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NEWSLETTER 2/2020 ISSN 2207-0400 SEPTEMBER 2020 train to enter. This historic event seems to have gone COVID-19 (and FLU-19) unrecorded, but historic it certainly was. {It is of course the last refuge of scandalous editing to pad a Ironically, the sequel to all these interstate quarantine newsletter with articles repeated from the past, however the precautions was that, within days of our return to Duntroon, current COVID-19 crisis reminded us of an article we many of us went down with the dreaded ‘Spanish Flu’, some published in Newsletter 1/2018 reflecting on the effect on the so seriously that they were saved from death only by the care RMC, one hundred years earlier, of the influenza epidemic in of the Medical Officer and the devotion of the nurses at the 1919 which we take great licence to retrospectively dub RMC Hospital. ‘FLU-19’. So we repeat the article below, with some Clearly, the bugs of the flu variety know no interstate additional comment from the Letters to the Editor in boundaries, but at least they caused an historic ‘first’ for the Newsletter 2/2018. Eds} Corps! A First for Duntroon in 1919 {Although not treated as an historic event, it did not go V.E. Ewart unrecorded. The Queanbeyan Age of 28 March 1919 buried the item in a column of other snippets. "This morning a A little known incident in 1919 was not only a first for special train brought the cadets back for the College. They Duntroon but also for Canberra. It happened this way. were taken on by train to Canberra, where they were met by Few people living today will have experienced the world the Duntroon Band.” Ed.} wide pneumonic influenza epidemic known in 1918-19 as {During this very difficult period there were three who were ‘Spanish Flu’. The bug was a very virulent one causing severe appointed in turn as ‘Officer in Medical Charge’. Majors illness and many deaths. In an effort to protect their peoples J.M. Alcorn and E.B. Vance were AIF officers who each from the disease and the governments of New South Wales remained for about four weeks to be followed by the long- and Victoria quarantined their borders. This included, among term posting of Major H. Stoker, in whose memory the Stoker other things, the closing down of interstate passenger rail Cup was presented to the RMC in 1926. Ed.} traffic. The measure was in force during the long summer leave of the CSC in 1918-19. At the time, as a staff cadet, I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ recall receiving telegrams at intervals from the RMC Air Commodore Ewart graduated from the RMC in 1921 and extending my leave. Finally, however, one came ordering me transferred to the RAAF in 1923. His final appointment before to report to Victoria Barracks, Melbourne at a certain hour retiring from that Service in 1952 was as Commandant, RAAF Staff and date towards the end of February. Upon reporting I found College, Point Cook. Probably he is the oldest surviving ex-member that all staff cadets from Victoria, South Australia, Western of the RAAF. He has previously contributed to the Newsletter. Australia and Tasmania were also reporting there. From ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Victoria Barracks military motor lorries conveyed us to a pier Letters to the Editor (Newsletter 2/1988) at Port Melbourne. Here we embarked on S.S. Minah, an From Major L. A. Fell (1918) Army work boat, which ferried us to the quarantine station at Portsea. For about two weeks we were lodged in the station May I correct a couple of minor historical errors that appeared hutments before returning on S.S. Minah to Port Melbourne in your April 1988 Newsletter? The first was by my old where, on the pier, a special train awaited us. Having classmate Ulex Ewart and was titled, A First for Duntroon in entrained we were ordered to keep all windows closed as the 1919. … I think Ulex is wrong when he says that our train steamed through Flinders Street and Spencer Street cloistered journey did not save us from infection from the stations. From then on windows could be opened but not pneumonic influenza virus. I cannot recall any cases actually when passing through stations on the way to Albury. On at Duntroon. drawing into the long platform at Albury we found that it had [It seems that both of these class mates are partially correct. been completely cleared of people. Opposite our Victorian Major Stoker, the Officer in Medical Charge, reported that train the New South Wales one was drawn up and we were some 30 Staff Cadets were attacked by the epidemic but only ordered to join it. on their return to duty after the midwinter break. Major The train journey to Goulburn was uneventful but here, to Stoker noted that the weak point in the College quarantine our astonishment, the train was switched to the track for arrangements was the fact that some of the College Canberra. Until then only an occasional freight train had used employees lived in Queanbeyan. One of them contracted the track into Canberra, so it was with some wonder that we pneumonic influenza and died of it. Ed.] steamed into the Nation's capital, as yet just a sheep pasture

and without a railway station, to become the first passenger

1 into one of the plate warmers to select an upturned

Mess Life – 1979–82 plate. … The right number in this lucky dip is a clean plate. Allan A. Murray (1982) … Then the cadets go to the food, often During my time at Duntroon, the Corps of Staff Cadets’ Mess encountering their symbolic bovine counterpart who played a large part in the life of every cadet. The centrality of has subsequently been killed and grilled. After placing the Mess was evident from 6.45 am, when breakfast normally a piece of meat on their plate, cadets then confront the commenced, through to 10.00 pm, when the evening Check stalwarts of the Army catering system – cabbages and Parade concluded. carrots – where would the Army be without them?” I first experienced the Mess on the evening of 17 January After filing past several metres of bain-maries another 90- 1979. It was hot, busy and noisy. I soon learned that the Mess degree turn was taken through a doorway which opened to the was for more than just meals. It was a place of routine and central seating area where cadets entered the world of routine ritual and, initially at least, it was not very welcoming to IV and ritual. The Mess was full of lacquered timber tables that Class. seated eight. There was the central seating area and two Dress for the Mess was quite formal. During the week, wings, one on either side wrapping around the kitchen / work dress was worn for breakfast and lunch. In the evening, serving area. There were two privileged sections in the central in the summer, White Mess Jacket was worn—complete with seating area—the I Class Alcove, a dozen tables exclusively cummerbund and bow tie—often called the ‘penguin suit’. In for I Class cadets directly above the Trophy Room, and a table the winter, Patrol Blues was worn without the web belt. On for those cadets on duty as part of the Corps’ Orderly system, weekends, jacket and tie was required, unless in uniform. close to the kitchen. Denim jeans were a no-no, so corduroy was a popular A doorway led from each of the seating area wings into alternative. an ante-room. One was exclusively for I Class, the other exclusively for II Class. There was a full-size pool table in the I Class ante-room. Driving the routine in the Mess was the meal timings. Breakfast was from 6.45 to 7.30 am on weekdays and a little later on weekends. Morning tea, or ‘mornos’, was at 10.00 am on weekdays only and lunch was from 11.45 am to 12.30 pm on weekdays. It was a bit shorter on Saturday, squeezed in between military training and sport, and went a bit longer on Sunday. Dinner was short, 6.15 to 6.45 pm every night. One of the joys of the Mess was that steak was available for three meals a day! Sunday was a quieter day in the Mess with fewer cadets attending due to leave, sporting commitments, or just wanting to eat out. Another routine evident in the Mess was the Corps’ Orderly system. These cadets were always in uniform—the Battalion Orderly Officer, Orderly Sergeant and the Company Orderlies, or ‘Coy Ords’—and were provided as follows: The Battalion Orderly Officer was a I Class cadet rostered 1982. The entrance to the Corps of Staff Cadets’ Mess via for a week. He was identified by wearing a Sam Browne belt the steps to the Trophy Room. Source: ©The Family Murray and sword, which was removed before entering the Mess. Trust The Battalion Orderly Sergeant was a II Class cadet rostered for a week. He was identified by wearing a red sash. In 1981, I penned an item for my Company magazine, The There were six ‘Coy Ords’, a III Class cadet from each Bastions’ Bugle, entitled ‘The Dark Satanic Mess’. The company rostered for a week. They were denoted by the following extract describes the layout and flow of the Mess carrying of a short leather cane, which were hung with their after entering the downstairs Trophy Room and hanging hats before entering the Mess. headwear on a hook at the bottom of one of the stairwells … The Orderly system ran the punishment regime, the roll … “Entering the Mess is reminiscent of watching book marking and performed a range of other administrative cattle being herded at a slaughterhouse. At the tasks. For a week those on Orderly duty dined together in the stairwell cadets queue up in a single file waiting to Mess. I performed each of these roles in my time at Duntroon, move in. … Occasionally a congestion develops at the it was a very busy week looking after ‘bumph’ on top of all swinging doors at the top of the stairs as eager cadets the usual demands. The enjoyable aspect was the meals in the surge forward. … Upon bursting through the doors, Mess with a group of cadets from other companies and classes cadets are directed by large wooden walls on wheels, with whom you would not normally sit with. Sitting with a I these act as dividers. They close off certain parts of the Class cadet for a meal in the Mess was a novel experience for Mess to cadets. … Taking a 90-degree turn, another the ‘Coy Ords’. swinging door system is encountered which provides As part of the punishment regime the Orderly system ran access to the bain-maries. … Cadets are blown by a the two evening Check Parades in the Trophy Room starting continuous action fan upon entry. at 6.50 pm and 9.50 pm each weekday. One of their … Prior to collecting food … cadets must enter the administrative tasks was to run Mess Parade at the entrance lucky dip. … The lucky dip is the plate warmer. Luck to the Mess commencing at 12.40 pm each weekday. The enters the game as the cadets plunge their hand deep Corps formed up, by Company, to hear announcements and

2 updates from the key appointment holders. It was not all after—and the Corps held the Graduation Dining-in Night in serious, one classmate who used the forum to get an the Mess in early December. entertaining message across was Roger Gray. He became known as the ‘Unit Morals Officer’ for his occasional statements on Mess Parade which generally disparaged a staff member or another cadet’s behaviour as immoral. It was delivered very earnestly, but completely tongue-in-cheek. The Orderly table was directly in front of the ‘days-to-go board’. A nightly routine was for a IV Class cadet to change the ‘days-to-go board’. Each evening, the number on the board was reduced by one. The lucky cadet allocated this task for the entire year was the ‘fourthie’ who was last alphabetically in the class. In 1979, this was L. Zimmerman. Just to add to the pleasure of this task, L. Zimmerman had to replace the number without his fingers touching the board and without dropping the number. Otherwise, he was ‘bumphed’, given an Extra Drill, by the closely supervising Orderly Officer. This routine reminded cadets each night why they were at 1982. ‘TOC monsters’ in the I Class ante-room. Source: D. Duntroon and also linked the Mess to Graduation night, when Meredith the ‘days-to-go board’ was transported to the Graduation Ball A memorable dining-in night was to farewell a much- venue and the number on the board was reduced to ‘0’ at loved Commandant after his four years at Duntroon. The midnight. Corps farewelled Major-General A. L. ‘Alby’ Morrison, AO, ‘Mornos’ lasted for only 10 minutes each weekday. The DSO, MBE {A.L. Morrison (1947) Ed.} in the Mess on 1 Mess provided the food, primarily brews and ‘TOC rocks’. April 1981 after which he made a tremendous speech during Occasionally there were toasted sandwiches in the winter. drinks in the Gymnasium, quoting at length the words of ‘Mornos’ was served in four different locations specific to Banjo Paterson. each class. III and IV Class were served outside the Mess, I Many interesting rituals played out in the Mess. The first and II Class were served in their respective ante-rooms. Cadet I was to confront was the ritual required for a ‘fourthie’ to behaviour was invariably poor. take a seat at a table. IV Class cadets were required to stand to attention behind their chair with plate in hand and address the senior cadet at the table as follows … ‘Excuse me please (insert rank and name), is there a spare seat at this table please?’ To which the senior cadet at the table had the power to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If there were several cadets of the same class on the table, they were addressed as ‘gentlemen’. Mostly it was III Class and/or II Class cadets on the table as I Class sat in their own alcove, which no ‘fourthie’ dared enter. In the early part of the year, the challenge for IV Class cadets was to identify the senior cadet at the table. When II Class Staff Cadets sat at a table with III Class it was impossible to know who to address the request for a seat. It only became clear if the IV Class got it wrong and the II Class proceeded to give a reprimand via a ‘rocket’. For some ‘fourthies’ this was too much anxiety and empty tables were keenly sought for the first few months. The term ‘TOC racer’ was applied to IV Class cadets who arrived early to meals and

darted quickly to empty tables. The external location for IV Class ‘mornos’. The upstairs Having secured a seat, the next ritual to play out was the windows indicate the II Class ante-room. Source: ©The conduct of a conversation. Should a senior class cadet speak Family Murray Trust to a ‘fourthie’, the IV Class cadet was required to place down As the Mess staff delivered the food on large trays, they their cutlery, sit to attention and respond. Not much food was would often be empty before they reached the tables due to had if a talkative III or II Class cadet was encountered. the ‘diving seagulls’ i.e. cadet hands grabbing at the food. Sometimes the conversation was inappropriate; senior cadets Cadets completing the Arts course, and hence having more struggling with their ethical compass asking prying questions free periods, generally had a better chance of getting to about a girlfriend, sexual orientation, mother etc. Some senior ‘mornos’. By II Class, some Arts course cadets thought cadets did this in jest, others abused their power. ‘Fourthies’ ‘mornos’ was their birthright, often proclaiming … ‘what you were an easy target! can’t eat, destroy before the Engineers and Scientists arrive’. It was during conversation at a table that the small lexicon Those cadets whose behaviour was most appalling at of cadet slang in the Mess was passed on. Lieutenant R. ‘mornos’ became known as ‘TOC monsters’. Rayward {R.J. Rayward (1987) Ed.}, in his published thesis Dining-in nights were held in the Mess. Each Company of 1989 entitled More than a Mere Bravo: Duntroon Slang conducted a dining-in night annually—the timing being 1930-1980, provides a comprehensive listing but a few that I determined by the dates of the battle the Company was named particularly enjoyed follow. The Catering Corps male stewards in the Mess were known as ‘Seals’ and the female

