunch at Poppy's Cafe at the AWM. After lunch we'll try for a conducted tour of Parliament House - but we can't confirm that until we can get to Canberra.

Saturday 24 April.

We've also been in touch with the ACT branch of the Air Force Association and have got approval to dedicate a plaque, remembering Radschool, in the RAAF Grove which is on the Federal Highway just inside the ACT boundary - see HERE. We submitted a claim to DVA for funds to cover costs, but it was refused (see HERE). We're pursuing other sources of funds and if we can't do any good, we might be forced to ask for donations. More later.

As there's limited parking on the highway, we'll arrange a car pool system which will operate from the Ainslie Football Club car park to get everyone out there. Refreshments will be served after the dedication after which we plan returning to the Club for lunch.  The rest of the afternoon is free until about 4.00pm when we can meet up again at the AWM for the "Changing of the Guard" at the tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, followed by the Last Post ceremony where we will lay a wreath. If the WRAAF ladies wish to join us, we will lay two.  After that the day is yours as it will be an early start tomorrow.

Sunday 25 April

Being ANZAC Day we propose attending the Dawn Service followed by the ANZAC Day March. The Dawn Service starts at 5.30am, but they suggest you get there at least 30 minutes prior to that - so no sleep-in that morning. After the Service, breakfast is served in ANZAC Hall at the War memorial, see HERE. The Dawn Service and the following breakfast are wonderful and very moving events.

The breakfast costs $45 per head and tables are arranged for 10 people. Click HERE for a sample menu. We'll have more on this after our trip to Canberra in August.

We've been in touch with the ACT Sub-branch of the RSL and have approval for us to march under the Radschool Banner. The March starts at 10.30am and will finish overall at the War Memorial at 12.30pm - that doesn't mean you're marching for 2 hours. The route for the March is along Anzac Parade, see HERE, we don't know the length of the march but we'll know more after our trip down to Canberra in August. If you are not able to march, but would still like to attend, we can possibly arrange to have you carried in a vehicle, let us know in the form below. Sorry, but we can only arrange a vehicle for those with active service.

We'll have more info on when and where to form up etc later.

The Dawn Service and the ANZAC Day March at the AWM are two huge events and should be on everyone's bucket list.

After the March, in the tradition of ANZAC Days everywhere, we can all get together at a club for a "debrief". We're talking with the RSL for a suitable venue, more on that later too. 

So we can get an idea of numbers, we know it's still a fair way off, but if you think you can make it, please fill in the form below. It's important that we get an indication of numbers before we talk to venues in Canberra in August (we hope restrictions are lifted by then). If your name is not on the list you could miss out as numbers could be important. Remember, you can always cancel later on, but mightn't be able to add your name once we've confirmed things.

Put your name in now

RAM thought for the day.

Good decisions come from experience and experience comes from bad decisions.

Buying a new car?

If you’re a Radschool member and contemplating buying a new car, we could save you thousands. The Radschool Association has done a deal with Australia’s biggest car brokers whereby you can purchase a car (your choice of make, colour, specs etc) at fleet discount prices.

One of our blokes made use of this facility recently and bought a Toyota Rav4 and saved thousands. You can too!

To see further details, go to the Radschool Assoc home page (HERE) then click on “New Car Purchase”.

Discounts.

Current financial members can now receive a 12% discount on the base rate of the day when hiring a car from Thrifty. If you’re thinking of hiring a car or an SUV or a people mover, this could save you heaps. If you’re a member, send us an email HERE and we’ll send you the promo code.

Membership.

We’ve decided to go with the following membership.

·                Full membership for $35.00 to 30 June 2021.

There’s no more annual Membership, only full Membership which will expire on the 30 June 2021.  As we’ve said, full membership is not compulsory, you can still receive the RAM which will remain open, free and available on the net.

So, if you’d like to contribute and help us with the ever increasing costs, please join as a full member.

If you are already a member (ie: if your name is on this LIST), please fill in the form below and send it to us, if you haven’t already joined (if you're not on the list), please use the form HERE.

BSB: 124-021       Account number: 1048 7401      Title:  RAAF Radschool Association.

Bank:  Bank of Queensland.

and include your name in the "Remarks" window on the deposit.

You can of course pay more if you wish!!

AND!!  If you work for or know of a firm that would be kind and generous enough to sponsor the Radschool Association, please get in touch.

Errors

Our aim is to have this site error free – but that’s probably impossible. But with your help I reckon we can get pretty close. If you see any errors, be they punctuation, spelling, links that don’t work, facts wrong etc, (no matter how small) please let us know so we can fix them.

Thankfully, Ken Morris, who lives over in the West, proof reads our print before it goes public and points out our many errors, not a lot escapes him I can tell you!   

Thanks Ken.

You can download the full magazine in PDF format HERE.

It is a very large file, contains 310 pages and will take a while to download.

The margins have been set so you can print on both sides of the page.

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