3 stewards were ‘Sealettes’. Food generally was known as coaches was Sergeant ‘Jock’ Campbell, the Catering Sergeant ‘fang’. Milk was known as ‘cow’ and on every table was a in the Mess. large stainless-steel jug full of milk. An often-heard request at the table was … ‘how’s the cow’. Certain spreads had names – peanut butter was ‘babies’ poo’, Vegemite was ‘crutch’ and lemon spread was ‘Chinese crutch’. If a cadet was using an item that another cadet wanted next, the statement … ‘in after’ was made so the other cadet knew to pass on the item when he was finished. A very interesting ritual related to spreads. If upon opening the ‘crutch’ and finding it virgin, the ritual required a IV Class cadet to stand over the opened container with a bread and butter knife clasped in both hands, raise it above The 1st XI with coach, Sergeant ‘Jock’ Campbell, front row his head and plunge the knife into the container at speed. To on the left. Source: RMC Journal, 1979. stop this ritual, the ‘Seals’ and ‘Sealettes’ were tasked to open the containers and break the surface of the spread. As they The Corps of Staff Cadets’ Mess was managed by opened a container, most ‘fourthies’ just hoped that the Mess Catering Corps staff, but it was led by cadets. One of the staff had been thorough. senior appointments in the Corps of Staff Cadets was that of The most exciting ritual, and soliciting an especially noisy the President of the Mess Committee (PMC), an Under endorsement from the Corps, was the celebration of a cadet’s Officer position. A II Class appointment, rotated each term, 21st birthday at dinner. His friends would throw him to the was Deputy President of the Mess Committee. I still recall ceiling until his shoes left a mark. At the designated spot, not from my Screed Test that this appointment was held in the far from the Orderly table, there were plenty of black shoe first term of 1979 by Lance Corporal M. Hill {M.R. Hill scuffs on the ceiling. (1980) Ed.}. Under Officer Paul Newall {P.R. Newall (1982) There was an unwritten rule that ‘bishing’ did not occur Ed.} of Romani Company was the President of the Mess in the Mess. After Mess Parade was fine, but never in the Committee from my I Class. Among his achievements was an Mess or Trophy Room. This was partially breached in March especially enjoyable I Class Ladies Dining-in Night in the 1979 as part of the ‘1,000 days to go’ activities—the day Mess on 23 October 1982. It was the first Mess function to when III Class have only 1,000 days until their graduation. which I took my wife, Ingrid. We had just started dating. The day was advertised, in accordance with tradition, as an There was inappropriate behaviour in the Mess—the evening game of ‘carry the mail’ between III and IV Class in treatment of ‘fourthies’, at ‘mornos’ and the slang—but there the Gymnasium. Some III Class cadets had a further surprise was also fun, training and discipline. All that would be at ‘mornos’. Just as ‘mornos’ started in the allocated IV Class expected at a training institution. The centrality of the Mess area, the windows to the II Class ante-room, directly above, to life as a cadet was a solid foretaste of regimental life, where opened. Several 1979 Kokoda Company III Class leaned out the Officers’ Mess was the launch pad for work events and of the windows and emptied large stainless-steel jugs of milk the basis of social life. After time in the Corps of Staff Cadets’ on the IV Class cadets below. Several ‘fourthies’ were Mess, Duntroon graduates were well versed in Mess life and drenched. It was a mean-spirited act. ‘Carry the mail’ was a positioned to reap the many joys it would provide. lot less about celebrating that year! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite often being disparaged by cadets, overall, the quality and quantity of the food in the Mess was pretty Brigadier Allan Murray entered Duntroon in January 1979 good—there was no shortage of necessary protein – but a and graduated into the Royal Australian Army Ordnance couple of memorable fails do come to mind. Sometimes when Corps in 1982. He returned to Duntroon to play sport and milk was short, it was substituted with powdered milk. On instruct between 1989-92. Leaving the Australian Regular one occasion there was outrage when watered-down Army in 2001 as a Lieutenant Colonel, he continued to serve th th condensed milk was found in the stainless-steel jugs. For in the Army Reserve, commanding 8 CSS Battalion and 8 those cadets seeking an alternative to Mess food, there were Brigade. In 2009, he was awarded the Conspicuous Service nd a few options—the ‘greasy’ (a take-away); the Company Medal for his work as Assistant Commander 2 Division. He ‘gumpy bar’, or snack bar; and for the lucky few, meals at retired from the Army on 26 January 2019. This is his seventh their parents’ or girlfriend’s home. The cheaper restaurants contribution to the Newsletter. The article is an extract from and pubs, such as Lucky’s, The Wellington and Woodstock his book Staff Cadet – Bishing, Bogging and Bastardisation Pizza were also popular on the weekends. at Duntroon available in paperback and e-book from Amazon. For several months in early 1979, after the start of ‘accas’, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I rarely went to the Mess in the mornings. My breakfast became a packet of Twisties, Wagon Wheel and a can of As I Recall Fanta. Then the ‘gumpy bar’ bill arrived, and sanity prevailed. I realised I was paying already for the food in the Mess, via Chris (C.G.) Appleton (1978) rations & quarters deductions, and therefore should be eating there. Charles Daley’s column “As I Recall…” was a weekly Other interactions with the Mess included collecting feature of The Canberra Times in 1964–65. Daley’s supplies for evening ‘TOC’, sometimes surreptitiously; association with Canberra began in 1905 when he joined the collecting drinks and oranges for the sporting team; and Public Service in the Public Works Branch and later the playing in a sporting team with members of the Mess staff. Federal Capital Territory Branch in the Department of Home My first friendship with a Regular Army Senior NCO was Affairs, and finally with the Department of the Interior until through playing in the 1st and 2nd XI squad. One of the his retirement in 1952. His professional and personal life gave him an insider’s perspective of many of the events that shaped 4 the early years of the nation’s capital and the RMC. The The outbreak of war in 1914 halted the scheme for the following two articles by Charles Daley appeared in The permanent buildings, but it led to the provision of many more Canberra Times in October 1964. They are reproduced from temporary structures, most of which remained until 1931. Trove, an online resource of the National Library of In 1922 there was an interesting proposal put to the Australia, with the kind permission of The Canberra Times. Government that, now the war was over, and the League of Nations set up, the College might be used as the capital, the Duntroon: A Capital Cornerstone gymnasium serving as Parliament House. The Commandant The first Commonwealth constructional works undertaken in at the time, General Legge, mournfully conducted a the Australian Capital Territory were at Duntroon, for the procession of Ministers, Members and Advisory Committee establishment of the Royal Military College. In the Public and pressmen around the College. As I knew the College well, Works Branch we had been deeply interested in the statutory I went to sit down in the gymnasium and, to my astonishment, provision made in 1900 for setting up a Military College, and found there the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. W.M. Hughes, in the immediate endorsement of this policy by Lord doing the ‘wheel’ on a horizontal bar. As he stopped for Kitchener’s visit. This meant, for us, the new experience of breath, a young journalist, anxious for a scoop, came up, works planning and development on a large scale. Our notebook in hand, and said, ‘Mr Prime Minister, what do you interest was heightened when the Fisher Government decided really think, yourself, of this proposal?’ Billy, still out of that the college should be ‘at or near the Federal Capital Site’, breath and balancing, glared at him, then venomously spat out and that the Commandant-designate, Colonel Bridges, and ‘Bah’. The pressman ran like a hare. Whilst mentioning the the Director-General of Works, Colonel Owen, our own gymnasium, it is of interest to note that its floor was carried chief, were to visit the capital site and select a location for the on special springs, the use of which was suggested by the College. Prince of Wales, later Duke of Windsor, during his visit in Bridges favoured Duntroon, but Owen had always been 1920. attracted by the Murrumbidgee River and favoured the long Daley, 1964. “As I recall ... Duntroon: a Capital Corner slope to that stream from Tuggeranong. The Minister for Stone”, The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926-1995), 17 Defence, Senator Pearce, came to settle the question. It was a October, p.2, viewed 27 Jun 2020, period of cold westerlies, and, at Tuggeranong, while Owen http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131755255. was descanting on the supposed advantages of the site and the Reproduced with the kind permission of The Canberra proximity of the river, the Minister, pulling his overcoat Times. closer about his ears, suddenly said, ‘Colonel Owen, what is When Duntroon Was a Suburb the meaning of “Tuggeranong”?’ The Colonel didn’t know, but the driver of the conveyance, an old identity, called out The suggestion of using the Duntroon settlement, ‘Senator, they say it means “windswept”.’ ‘That’s what it temporarily, as the capital was seen to be impracticable, so means, all right,’ pronounced the Minister. ‘We’re not for the time being, the College continued its course, subject coming here; we’ll have to get shelter from these cold winds’ to some reductions in staff, as a result of the Government’s So Duntroon, in the shelter of Mt Pleasant, was chosen. It was retrenchment policy in defence. Three members of the staff soon after characterised by the New Zealand Commander-in- who left in 1922 I knew quite well. Professor R.J. Barnard, Chief, General Sir Alexander Godley, on a visit, as ‘a lonely mathematician, had been a tutor at my own college, Ormond, and out-of-the-way spot’. at the Melbourne University. He was a typical absent-minded A lease of 370 acres of the Duntroon estate was obtained professor, as we noted when designing his quarters in 1912, from the Campbell family on 7 November 1910, and plans and he was reputed to have even left his wife behind, on one were actively prepared for the many works required. To occasion, at a railway junction. However, he was well liked enable the College to function earlier, it was decided to at Duntroon. provide the cadet blocks, classrooms, hospital and other Another popular character was Major Shappere, instructor accessory buildings in temporary framed-construction, in mounted drill and riding. During a visit to Canberra in pending the completion of the permanent buildings on a site 1921, I attended a Saturday race meeting at Acton, held to further to the east. Residences for the Commandant and senior raise funds for Legacy. I knew nothing about racing, but I had staff, however, were to be of permanent character, and the promised to patronise a ‘tote’ run for the good cause by some fine old Duntroon homestead used as Officers’ Mess. of the Home Affairs officers. Major Shappere, in red jacket Many conferences with Brigadier-General Bridges, and black velvet cap, mounted upon a grey horse, appeared to Colonel Parnell, and other senior military officers occurred at be in charge of the course, and I asked him for advice about our Melbourne office, Colonel Owen and our Chief Architect the horses. He said ‘lend me your card’ which I did, and he J.S. Murdoch being present, and, as a stenographer, my ticked off a horse in the list for each of the six races. I backed services were in demand, a rewarding experience for me. I these on the ‘tote’ and they all won. ‘Shap’, as he was called, was much impressed with General Bridges’ knowledge, certainly knew the horses of the district. It was my first and ability and drive. He did not waste words, was brusque and last venture on the turf, as I hesitated to risk spoiling such a had little time for ordinary courtesies. He would obviously be perfect record. a stern disciplinarian, and I heard him say to Murdoch, in My third departing friend was Dr F.W. Robinson, of the regard to training and sports facilities, ‘I’m going to send the English Department, who produced the interesting and cadets dog-tired to bed every night’. Among the long list of authoritative social history of early Canberra and the Church official requirements, we were intrigued with the word of St John the Baptist, entitled Canberra’s First Hundred ‘Manege’, which we found was a riding school, as every cadet Years and After. Dr Robinson joined the staff of the was to become a competent horseman. University of Queensland, where he did excellent work. Great expedition was achieved in executing the various In some respects, the retrenchment at the College was works, and the College was officially opened by the carried too far. We had installed fire hydrants around the Governor-General, Lord Dudley, on 27 June 1911, the cadets Duntroon built-up area, but, in a review of the Works of less than a week’s standing putting on a creditable parade. Estimates, provision for laying the special water main to the 5 reservoir to connect them was eliminated, according to a list of items deleted by the Minister for Defence. Duntroon Memories—1959-1963: After a visit to Duntroon, I was returning to Melbourne A Kid’s Perspective with several Ministers and we had a reserved compartment on Spirit of Progress from Albury. Discussing various Duntroon Sue Morton matters with his colleagues, the Minister for Defence angrily referred to the precarious position of the College in relation It was October 1959. I was 8 years old. My family, Mum, Dad to fire protection, as pointed out to him by the Commandant, and my three brothers, aged 11, 10 and 1, had just moved back owing to the absence of the fire water main. My Minister said, to Australia after two years in Penang, Malaya. This was ‘Daley, who was responsible for this absurd situation?’ during the Malayan Emergency. Dad had been posted to the Embarrassed, I did not answer immediately, whereat the RMC Duntroon and then promoted to be the Commanding Minister for Defence cut in with, ‘Well, who was the stupid Officer of the Corps of Staff Cadets (CO CSC). idiot?’ I said simply, ‘You were, Sir,’ and, amidst the roars of We lived for a short while in a modest red brick house in laughter from his colleagues, I explained what had happened. Wells Road, before moving to B2 Harrison Road, just down It did not surprise me when, a few days later, we received a from the parade ground. Very handy for Dad to walk to work! special warrant from Treasurer’s Advance to cover the cost It was to be our home for the next three and a bit years, and of the main. what fabulous years they were for us kids! When the Scullin Government came to office in 1929, it My two older brothers, Michael and Tony, and I were decided, for economy reasons, to retrench the College still immediately packed off to the Duntroon Public School. It was further, and move it to Victoria Barracks, Paddington, a small, weatherboard, three or four teacher primary school Sydney, where it remained for six years, being known as The where about 100 kids from Duntroon went. Other kids came Royal Military College of Australia, Duntroon Wing, from the RAAF base at Fairbairn and the semi-rural area of Victoria Barracks, Paddington, Sydney. At the end of 1930, Pialligo. We had a bus to get to school, but mostly we rode at a somewhat doleful ceremony, I took over officially from our bikes. It was an easy and safe route. the Commandant, Brigadier Harrison, the Duntroon area, and I played recorder in the school band. When they were in then turned it into a Canberra residential suburb. I arranged the band Michael played the kettle drums and Tony played for the dilapidated Cadets’ Barracks, now 20 years old, to be the big bass drum. We played every morning at our outdoor demolished and sold, and for the library and classrooms of assembly. School uniform was not compulsory, but for the better construction to be transferred to Kingston, where they band, we all had to wear something white. A jaunty dark blue were used for many years as part of the Canberra Technical cap with red trim completed our uniform! Apparently College. instructors from the RMC Military Band tutored us each The College suffered many disabilities in the congested Friday. area of Paddington, and it is significant that, in his early report Our school badge was red and navy blue (with a yellow on the locality for the future College, General Bridges said, scroll for our motto “Knowledge is Power”). The badge ‘It must not be near – much less within – a large city such as closely reflected the colours and motto of the RMC. Sydney or Melbourne’. It was not surprising, therefore, that When he was old enough, my young brother Jon started the succeeding Lyons Ministry ordered the return of the going to Duntroon Pre-School, in Vowles Rd. There was an College to Duntroon. It was then necessary to provide new old car in the school yard which had been stripped out so the buildings for the cadets’ residence and their classrooms. I kids could play in it. suggested that these should be erected on the site further east The year my oldest brother started high school was a big originally designated for the permanent development, on deal for the family. We four kids were marshalled for a photo account of its more effective shelter, greater suitability for in the backyard at Harrison Rd. Michael is wearing his new building on level ground, and provision for easy expansion. uniform for Canberra High School which was the secondary My efforts, however, were unavailing against the wishes of school Duntroon students attended after graduating from the military authorities, who regarded the old parade area as primary school. In those days, Canberra High School was in ‘hallowed ground’. Civic. The buildings now house the School of Art. The return of the College to Canberra presented us with an acute housing problem, as the tenants whom we had put into the former College houses in 1931 had to be found other accommodation. One of them was the Hon. R.G. Casey (later Lord Casey), for whom a house was erected in Griffin’s domain area, Acton, later allotted to the Canadian High Commission. Another was the Hon. C.L.A. Abbott, who became my neighbour at Acton for a while, then going to the Northern Territory as Administrator. Most of the other tenants were transferred to newly-developed housing sections in Ainslie.

Daley, 1964. “As I recall... When Duntroon was a Suburb”, The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 24 October, p. 2, viewed 27 Jun 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131756692 Reproduced with the kind permission of The Canberra Times Duntroon Public School band (1961) – Tony is on the bass drum, I am second from the right in the middle row with my ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ recorder (I still have my recorder!).

6 . Our Duntroon Public School Badge. Published with the kind Our house at B2 Harrison Road (2006)—with its new paint permission of Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre colour. It was painted white when we lived there. (www.museum.hall.act.au) Photo courtesy of John Bullen, Chair, RMC Heritage Committee.

Here is the wood fired Canberra cooker in our kitchen. We four Seddon kids in the backyard at Harrison Rd in 1961 There was a wood chip heater in the bathroom which was (I’m holding our cat Matilda). only lit as a treat on Sundays to make piping hot bath water. Our house in Harrison Rd was an old weatherboard, We took it in turns to hop into the bath, so the first one in got painted white, with a shed at the side and a garage up the back the really hot water, and the last one in got lukewarm, slightly and lots of space in the front, back and side yards! It had a used, water! low, white picket fence all along the front yard. It turns out The laundry was like an enclosed verandah at the back of the house was built in 1913 as one of the original Captain’s the house, and doing the washing must have been a chore for Cottages, so it was pretty old, creaky and draughty, and Mum as she had to use the copper and then put the wet things freezing in winter. It had a wood-fired stove in the kitchen (a through a manually operated wringer. Canberra cooker, by Metters), a wood-fired heater in the With so much space, we had a beaut veggie garden, a family room, and an open fire in the formal lounge room. We chook run, and an aviary containing budgies, finches and weren’t allowed to go into the formal lounge room, as that is doves. We also had plenty of room to learn to shoot the BB where Mum and Dad hosted drinks and parties. It was only gun at metal disc targets! used for special occasions. Possums were a real pest, scrabbling across, nesting and In 1962 we got our first TV. Not much signal in Duntroon peeing in the ceilings. I was sent up to the garage one evening in those days, and I remember being fascinated by the snowy to get something, and a possum leapt on my head from the black and white images which rolled continuously up the rafters. Scared the living daylights out of me! Foxes were also screen. Before TV, we used to gather around in the family a pest, and used to attack our chooks. Even when we had some room off the verandah at the front of the house and listen to in a battery cage, to protect them, the foxes would pull their radio serials and other programs or play board games or do legs out through the wire cage. Very sad and very gruesome. homework. My brothers used to make pocket money trapping the A huge oak tree dominated the front yard. It shed masses possums and foxes in nearby homes. Professor Swan was a of leaves in the autumn. It was my job to rake up the leaves. regular customer! We burnt the leaf piles in the gutter out in front of the house. We also raised a couple of joeys. Their mothers were shot We always understood it to be the tallest, if not the oldest, oak during spotlight shooting at ‘Lambrigg’, near Tharwa. The tree in Canberra. In about 2010, the tree was diagnosed with property was owned by one of Dad’s army friends, ‘Jo’ a disease and cut down. The house looks very different now, Gullett. The joeys lived in a hessian bag in the laundry, and without the giant oak tree in the front, and it’s now painted a we fed them milk with charcoal. Later we took them to weird so-called heritage colour. But the architects in charge Taronga Zoo which cared for them into adulthood. of the refurbishment retained the Canberra cooker in the We had an annual bonfire in the backyard for cracker renovated kitchen! night. All year, the debris would be piled up, and then we would all gather round, rugged up in our winter woollies, with 7 our fireworks. I would save up to buy sparklers, coloured leaving and didn’t want to take their girls’ bikes with them. matches and Catherine wheels; my brothers favoured Tom Dad bought me the red one, and my best friend, Anne, got the Thumbs, bungers and rockets. There was also an annual blue one. We thought we were in heaven riding around on communal bonfire on an empty paddock down near the these lovely bikes! playing fields. A huge pile of wood, metres high, complete Our other means of transport was our fabulous Studebaker with tyres to make lots of smoke was lit for Empire Day car. Dad had bought it when we were in Malaya and shipped celebrations. Not by matches. My Dad organised for one of it back. It was a 1951 Champion Convertible, cream, with red the soldiers to come down with a flamethrower! Very upholstery and whitewall tyres. Boy did we feel special when spectacular! Mum drove us places in that car, even if it was just to Civic Another annual event was the Duntroon Fete. Held in the or over the causeway on the Molonglo River to get to the grounds of Duntroon House, there were stalls selling cakes dentist at Kingston. Sometimes for a treat she drove us to the and jams, as well as a spinning wheel and guessing Manuka Pool. There was no lake in those days, although work competitions, for which the prize was a bag of lollies. My had begun on the dam, and some of the edges and bridges. brother Tony tried to guess the weight of a sheep. He didn’t know too much about weights, but had heard the expression that “such and such weighs a ton”. So he guessed the weight of the sheep to be one ton. He didn’t win the lollies! Living in Duntroon we had so many things to do! In summer, we loved going to the swimming pool for general swimming and mucking around, or training for Zone or State championships. My brothers also played water polo there. On weekend afternoons we went to the picture theatre. It was an old wooden hut near the playing fields. We stood for the national anthem, then watched a newsreel and a serial before the main movie started. Lollies at interval included musk sticks, jelly snakes and Choo Choo bars. Yum! My big brother Michael used to collect the entrance fee, but he used Our 1951 Studebaker Champion Convertible. to let some people in for free. The projectionist couldn’t work My friends and I played on the swings, monkey bars, out why the money collected didn’t always tally with the metal slippery dip and spinning roundabout in the playground number of people present. on the corner of Robert Campbell Rd and Wilton Rd. We At other times of the week, the Canteen was our favourite played make-believe “fairy castles” in the forested area destination whenever we had spare pocket money for lollies opposite the house on the block where the ANZAC Memorial or other treats like ice creams or milkshakes! Chapel of St Paul and Changi Chapel memorial now stand. We often played on the cadets’ obstacle course, crawling We staged our own ‘concerts”’ and made ‘scientific under webbing, climbing on ropes or over high wooden walls. experiments’ using materials in Dad’s shed. One concert The scariest one for me was swinging on a rope across a stands out. wooden pit. I was always terrified of missing my footing on My best friend Anne lived in Parnell Road in one of the the other side and crashing my shins into the sharp wooden huge two-storey homes which had stables out the back. Her edges of the pit. I’m not sure we were actually allowed to play father was the Quartermaster. The house had been divided on this course, but no one found out, and no one was hurt, so into two, and her family lived in the bigger side. Anne tells it was all good! the story in her memoirs: We did get hurt sometimes. Two of my brothers broke “One day my friend Susan and I decided to raise some their legs. Tony was dinking Jon on his bike when Jon’s foot money for charity by holding a concert. We sent out became caught in the spokes. Youch! Then Tony broke his invitations, practised our routines ready for opening curtain. leg in three places falling out of a tree in the manoeuvre Mum, Dad and my brother came. We raised nine pence and paddock when looking for birds’ nests. Luckily the hospital felt that amount wasn’t going to do much so we went down was just near the end of our street! to the Canteen and bought lollies.” We used to go mushrooming in the manoeuvre paddocks Anne’s mum was a keen golfer who used to play regularly and Mum cooked up the big delicious brown field mushrooms at the Duntroon Golf Club. My brother Michael also used to for dinner! We went blackberrying there too! have a hit on the course with our mum’s old clubs. Both older We made dares with each other and school chums. Not brothers earnt pocket money wading into the dam and always concluded successfully, thank goodness! I was retrieving golf balls to sell back to the club. grounded by Mum who intercepted me sneaking out one night Dad’s job as CO CSC meant that we had special privileges to sleep overnight at The Gun Gates. I had to pay three pence sometimes, like being allowed to watch parades from the (3d) each to those who had dared me because I hadn’t balcony outside his office which overlooked the parade completed the dare. ground. How special was that? There were only four Our bikes were our best friends! Often hand me downs, companies of cadets in those days—Gallipoli, Alamein, repainted by Dad, usually with a smoky stripe, they were our Kokoda and Kapyong. Boy did they look smart in their best means of transport, to school, friends’ places, the pool, uniforms, marching in absolute synchronised formations! The the Canteen, the old Duntroon Dairy, ‘Bugs Bunny’ and all band was wonderful too! For the Jubilee Parade in 1961, the over Mt Pleasant! No helmets, no gears! When Michael got a cadets apparently wore their white ceremonial tunics for the Sturmey-Archer three-speed bike he thought all his first time, and the band wore their new scarlet ones. Very Christmases had come at once. My special bike was a red swish! coloured English Raleigh, with three-speed gears. I got the The whole college base was a safe and open environment bike when one of the families living around the corner was where people didn’t even lock their doors. Mr Mullens

8 delivered green groceries from his truck to the door. He used Steve Roach prints of various buildings and sites at the RMC to give my little brother an extra apple from time to time. We Duntroon, commissioned in 1980, are still available for were so privileged to live as kids in Duntroon at that time! purchase from Camden Fine Art Gallery ADFA wasn’t there, and we had so much space and freedom (www.camdenfineartgallery.com.au) Individual prints are for our adventures! Our ‘playground’ covered the area from available for purchase for $60 or the full set of eight can be the manoeuvre paddocks in Majura, to the Molonglo River to purchased for $420. The original eight drawings are Mount Pleasant! The three Ms! Wow! How lucky were we to displayed in Duntroon House. be kids living at Duntroon at that time?! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The impressive Badge Gates, which had been built in 1961 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Sue Morton (nee Seddon) is the daughter of Peter and Kay RMC, lined the Jubilee Avenue entrance. They were a Seddon. Her three brothers, Michael, Tony and Jon shared welcome sight whenever we had been out. The series of brick their memories for this article. Sue’s best friend from panels containing the badges of the various corps, were much Duntroon days, Anne Cameron, nee Durrant, also more beautiful than the current main entrance. They signified contributed her memories. coming home to our special haven! I still really miss them! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shaggy Ridge 1962 and a Note on Wartime Maps Bruce (B.G.) Bond (1960)

A Ramu Markham Patrol As an Infantry lieutenant, I served in the Pacific Islands Regiment (PIR) from 1961 to 1964. This was shortly before the Regiment was expanded to form two Battalions (1PIR and 2PIR). Later, in 1985, it received the title of the Royal Pacific The Badge Gates (1980). Islands Regiment (RPIR). A highlight of my posting was that, Published with the kind permission of Lyn Coates and whilst at Moem Barracks Wewak in 1962, I was fortunate, Camden Fine Art Gallery almost twenty years after World War 2, to lead what I believe (www.camdenfineartgallery.com.au). was the first Army patrol since the war through the Ramu Markham Valley, with the opportunity to scale Shaggy It was a wrench to leave Duntroon when Dad’s term as Ridge. CO CSC ended and his new job with the Army began in 1963. But lifetime friendships have endured. Dad had formed such Duntroon’s Interest in Shaggy Ridge friendships from when he was a cadet at the RMC Duntroon In Newsletter 2/2017 the then Commandant, Brigadier Mark in 1942–43 (CSC 889). He and twelve of his classmates had Brewer (1987) mentioned that Cadets now undergo ‘Exercise Life Membership of the Duntroon Society conferred in 1992. Shaggy Ridge’ in II Class aimed to develop leaders who I knew most of them as family friends or honorary ‘uncles’. understand their limits physically, psychologically and People like John Andrew, Howard Jones (NZ), Alan Stretton, cognitively. In greater detail, Exercise SHAGGY RIDGE David Thomson and Paul Yonge (all 1943). tests and develops each cadet’s personal leadership, character Like Dad and his classmates, Anne and I have remained and ethics. The exercise is uniquely arduous within the firm friends. Duntroon curriculum. Over the course of approximately five days, dismounted section-sized groups are required to conduct extremely demanding tasks while operating with exceptionally limited sleep and nutrition. Most of these tasks will test each cadet’s leadership and character, and some tests will specifically test the ethical bearing of an individual or team. Another unique aspect is instructor conduct—they provide only enough direction for each task to be completed. They do not teach, mentor, coach or correct faults. The combination of physical stress, mental demand and fatigue, together with isolation from the instructors proves quite difficult for most cadets. However, they benefit immeasurably from finishing more confident in themselves, their team and their training. This experience also equips them with an understanding of how to operate and lead in After our wonderful childhoods living in Duntroon, we arduous conditions—a quality which will undoubtedly be four kids grew up OK! required of them as officers. Here we are in 2019 – (L-R) Jon, Sue, Tony, Michael. Exercise SHAGGY RIDGE has no fixed venue and has been conducted at many different venues, eg at Wide Bay in Acknowledgements: Queensland, at Puckapunyal, or even locally at the Majura Chris Coulthard-Clark, Duntroon, The Royal Military Field Firing Range. Normally held during II Class, it sets the College of Australia 1911-1986, 1986. cadets up well for their final six months when they will be Anne Claoue-Long, “The Duntroon Public School, Pialligo” holding leadership positions before graduating. Exercise Canberra Historical Journal, March 2013. SHAGGY RIDGE is tough, deliberately so, and is a very

9 important part of the training of future Australian Army themselves at Milne Bay, Kokoda, Buna-Sanananda-Gona officers. Appropriately, the RMC population of today always and Salamaua. includes cadets from PNG. As they advanced up the Ramu Markham valley, 7th In addition, there is a picture on page 147 of Darren Division, due to limited resources initially had only two of Moore’s book Duntroon the Royal Military College of their brigades forward, the 21st and the 25th Brigade. The 21st Australia 1911–2001 of cadets in 1994 undergoing a popular Brigade, which was made up of three battalions, the 2/14th, adventure training activity on the real Shaggy Ridge. It 2/16th and the 2/27th, led the advance, which was slowed due appears that interest in Shaggy Ridge has increased in recent to limited supplies and the shortage of native carriers. At the years. time, it was difficult to maintain supplies to the Australians, whereas the Japanese had a far superior supply route along Shaggy Ridge, a General Description the road they had constructed from Bogadjim. Shaggy Ridge was named after Captain Robert ‘Shaggy Bob’ Clampett, Company Commander of A Company 2/27th Battalion, 21st Brigade, who led the first sub-unit to reconnoitre its approaches. It is notable that as maps in the Finisterre Ranges were largely devoid of local place names, many of the location names were made ‘on the run’ and featured the names of soldiers involved in the various actions. Wikipedia describes Shaggy Ridge as: “A six and a half kilometre long razor-back ridge that is a high feature in the Finisterre Mountains on the Huon Peninsula in Northern New Guinea. The ridge rises between the valleys of the Mene and Faria Rivers and ends at Kankiryo Saddle, a bridge of land separating the Faria Valley from the Mindjim River Valley”. From this point in my narrative I have used timings and distance units that were current during World War 2 and in 1962, rather than those used in our present metric system. Timings are shown as am or pm and distances in miles, yards, feet and inches. Perhaps a more enlightening description of the ridge appears as a quote in Reference 1, Chapter 24, Toehold on Shaggy Ridge (page 688) by M. Uren, the Unit Historian of

the 2/16th Battalion: “Shaggy Ridge was a narrow razor-back ridge with an altitude of 5,000 feet. A thick rain forest covered Shaggy Ridge looking south-west to the Ramu Valley. the crest of the ridge. Heavy mists frequently obscured the © Australian War Memorial. Reproduced with permission. position for days at a time. Then observation was limited to Lindsay recounts an action in October, 1943, when less than 100 yards. Such was the vantage point of the Lieutenant Noel Pallier, who with his Sergeant ‘Teddy’ Bear eminence that on clear days observation was possible as far and 9 Platoon of C Company, 2/14th Battalion, led an attack as the sea near Madang. The ridge was at no point wider than from King’s Hill onto what became known as ‘Pallier’s Hill’ a few yards narrowing at the foremost section position. The in the Ramu Valley foothills near Shaggy Ridge. The most forward position, a foxhole, was occupied by a lone bren successful attack on Pallier’s Hill removed the Japanese gunner. For the first time in its history the battalion held threat to the supply line of the 2/27th Battalion, who were ground with a one-man front. Ahead of him was the enemy leading the advance, but who were desperately short of who had weeks to prepare his defence.” th ammunition and rations. In October and November 1943 the 7 Division was This attack was described as “an ideal text book attack, tasked to prevent enemy penetration into the Ramu and with support from Medium Machine Guns and Mortars firing Markham Valleys and to protect the Gusap airfield and the at right angles to the attack from Three Pimples Hill”. various radar installations. However, as the tide of fighting Pallier’s 9 Platoon had, by the war’s end, become one of the swung against the Japanese, Shaggy Ridge became the site of most decorated in history, winning one Victoria Cross, one the main Japanese defensive position blocking access from Distinguished Conduct Medal and seven Military Medals. the Ramu Valley to the track and road network that the Andrew James, a former soldier with special forces and Japanese had constructed from Bogadjim on the North Coast Afghanistan experience has written a book Kokoda Wallaby towards the Ramu Valley. By December 1943, this road had (Reference 3), which gives an account of the exploits of Stan only reached Yaula near the Mindjim-Faria Divide at Bissett, MC OAM. Bissett was selected to represent Australia Kankiryo Saddle before further construction ceased. in the rugby union tour of Great Britain in 1939. Some General Reading Unfortunately the Australian team arrived at Southampton on the day England declared war and they subsequently returned Several books which I have read cover both the Kokoda Track to Australia, playing only one match in India. Bissett then and the Ramu Markham campaign. These include: Patrick joined the 2/14th Battalion together with his older brother Hal, Lindsay, The Spirit of the Digger, (Reference 2). Lindsay has known as Butch. Both served in the Middle East before th written of the actions of the 7 Division, which was initially returning to Australia and being sent to relieve the 39th known as ‘The Silent Seventh’ due to the perception that its Battalion on the Kokoda Track. Stan was appointed as activities were unrecognised in comparison to the other lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence Section, while Butch Australian Divisions. They had however, distinguished became a platoon commander. While fighting on the Kokoda Track, Butch was wounded in action and died in Stan’s arms.

10

Map 2. A sketch of the key locations my Patrol visited in 1962 taken from a map in the Official History and showing my Patrol route from Dumpu to Guy’s Post and Shaggy Ridge. There is a photograph in the book Kokoda Wallaby of Stan Bissett being awarded his OAM by Major General Peter Arnison, who was the then State Governor of Queensland— Staff Cadet 1866 P.R. (Peter) Arnison played in the 1st XV at RMC and graduated from the RMC Duntroon in 1962.Bissett’s commanding officer at the time was Ralph Honner DSO MC, who had fought at Bardia, Tobruk and Derna and had earned his MC for action at Thermopylae in Map 1 showing the Mindjim – Faria Divide and the main Greece. He then carried out a fighting withdrawal in Greece Shaggy Ridge Operational area from Bogadjim to the before superior German forces and was then evacuated to Ramu River. Crete. After heavy fighting at Retimo he escaped to Alexandria by leading a group to safety utilising an allied Bissett was Adjutant of the 2/14th Battalion during the submarine. Ramu campaign and won his MC for his part in the action at Honner had then been appointed CO of the 39th Battalion Pallier’s Hill. His accurate information by wireless, where he during the Battle of Isurava and supervised a fighting was positioned on Three Pimples Hill, was instrumental in withdrawal against a far superior Japanese force. He then led allowing the subsequent attack from King’s Hill by Pallier’s the battalion in the beachhead at Gona, where he was awarded platoon to defeat a larger Japanese force and to relieve the his DSO and achieved notoriety for his cryptic signal “Gona’s pressure on 2/27th Battalion. Although only King’s Hill was gone”. shown on the map I used in 1962, I have added King’s Hill, After the 39th Battalion had been disbanded, Brigadier Pallier’s Hill and Three Pimples Hill to a sketch of this map, Ivan Dougherty, the Commander of 21st Brigade, asked that which I have inserted in this article to demonstrate how the Honner be appointed CO of 2/14th Battalion. Tthis occurred, assault came to be described as “an ideal text book attack, however, while on a reconnaissance patrol in the advance to with the supporting fire at right angles to the assault.” The Dumpu in the Ramu Valley, Honner was wounded by a three hills mentioned are just North of Kumbarum on my gunshot. He was then repatriated and had a metal plate sketch. (see Map 2). inserted into his hip. In his later life he chaired the War Pensioners’ Assessment Board and became Australian 11 Ambassador to Ireland from 1968 to 1972. He died in 1994, The Ramu Markham valley was so named, because the aged 89. two rivers share the same headwater area around Kaiapit, at Both Honner and Bisset were interviewed in the film the foot of the range leading to the New Guinea highlands. Kokoda, which was shown on TV on Anzac Day 2020, during The Markham River runs east from Kiapit, while the Ramu the Coronavirus outbreak. Ralph Honner’s second son, Staff River runs north west. The valley provides a convenient low- Cadet 1701 B.R. (Brian ‘Bronx’) Honner also played for the level corridor between Lae and Madang behind the large, First XV and graduated from the RMC Duntroon in 1959. rugged Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province, which consists Brian then went on to become a Platoon Commander with 2 of three large mountain ranges, including the formidable RAR in Malaya and was OC C Coy 1 RAR (second tour) in Finisterre Range. Vietnam in 1968-69. At Bogia, we were joined by a Papuan Police Constable, The Ramu was known as the ‘Valley of Death’ by the armed with an Army Lee Enfield .303 rifle. He took charge local natives. This reputation was reinforced when, in the first of organising local native porters who were to carry all rations ten weeks of fighting in the Ramu Markham valleys, 90 we could not carry ourselves. The number of porters we percent of the total sickness casualties in the 7th Division were needed diminished during the patrol as we used up rations. caused by malaria. Our porters usually carried from one village to the next and were then replaced by those from that village. All were paid The Value of ‘Trove’ using New Guinea ‘Holy Dollars’, which were dollar coins Over the years I have maintained my interest in Shaggy with a hole in the middle so that carriers could string them Ridge, however this has been restricted to what information around their necks. has been available on my computer and in reading available The patrol proceeded in a general southerly direction and books. My interest has been recently refreshed following an had passed through some difficult Kunai country to a German article on the digitisation of old RMC Journals by Richard Lutheran mission station at Josephstaal, not far from Bogia. (R.J.) Lamb (1966), which appeared in Newsletter 1/2019. Josephstaal Mission had been established well before World Early journals have been preserved, digitised and placed on War 2 and was deserted as a mission during the war, however line via Trove, the National Library of Australia on-line it became the site of a wartime airstrip and had then been re- system. I managed to download several early journals from established as a mission after the war. This was despite the Trove and enjoyed reading about the earliest days of RMC. fact that the Germans had fought against the Allies during I then explored ‘Trove’ further and downloaded three wartime hostilities. The sole Lutheran Missionary was the chapters from the Australian War Memorial Official History: only person who could speak English, as his five lay workers Australia in the War 1939-1945 Series 1 (Army) Vol 6, 1961, only spoke German or Pidgin English. I found myself sitting The New Guinea Offensives, by David Dexter, (Reference 1). down in the middle of the Mission area chatting to a group of These were Chapter 20, In the Ramu Valley, Chapter 24, Europeans in Pidgin English, an unusual experience. Toehold on Shaggy Ridge, and Chapter 26, Kankiryo Saddle, After World War 2, the Department of Native Affairs had which offer an excellent summary of the Ramu Valley and deployed Australian Patrol Officers throughout Papua New Shaggy Ridge campaigns. Guinea. One of their tasks was to supervise the building of a track system throughout their allocated area to assist in Ramu Markham Patrol Details and General Mapping moving from village to village. These tracks were usually Problems cleared to about six feet wide and were good walking tracks. The aim of the PIR Patrol program in 1961–64, apart from It was not long before I noticed a number of errors in the following its Regimental Motto ‘To Find a Path’, was to wartime map I was using. Although I passed through some 33 ‘Show the Flag’ throughout Papua New Guinea. The program villages during the patrol, not all were shown on the wartime included patrols to a number of wartime battlefields including maps and many of them were misnamed. Many were also the Kokoda and Wau-Bulldog tracks, Buna-Gona-Sanananda wrongly positioned and confusing to locate. and Salamaua. As our company was based at Wewak, we A typical example of wartime difficulties is given by were assigned two major New Guinea patrols, which covered Lieutenant Adams of 2/2 Commando Squadron who reported both the 7th Division (Ramu Markham) and the 9th Division in Reference 1 on page 685, Chapter 24, Toehold on Shaggy (Huon Peninsula, Finschhafen and Saidor) campaigns. Other Ridge: “The Bagasin sheet is all astray here as Aminik is not PIR patrols ventured into the Western Border area and to the on top of a peak but is down in a valley and is close to a remote Western Highlands of New Guinea. river.” His report also stated: “It appears that the Strait My PIR Ramu Markham Patrol was inserted into what Series was most inaccurate as to its direction of tracks etc., was then the Madang District from Wewak by a World War but some of the place names are out of date. The direct route 2 vintage patrol boat, the MV Fern, which was used to support from Samau to Misanek is not shown on either map. It is Army units throughout Papua New Guinea. The Madang practically impossible to reconcile the positions of villages District has now become the Madang Province, and our shown on the Provisional series with their correct positions insertion was at Bogia, which is now the capital of Bogia on the ground.” District and is north of Madang. Our patrol crossed the Ramu River to Aiome Patrol The patrol was then to cross to the Ramu Valley using Station, where we received our pre-planned resupply and our known village tracks to a patrol post in what is now the Police Constable was replaced by a relief Police Constable Middle Ramu District, at Aiome, where a resupply of rations for the rest of the Patrol. We then re-crossed the Ramu to was to be made. It was then to follow the Ramu River to its Dumpu. The river crossing was carried out using local native headwaters with the Markham River, then to follow the canoes in the same manner as was used during wartime. Markham River downstream to a point where a rendezvous Because the river was up to 50 yards wide and was flowing was to be made with a vehicle from the Papuan New Guinea swiftly at about 10 knots, the natives poled the canoe about a Volunteer Rifle (PNGVR) Company from Lae, then to return mile upstream, then crossed with the current to a point about to Wewak on the MV Fern. a mile downstream. It was quite an experience.

12 would be successful without direct help from the Jephcotts with their veterinary knowledge. Dumpu, in the Ramu Valley was not far from Shaggy Ridge, which I was determined to visit, albeit rather briefly, as my Patrol was simply tasked to traverse the Ramu and Markham Valleys. I managed to borrow Bruce Jephcott’s large (and heavy) red-covered book, (which was the earliest version of Reference 1), and then spent a memorable day climbing the knife-edge feature using the map which appears on page 562 of Chapter 20 In the Ramu Valley as a guide to navigation. I have marked the key locations my Patrol visited in 1962 on a sketch of this map as ‘Map 2’. I can remember following a jeep track to the Lakes which was not shown on

the map, but which zig-zagged up a steep hill and which I A patrol of the 2/2nd Commando Squadron crossing the have tried to indicate on my map. The track had local ‘short Ramu River in January 1944. Our patrol used a similar cuts’ which were native walking tracks which bypassed the canoe to cross in 1962. zig-zags. © Australian War Memorial. Reproduced with permission. A Visit from my PIR Patrol 45 62/63 Signs of the war were still apparent. A wartime airstrip, On Sunday 25 November 1962 my Patrol reconnaissance Faita, was nothing more than a grassy strip with irrigation group departed from Dumpu airstrip at 6.15am and arrived at channels for drainage, but with four crashed aircraft to mark our selected base camp at 8.30am. This is an old wartime the runway extremity, yet during the war it was defended by staging camp at 2,100 ft, near several marked Lakes which the Australian 2/2nd Commando Squadron, who were tasked had been used as a brigade headquarters during the war. The to protect its American Radar installation from the enemy. vehicle track uphill was good, but several local ‘short cuts’ The war had left several reminders on the local native were really difficult, as we were grasping grass constantly to population. One old native showed off a samurai sword slash maintain balance. The site is high up and there is no further that had neatly split his skull down the central fissure to a permanent water until the Faria River near Guy’s Post, (which depth of an inch or so. Yet here he was, still living a was named after Captain Guy Fawcett of 2/27th Battalion). productive life twenty years later. One particular 20-year old We then contacted Moem Barracks Wewak for our regular appeared to have been fathered by a Japanese soldier and was daily radio schedule. treated with great reverence by others in his village. We carried a wireless set A510 as our patrol radio, this Dumpu and its Development was a HF wireless that had been designed by AWA in 1950- 51 for use by long-range infantry patrols. It was carried in two Upon reaching Dumpu, I found Bruce and Barbara Jephcott large ‘basic pouches’ and was used each day to send coded in the early stages of establishing their beef cattle station. messages to our company base. These were usually sent by Barbara in particular was BVSc qualified and both had voice transmission, although we used Morse code whenever veterinarian experience. voice transmissions failed. At the time, Dumpu consisted of an airstrip, (there had Each patrol had a member of the PIRs Signals Platoon on been two airstrips there during the War) a ‘Haus Kiap’ (used its strength. Each was proficient in both voice and Morse code by visiting patrol officers and our patrol headquarters), and a transmissions. I had learnt Morse code in order to back up my trade store (owned by Bruce Jephcott). In addition, a farm signaller if he was unable to send a message for any reason, building was under construction for the Jephcotts together however I was fortunately not required to use my rather with a hospital for local villagers. [Bruce Bond was fortunate limited Morse code skills during the patrol. to meet the remarkable Jephcott family on their home ground As there were no trees at our location by the Lakes, we at Dumpu. For further information on this remarkable family could only lay the flexible wire aerial on the ground. Despite see https://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/news/barbara- this, we still managed to send our message to Wewak using real-lady-of-jephcott-a-the-stock-yards/1901633/. Ed] Morse code. The Jephcotts had been granted a 99-year lease on an I then established my planned route up and made an 8,000 ha property at Dumpu in 1957, a property which estimate of timings for tomorrow’s ascent. The chosen route Barbara described as “Some of the best wet tropical cattle up appeared best from Guy’s Post. For the rest of the day we country in Papua New Guinea (PNG).” Three years later, in checked out a suitable route to Guy’s Post and returned to our 1960, the Jephcotts settled there. Their property was to base camp late in the last available walking light. eventually carry 6,000 head of cattle and to produce a range We made our main ascent on the following day. From of grain crops as well as sugar. At the time of our patrol, the 6.50am to 7.45am we walked to Guy’s Post, then from Jephcotts had an 18-month old daughter, however they 8.00am to 9.00am we climbed to one third of the way up a eventually had three children, Sandi, Dorothy and Grant who steep ridge. There was some water here. From 9.40am to were all born in PNG and raised at Dumpu. 11.00am we climbed to a point on the ridge top near where Bruce later became President of the PNG Graziers the tracks from Don’s Post and Guy’s Post join each other on Association and then stood for Parliament, becoming the map. Unfortunately, in the limited time available, this was Transport Minister and being instrumental in establishing Air as far as we could venture. Niugini. He was knighted in 1983, however he tragically died Vegetation was bushy with a wartime walking track on in 1987 after a car accident. Barbara has since published a the western side. At the time of our patrol, Shaggy Ridge was number of books and articles on a variety of PNG topics. a wet, miserable place with moss-covered trees and vines I noted that several local native villages had their own making for hard going. Vegetation was basically kunai on the small herds of beef cattle, however it was doubtful these East side with trees and bamboo on the West side. It remains

13 a ‘ples itambu’ (taboo place) to the local natives, so it was as 2/4th Field Regiment pounded the position. The 21st Brigade still reasonably well preserved twenty years on as during the was in reserve to the South West. war years. The ridge we climbed up was at times rather Mapping problems were addressed by battalion suicidal, about one foot wide with possible serious injury if intelligence sections, the Survey Corps and the Allied you went over the kunai edge. Geographical Section. The topographical information gained Many old fox holes existed. One steel helmet and one was then added to the existing maps. The static period bayonet were our only finds. There were a number of food enabled the mapping to catch up with operations so that, by cans and biscuit tins. We found one LMG pit with many live the time the Australians were ready to assault Shaggy Ridge .303 rounds and two pairs of rather unserviceable boots, and Kankiryo Saddle, the maps were more reasonably tropical, studded, on top of the ridge. Weapon pits were leaf- accurate. On 10 November 1943 there was a new issue of mould filled but an occasional one was still four feet six 1:25,000 maps for areas such as Dumpu, Kumbarum and inches deep. In general the area was much more difficult to Paipa. All map references were to be given from these new traverse than the map portrayed. There are many minor kunai editions, but unfortunately this instruction was not ridges and rocky outcrops which have no doubt been fought consistently applied. over and won with difficulty but which just don’t rate a bump On 22 November, Vasey warned his two brigades that the on the map. 21st Brigade would replace the 25th Brigade by 1 December. From 12.30am to 2:00pm we descended the same ridge By that date, B Company of the 2/16th Battalion had gained a we had used on the way up as far as Guy’s Post. We then foothold on Green Pinnacle, the first of a number of Pimples. returned to base. The following summary has been taken from the Official History. For brevity, I have covered all actions in the Shaggy Ridge area in outline only, with more emphasis on the 2/16th Battalion attack on Shaggy Ridge. A Brief Summary of 7th Division Activity in the Shaggy Ridge Area Behind its screen of patrols, the 7th Division settled down to a period of solid and arduous patrolling in the foothills of the Finisterres and on the Australian left flank. Dougherty’s 21st Brigade and Eather’s 25th Brigade were supplemented by pioneer battalions, commando squadrons and native soldiers of the Papuan Battalion, who all carried out many of the necessary patrols. Allied airmen made a thorough study of the Bogadjim Road and did their best to destroy its bridges. Artillery from Looking towards Madang from Shaggy Ridge with the the 2/4th Field Regiment and air support from Wirraway and Pimple in the foreground. Boomerang aircraft fired on known Japanese locations, © Australian War Memorial. Reproduced with permission. including mountain gun positions which were occasionally hidden in caves. Engineers of the 2/5th and 2/6th Field Locations on Shaggy Ridge have been a little difficult to Companies kept the inland airfields in perfect condition and pinpoint. There are a number of ‘Pimples’ on the Southern pushed a number of jeep tracks into the hills including one to section of Shaggy Ridge. The ridge then continues for almost the Lakes. two miles further north to Mount Prothero, which is the high At the same time the Japanese established themselves ground to the west of Kankiryo Saddle. This feature was later strongly in natural defensive positions on the huge mass of broken into two separate objectives ‘Prothero 1’ and Shaggy Ridge and in flanking positions on both sides of it. ‘Prothero 2’ for ‘Operation Cutthroat’. The map I used for my Patrols from the 2/27th Battalion had already found that Patrol navigation in 1962 (which I have previously referenced from the Pimple, a rocky peak rising steeply about half way as being in Bruce Jephcott’s large (and heavy) red book) only along the crest of Shaggy Ridge, the Japanese found it had three named positions on the Ridge. These were (from relatively easy to resist any advance. The patrols found that South to North) Twin Hills, Daunt’s Folly and Green Sniper’s the Pimple could be approached only along the top of the Pimple. I originally thought that when I reached the top of my spur, which was wide enough only for one man at a time, as climb to Shaggy Ridge I was on ‘Twin Hills’, however I have the slopes on both the right and left flanks were too steep to not been able to find any reference to ‘Twin Hills’ in my move along. Reference 1. I am currently unsure whether ‘Twin Hills’ Major General George Vasey, commanding the refers to a location on Shaggy Ridge or to features to the west Australian 7th Division, was of the opinion that the enemy of the ridge. It now appears that the ‘Toehold on Shaggy th considered it was imperative for them to hold Shaggy Ridge, Ridge’ held by the 2/16 Battalion before ‘The Battle for which led directly to the Mindjim-Faria Divide at Kankiryo Shaggy Ridge’ was on ‘Green Pinnacle’, a feature I was Saddle, the gateway to the Bogadjim road. He gave the 21st previously unaware of, that was very close to where ‘Twin Brigade the task of dealing with the Japanese positions on Hills’ was marked. I also have not been able to discover who Shaggy Ridge. ‘Daunt’ was, and what his ‘folly’ could have been. I feel that this name probably hides an interesting story. The ‘Battle for The 2/16th Battalion Attack on Shaggy Ridge Shaggy Ridge’ details four Pimples. From south to north, the During November 1943 the 25th Brigade was keeping a close first was ‘The Pimple’. The ‘second pimple’ appears to be a watch on the Japanese positions on Shaggy Ridge, while the second high point of ‘The Pimple’, 100 yards further to its North. There was a troublesome Japanese bunker which held up exploitation to two further Pimples, which were simply 14 named ‘The Third’ and ‘Fourth’ Pimples. The fourth Pimple first platoon attacked, the Pimple had been denuded of became McCaughey’s Knoll when the leading platoon vegetation. commander was killed by a tree burst. This leads me to Geyton’s 10 Pl scaled a rock face, slipping and sliding on believe that the Third Pimple appears to be ‘Green Sniper’s shale and stones thrown up by the bombing and shelling. Pimple’. Bamboo ladders were used, however they were eventually When the 2/16th Battalion was later relieved by the 2/9th discarded as being too cumbersome and the platoon Battalion, the foremost Australian positions appear to have clambered forward. A shower of grenades was thrown at the been North of the Second high point of ‘The Pimple’, as the attackers from a well-sited pill-box, which was dealt with relieving Battalion had to attack Green Sniper’s Pimple and when the leading section commander dashed ahead and McCaughey’s Knoll during ‘Operation Cutthroat’. wiped out the pill-box single handed. This allowed the There is a reference in Wikipedia to another author, platoon to get a footing on the ridge. By 9.50am Captain Bradley, Phillip (2004) who has written a book and several Christian had set up his headquarters on the Pimple. Geyton’s magazine articles on Shaggy Ridge that I have not read. There 10 Pl pushed forward 100 yards to another similar feature. A are also a number of Unit Histories that I have not been able second platoon, 12 Pl moved forward to exploit beyond the to access. These references would possibly have allowed me second pimple but was confronted with a rock made Japanese to be more specific in my details of the Shaggy Ridge bunker. Grenades failed to dislodge the enemy and campaign than those I have been able to access from my three outflanking the position seemed impossible, as the sides of reference books. the razor-back ridge guarded by the bunker were almost During December 1943, changes of command took place perpendicular. The platoon withdrew to a position just rapidly. On 1 December Lieutenant Colonel Sublet left the forward of the second pimple with the bunker just below 2/16th Battalion and Major Garth Symington took command. them. Early in December 1943, daily patrols from the 2/16th Just after 11:00am Anderson’s D Coy finished relieving continued to probe The Pimple on Shaggy Ridge both on the Christian and began digging in with two platoons along the right and left flanks. All patrols failed to make headway in ridge and one platoon in reserve. climbing the rock face on the right or the steep shattered At 11.40am the Japanese attacked the third pimple under country on the left. The battalion was then given time to enjoy the impression it was occupied by the Australians. This Christmas before assaulting Shaggy Ridge. pimple was beyond the bunker which held up the advance. From the evidence of previous patrols and also from the On the Pimple, fire from the company’s bren guns number of machine guns which had been fired on the 2/16th prevented the Japanese from consolidating and drove them Battalion, Symington judged that the enemy confronting him back. With the two pimples in their hands the Australians consisted of three platoons spread from 300 to 400 yards could command a view of the North Coast. along the razorback ridge. At this point, Vasey instructed More than 100 grenades were thrown during the day at the Dougherty to fly to Port Moresby on 21 December for rock bunker in front of the second pimple. The forward troops medical examination and treatment. This led to Lieutenant of the 2/16th spent most of the night digging trenches around Colonel Rhoden, a battalion commander of only a few weeks and from the second pimple so that they could approach the standing assuming command of the 21st Brigade on 27 Japanese bunker from a more advantageous position. The December, just before the battle. However the preparations pioneers, protected from fire by the angle of the cliff, had been so thoroughly made that this did not affect the chiselled a track along the cliff face. Towards dawn the track arrangement. was level with and just below the bunker. Symington ordered Captain Christian (B Coy) to attack To deal with the bunker the engineers designed a special and capture the Pimple in the first phase of the assault on bomb which consisted of a grenade placed in a chemical and Shaggy Ridge. Christian planned to exploit approximately sealed in a field ration tin. At 8.30am on the 28th men on the 400 yards through the objective. Captain Anderson’s newly dug track pulled out the grenade pins and hurled the Company, (D Coy) would then move forward and consolidate new bombs. The bunker was blasted away. Inside its remains the ground gained. were found the bodies of a Japanese officer and a private who The supporting fire plan for the assault is shown on Page had held up the advance. 706 of Chapter 24, Toehold on Shaggy Ridge of Reference 1 A third Pimple lay beyond the bunker that had held up the and was one of the most detailed yet arranged in New Guinea. advance. Lieutenant Scott’s 18 Pl worked down the rugged Weather was playing an important part in planning. On 26 and precipitous east slope of Shaggy Ridge to attempt a wide December, no start time could be fixed due to low cloud. On encircling movement of this pimple. 27 December, there were heavy mists at dawn, however these At the foot of the objective, Scott ordered Longman, his lifted by 8.00am. Shortly after this, Kittyhawks strafed the platoon sergeant to take a small party of Owen gunners up the Pimple, using tracer ammunition to assist bombing runs from third pimple. To reach the enemy they had to pull themselves Boomerangs. Dive bombing started three minutes later and up a steep slope with one hand and fire their Owen guns with the planned fire support program went on uninterrupted with the other. Under heavy enemy machine gun fire Longman and heavy 3 inch mortar and artillery concentrations. The 2/4th three men charged an enemy machine gun post near the top Field Regiment’s guns were running hot and gunners and eventually silenced it. They then neutralised the fire of received burns from either barrel or cradle. They fired 3,368 another enemy pit 40 yards away and were thus able to gain shells in two hours, which was claimed to be the largest a very difficult objective and consolidate their position under artillery bombardment to have been fired in the South West continuous machine gun and sniper fire. Pacific area. Nine minutes after Longman led the first assault, Scott’s The assault commenced at 9:00am. The men carried the platoon was in possession of the third pimple and then maximum of arms and the minimum of other equipment. covered the advance of Lieutenant McCaughey’s 16 Pl to the Having had exasperating experiences with the 286 wireless fourth and highest pimple. The two platoons then dug in on set, this was now discarded for the 536 set. By the time the the newly won ground.

15 Early in the afternoon a Japanese gun began shelling forward positions on Shaggy Ridge. Shortly afterwards, about 80 Japanese were seen on a feature 600 yards from the newly captured ground. The artillery immediately shelled them. At 2.22pm the Japanese counter attacked but were driven back by accurate fire. An enemy gun was in action against the forward positions on Shaggy Ridge at intervals from 29 to 31 December. On the 29th, the lead platoon commander, McCaughey was killed by an air burst which also wounded four others. This resulted in the knoll being named McCaughey’s Knoll. The 2/16th reported to Vasey that their tally of Japanese dead was 96. The new year ended with Vasey’s troops having gained a firm foothold on the dominating Shaggy Ridge leading to the main Japanese position on Kankiryo Saddle. Author’s Note: (Should you wish to “Google” the battle for Shaggy Ridge, there are a number of videos of the battle which are worth viewing.)

Men of the 2/16th Battalion on the battle-torn Pimple after its capture on 27 December 1943. © Australian War Memorial. Reproduced with permission. Changes in 7th Division Order of Battle Vasey flew to Port Moresby on 29 January for a number of conferences. As a result, it was decided that Chilton’s 18th Brigade and Hammer’s 15th Brigade would relieve Dougherty’s 21st Brigade and Eather’s 25th Brigade. The veteran 18th Brigade, who had fought at Milne Bay and Buna was made up of the 2/9th Battalion, 2/10th Battalion and the 2/12th Battalion, and had long been anxious to join the 7th Division in the fighting area. Map 3. The 2/16th Battalion assault on Shaggy Ridge, 27– This was not the case with the men of the 15th Brigade, 28 December 1943. Reference 1. © Australian War which included the 24th Battalion and the 58/59th Battalion, Memorial. Reproduced with permission. both experienced units together with the 57/60th Battalion which had not as yet been in action. They were surprised at

16 being called forward so soon, as it had been less than four Warfare was static and in the forward Shaggy Ridge months since their action in the Salamaua Campaign. positions where there was not more than 80 to 100 yards Vasey arranged for the 18th Brigade to relieve the 21st between the forward dug-in posts, the Australians were using Brigade, using 36 American aircraft a day, starting from New periscopes. Year’s day. By 3 January, Chilton’s Brigade had all arrived The 18th Brigade was then tasked with the next major and the 25th Brigade had been backloaded to Port Moresby by assault, which Chilton named ‘Operation Cutthroat’. In this, the same aircraft. By 4 January, the relief of the 21st Brigade the Brigade aimed to capture the entire ‘Kankiryo Saddle’ forward positions was completed, with the foremost positions area. now slightly forward of The Pimple. The 2/2 Pioneer Nine long and two short 25 pounders of Lieutenant Battalion remained in the Shaggy Ridge area and was Colonel Blyth’s 2/4th Field Regiment were in support and attached to the 18th Brigade. about 7,000 shells were available. The guns had been moved The inter-brigade relief was completed on 7th January to the Lakes-Guy’s Post area. A detailed schedule of air when 58/59th Battalion flew from Port Moresby to take over strikes by medium and dive bombers was drawn up. from the 2/14th Battalion, who were then backloaded. This Operation Cutthroat was launched by the 18th Brigade on completed the relief of the 21st Brigade by the 15th Brigade. 19-20 January 1944. The brigade’s three battalions were to On 2 January, the American landing at Saidor endangered converge on the Kankiryo Saddle from three different the rear of 78th Regiment and other units of Nakai Force that directions. opposed the 7th Division. Because of this, it was considered The 2/12th Battalion was to advance from Canning’s likely that the enemy may withdraw from the Shaggy Ridge saddle and attack the two well-defended knolls known as area, leaving only covering troops. Prothero 1 and Prothero 2 from the south-west. The 7th Division was now instructed to “Create the The 2/9th Battalion would attack northwards along Shaggy impression of offensive operations against the Bogadjim Ridge itself to take McCaughy’s Knoll by way of Green Road by vigorous local minor offensive action.” In addition Sniper’s Pimple. the 18th Brigade would “By raids and harassing tactics ensure Lieutenant Colonel Geard’s 2/10th Battalion would attack that no major Japanese withdrawal takes place undetected”. Cam’s Saddle (the high north-eastern feature). This attack Finally, the Brigade would occupy the Mindjim-Faria Divide, was to be a diversionary one until the capture of Prothero 1 which consisted of Kankiryo Saddle and the high ground to by the 2/12th Battalion, when the 2/10th would advance along the North and South of it. These moves would place the 7th the Faria Ridge, to the east of the Faria River and exploit Division in a good position for a further advance towards the north to Kankiryo Saddle and south to the Mainstream area. North Coast. The 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions commenced this Operation on 19 January 1944, with the 2/10th attacking A Brief Summary of the 18th Brigade Assault on Kankiryo Cam’s Saddle on 20 January and the 2/12th attacking Prothero Saddle 1 on 21 January. A Coy 2/9th attacked up the Eastern side of By 3 January the 18th Brigade was in position with the 2/9th Green Sniper’s Pimple and was counter-attacked by the Battalion forward of The Pimple on Shaggy Ridge, the 2/10th enemy for two days. On 23 January, the 2/12th and the 2/9th on the right from the Faria Ridge, south of Cam’s Hill to Battalions linked, while the 2/10th continued to attack along Mainstream, the 2/2 Pioneer Battalion on the left and the the Faria Ridge, which was occupied on 24 January. 2/12th Battalion in reserve. After Kankiryo Saddle was secured on 26 January 1944, the Japanese withdrew to Crater Hill. Despite the enemy’s loss of Kankiryo Saddle and Shaggy Ridge it seemed obvious by the 25 January he intended to put up a last ditch fight for Crater Hill. The enemy on Crater Hill were surrounded. Chilton decided to use siege tactics using heavy artillery bombardment, mortar fire and dive bombing. For four days Gunn’s company of the 2/10th Battalion pressed towards Crater Hill from the South East. The siege of Crater Hill continued until the end of January. The Australians surrounded the position and over the course of a week reduced the position with patrolling and attacks, forcing the Japanese defenders to abandon the position on 31 January. The siege ended on the 1 February when Mallyon’s company of 2/10th Battalion and Taylor’s of the 2/9th closed in and found it unoccupied. Crater Hill, a ghastly mess, was in Australian possession. The 18th Brigade lost 46 Killed in Action and 147 Wounded in Action and inflicted over 500 Japanese casualties, including 244 confirmed dead in this operation, While the 18th Brigade was involved in Operation Cutthroat, the 15th Brigade was to patrol deeply on the left flank. By the 21 January there were reports from Australian patrols that bands of the enemy were retreating from the battle area in the Mindjim River Valley. Hammer’s 15th Brigade fought several intensive battles with Japanese troops who were withdrawing towards the North Coast. Map 4 showing key locations in the Battle for Shaggy Ridge and Operation Cutthroat.

17 It was only a year since the Japanese had set out jump over the sides down to the beach we saw that they were confidently from Salamaua to capture Wau. Yet they now a group of very scruffy and dishevelled Australian soldiers. faced losing the battle for the Huon Peninsula. Their leader, barefoot, bareheaded, and rankless, announced that he was Major E.U. Anderson, Officer A Note on Wartime Mapping Problems in PNG Commanding Northern Command Field Survey Unit, Shortly after my arrival in Port Moresby in 1961, I was one currently engaged in mapping New Guinea. Well bless our of a number of pall bearers for the burial of several airmen at socks! But why had no one told us they were coming? Major Bomana War Cemetery. Their wartime crashed aircraft had Anderson did not bother to respond to that and just asked for just been discovered in the Owen Stanley Ranges. food and drink and a place to sleep for a week or so. The visit The problems with maps in Papua New Guinea were well proved a bonus as Major Anderson was a delightful man and known during World War 2. These problems were largely we enjoyed the company of his whole group and all the extra overcome after the war, when a joint operation by the Royal activity its presence caused. Australian Survey Corps and the Department of National Our soldiers were slightly scandalised to see the Mapping carried out a Geodetic Survey of Papua New shipwrecked looking Major and his men wandering about our Guinea. The Army carried out low (coastal) surveys while the camp barefoot and in tatters. National Mapping team carried out high (mountain region) I think the surveyors were equally mystified to see us all surveys. This work did not really get underway until the wandering about in the wilderness highly tarted up with 1960’s. (Reference 4). starched uniforms, polished black leather belts sporting A note in Reference 4 states: “The most serious heighting gleaming brass buckles, and carrying on generally as if we error was that of Mt. Kenevi, just to the east of the Kokoda were on guard at Buckingham Palace. But neither side was Gap in the Owen Stanley Range. This peak had been unduly fussed and we explained to our soldiers that surveyors wrongfully identified and given a height of 8,487 ft, when it were related to engineers and these were invariably unruly, was actually 11,315 ft. Five wartime wrecks lie around its scruffy and often drunk, all of which was patently obvious slopes at heights above that shown on the original maps. One anyway. of the wrecks was that of Avro Anson, LT294, that crashed on Major Anderson was not trying to map PNG from his 30 January 1944. Killed were Group Commander Frederick boats, he had a large backup of military helicopters and Wight, the most senior RAAF officer to go missing in World chartered twin engine fixed-wing aircraft especially fitted for War 2, and Wing Commander Keith Rundle. Shortly after the aerial survey. Indeed these soon started to appear overhead erroneous height of Mt. Kerevi had been discovered during and on our airstrips.” Natmap’s survey, the remains of the two airmen were An Interesting Diversion recovered and buried at Bomana War Cemetery on 5 March 1965.” Staff Cadet 392 Frederick James Byam Wight My company commander whilst I was in B Company PIR at graduated from the RMC in 1926 and transferred to the Wewak in 1962 was the then Major Maurie Pears MC. RAAF in May 1927. Maurie Pears first came to my attention in my earliest days Brian McFarlane (OCS Jun 1952), who was our Company with PIR in 1961, when he gave a hilarious 'Pidgin English' 2IC at Vanimo in late 1963 has written a most entertaining lecture that Father Ray Quirk forced onto him as a relatively book: We Band of Brothers (2000). (Reference 5). On page new Company Commander in PIR during an ‘Officer 161 he relates the arrival the Royal Australian Survey Corps Training’ session at Taurama Barracks, Port Moresby. ‘Low Level Geodetic Survey team’. This occurred shortly Maurie commenced his lecture by producing a bottle of red after an Indonesian Patrol Boat had one day been positioned wine and proceeded to introduce us to ‘kusmarasin’ which at off Vanimo for several hours, an occurrence that resulted in the time, I understood meant something about alcohol. He several rocket launchers being added to our armoury to enable then proceeded, using the simplest possible ‘pidgin’ words, us to meet any possible future naval incidents. Brian relates to ‘down’ the full bottle of wine while demonstrating how one the arrival as follows: ‘tasted’ wine correctly. As I am writing this article for a “We were again having lunch in the mess one day when I military audience, I have added some interesting detail I idly looked out to sea. There to my horror, at some distance uncovered while ‘Googling’ for information concerning him. out, I saw two patrol boat type craft travelling towards us I have kept this diversion brief, with no explanation for the from seawards at high speed. Within seconds it was clear that military abbreviations I have used. they were heading towards our beach. What the devil was I was aware, in 1962, that Maurie Pears had won his MC going on? There was no time for even standing the company in Korea at the Battle of Maryang San. In 1970 he was asked to, issuing ammunition, let alone trundling out our ship to join CRA for its operations in Bougainville busting rocket launchers. Moderately alarmed, the OC, In outline, 1120, Staff Cadet Maurie (M.B.) Pears Major Eric (E.R.) Philip (1952), and other officers sped off graduated from RMC in 1950 and rose to the rank of to rally the troops. Ever calm in a crisis and having no troops lieutenant colonel in his military career. He retired from the to rally, I walked down to the beach to meet whomsoever it Army in 1970 and has since written several books about the was coming to visit in such dramatic style. Perhaps I could ‘Forgotten War’ in Korea. These include Korea Remembered delay the opening of hostilities, until our troops could make and Battlefield Korea. ready, by offering the invaders a cup of tea. Military career details include: Still at flank speed the two boats changed formation to 1951–53 3RAR Korea and Japan line ahead and came through the opening in the reef and 1953–65 Instructor School of Infantry headed across the lagoon straight for the beach, driving their Company Commander PIR bows right up onto it. By now a small group of interested Military Appointments AHQ spectators had gathered. To the great surprise, relief and 1966–68 CO CSC RMC Duntroon amazement of us all, when the occupants of the boat began to 1968–70 CO 1 PIR 1970–79 Special Army Reserve

18 In addition, his other career highlights are: 2003. Indonesian Officials have used the name West Papua 1970–80 CRA Bougainville Copper Limited since 2007. Hollandia was renamed Kota Baru (New City) 1980 –90 Independent consultant Corporate Affairs PNG from 1962–63 then Sukarnopura (after President Sukarno) Proprietor / Director PNG Shipping Line from 1963–68, but was later renamed Jayapura in 1968. Joint He then operated an independent finance company for some border patrols had ceased. years. Maurie has since developed the Korean War and A United States Southwest Pacific Geodetic Survey Pacific Islands Regiment Memorials on the Gold Coast and is carried out about the same time as the Australian survey an enthusiastic Poker player. He was awarded the Korean resulted in the United States Air Force producing a set of air Medal of Civil Merit on 13 November 2017. photographs which were very detailed. Apart from some I last met Maurie briefly at Don Parsons’ funeral on 27th areas which were cloud-covered, the air photos were most March 2017. Don had served with Maurie in Korea with 3 useful. Late in 1963, I completed a patrol in the Sepik District RAR and had then risen through the ranks and was OC border area from the North Coast, near the border at Mushu Signals Platoon in 6 RAR (First Tour) with me in Vietnam. Village to the southern side of the Kohari Hills, which were Maurie Pears lost an entire section of his platoon in Korea, pure limestone hills west of the Bewani Mountains range and and was wounded by shrapnel but pressed on, capturing two were the third line of high ground inland. In this patrol I had hills including Maryang San in the space of 24 hours. to remain on the eastern side of the border and had to navigate Following this, he was awarded his MC in October 1951 and solely on the air photographs, in preference to the wartime followed this with a raid on another feature, Point 227, a few maps then available. months later, in January 1952. At one point I was following a previously cut track by a Professor Robert O’Neill AO (1644 R.J. (Robert) O'Neill joint Australian and Dutch Patrol on our side of the border (1958)), who became Director of the International Institute of when a swiftly flowing stream, some 10 feet wide and 2 feet Strategic Studies in London in 1982 and later Professor of deep simply disappeared down a sinkhole in the Limestone War History at Oxford University from 1987 to 2000, was the substrata. I could easily visualise it led to a subterranean cave Official Historian for Australia in the Korean War. He stated system to rival the Jenolan Caves of New South Wales, that the Battle of Maryang San was “probably the greatest however its remote location in the Kohari Hills means that it single feat of the Australian Army during the Korean War”. will probably never be explored. O'Neill was Mentioned in Despatches for his service as IO The following references have been found to be of with 5 RAR (first tour) in Vietnam in 1966. relevance, particularly to details of the Shaggy Ridge Lieutenant Colonel F.G. Hassett (1938), (later General Sir campaign and to wartime mapping problems. Francis) was CO of 3 RAR at the Battle of Maryang San. An entry in his biography states: “As you know the D Company References: assault had stalled after a tough fight. I was watching the 1. David Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives Australia in fight with Jack Gerke of C Company, who had young Maurie the War 1939-1945, Series 1, Army Vol 6, 1961. Pears, a recent graduate from Duntroon, with him. I had just 2. Patrick Lindsay, The Spirit of the Digger. Angus and briefed them to continue the assault through D Company onto Robertson, 2011. ‘Baldy’ then to follow through onto Maryang San and hold it. 3. James Andrew, Kokoda Wallaby. Allen and Unwin, Pears, now seeing the pandemonium of shot and shell on the 2011. ridge, was to lead his platoon to spearhead the attack. I 4. John Allen and David Cook, The Division of National looked at young Maurie and his eyes flicked to mine. We made Mapping Geodetic Survey of Papua New Guinea. intense eye contact and I was moved by those clear, steady October 2009. eyes. I asked, ‘Maurie, can you do it?’ He replied while 5. Brian McFarlane, We Band of Brothers: A True maintaining unblinking eye contact, ‘Yes Sir we can.’ ” Australian Adventure Story, 2000. Over 53 years later, that moment is still deeply etched in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hassett’s mind. Bruce Bond graduated from Duntroon in 1960. After postings Maurie Pears is still an active member of the Duntroon in PIR and three battalions of the RAR, he served as GSO3 Society’s Queensland Branch and as he was born on 14 Psywar on the Headquarters of the Director of Borneo November 1929, he is a member of the Society’s “Over 90” Operations during the “Confrontation” between Indonesia group. Maurie currently lives with his loving wife, Judy on and Malaysia in 1966. The war in Borneo ended three weeks the Gold Coast and included in his Christmas wishes to before The Battle of Long Tan in South Vietnam and he was Society members a photograph of: “Jake, Kate, Maurie, posted to 6RAR shortly afterwards. He served as Company Rowena, Daniel and Judy, All our family loved ones.” 2IC and IO in Vietnam and returned with the Battalion to While I was with B Company PIR at Moem Barracks, Brisbane. After postings at Jungle Training Centre and the Wewak, which was still under construction in 1962, we were Infantry Centre, he was medically downgraded to ‘Home able to purchase large round red wax covered balls of Only’ with high frequency hearing trauma. He elected to delicious Dutch Edam cheese, which were obtained by local obtain a corps transfer and after several postings in Brisbane trade store operators from Hollandia, across the border in he completed a BA (Hons) Degree in Psychology at the Dutch New Guinea. Border patrols at the time were carried University of Queensland and transferred to the Australian out by joint Australian and Dutch patrols, which would cut Army Psychology Corps. He served as a psychologist until tracks on either side of the border as necessary. Two years retiring after 20 years of service in 1977, then continued as a later, in late 1963, the scene had changed somewhat. I was psychologist and training instructor in the Army Reserve until serving in the PIR Company base at Vanimo at this time and retiring age. He served in the Queensland Public Service as name changes took place. Indonesia took temporary control a psychologist and personnel officer with the Queensland over Western New Guinea from the Dutch in 1962 and Police Service until his retirement in 2004. He is married with assumed permanent control in 1969. The region then became two children and two grandchildren. the province of Irian Jaya before being renamed Papua in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

19 A total of 44 individuals participated in the Duntroon Operation ‘Island Assist’ – SA Society group over the two months, including 13 former Members Help after the Kangaroo Army officers, 31 family members and friends (including 13 teenagers aged from 14 to 19 years). The average period each Island Bushfires participant worked for Blaze Aid was five days to provide some continuity of effort, and expose participants to a range Peter (P.J.) Neuhaus (1975) of tasks. Other Duntroon Society members were: South Australian Duntroon Society members recently co- • Martin Hamilton-Smith (1975) ordinated a 275 work-day effort, to support the recovery of • Emery Severin (1977) Kangaroo Island (KI) rural residents after the summer • Steve Larkins (OCS Dec 1976) bushfires. A total of 337 KI rural businesses were impacted • Andrew Haddock (1978) who excelled over 5 weeks. by the fires, with 211,000 hectares burnt, the loss of 110 • Susan Neuhaus (SSO Canungra 1981) houses, 60,000 head of stock and 5,500 kilometres of fencing. • Ian Stewart (2001) • Mark Radford (RMA Sandhurst 1967) • Maurice O’Connell (RMA Sandhurst 1981) The Duntroon Society group provided KI a total of 275 work days, including 193 days to Blaze Aid and 82 days of rural support tasks. The rural support tasks were to 6 separate rural families, and to the owner of the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Family support tasks included additional fencing work, hanging gates, building sheds, reinstating a home, gardening, household cleaning, planting trees, etc. The largest rural support task (41 days) was to the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and this included planting 1,500 trees, undertaking a flora and fauna census, replacing tree guards, erosion control and further fence work.

Flinders Chase National Park – before and after! Peter Neuhaus was a regular visitor to KI with his family and left the island on 20 December last year, the day lightning started the fires. These fires remained active until 2 January when they ran right through Flinders Chase National Park and half way up the Island – over 60km in two days. Peter planned to return to KI to assist the rebuild, and then along came COVID-19! Peter said that, when he began speaking in May to other Duntroon Society members about going to KI to assist, they indicated a desire to also participate. Advice on where best to apply the effort was provided by State Government Fire Relief Co-ordinator on KI, Robert Manton (OCS Dec 1981). He summed up the need as “fencing, fencing, fencing and Martin Hamilton-Smith with his son Thomas, and ex-3RAR listening”! soldier Colin Schriever, rolling-up damaged fencing. So, an op order was prepared (that would have failed staff duties), and five rotations for two weeks each were sought, The efforts of volunteers were greatly needed and beginning on 1 June 2020. Five team leaders volunteered appreciated, particularly as the Kangaroo Island community including David Litchfield (1978), Mark Dickson (1978), emerged from the COVID-19 ‘shutdown’ period. The support Mark Kelly (RMC SSO 2003) and Chris Roe (1987). Then it of the Duntroon Society group coincided with a reducing was to work to convince other Duntroon Society members, number of international volunteers, and increasing farm family and friends to join the two-month effort. activity with lambing. Most farms now have perimeter Work focussed on fencing with Blaze Aid, and breaking fencing in place, but Blaze Aid continues to work on internal this up with other tasks directly for rural families. Each team fencing so that farmers can better manage their stock. undertook to provide a minimum of three personnel each Those participating in Op Island Assist found the weekday to Blaze Aid at their Parndana camp. There are three experience good outdoor exercise, great fun and personally essential tasks of Blaze Aid, namely clearing damaged rewarding. It was particularly rewarding to see family groups fencing, post-driving and erecting new wire. The Blaze Aid working side-by-side on tasks which are well outside their camp was located at the Parndana showgrounds in the centre comfort zone—fathers/mothers with their sons/daughters. All of the Island. The Duntroon Society teams were of the teenagers came away with a great sense of accommodated with rural host families, or in the commercial achievement, and an evolving ‘volunteer ethos’. Quite a few residence in the town. Members joined with an interesting of our volunteers are planning to return to Kangaroo Island range of international and SA volunteers in an affable work over coming months, to provide further support on an and social environment. individual basis to Blaze Aid, Hanson Bay Sanctuary or families with whom they have worked. 20 The efforts of the Duntroon Society demonstrated the value of a former-ADF cohort on planning, coordinating and delivering a long-term community support effort. It is known that skills learnt in the ADF are valuable in many fields in the business environment. Op Island Assist demonstrated that these skills can also be applied to increase the resilience of volunteer organisations, and potentially increase national, state and regional capacity during times of community need. Well done to all participants—your efforts were a valuable contribution to other Australians going through a tough period! “End of Mission. OUT”

Andrew Haddock next to the ‘last post’ driven-in after two months of Duntroon Society work (it looks a little crooked though)! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duntroon During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections Lieutenant Colonel Rob (R.J.) Ryan (Jun 2002) Commanding Officer / Chief Instructor, Steve and Gwenda Larkins inspecting fire damage at Royal Military College - Duntroon Vivonne Bay. Organisational agility and resilience are two key attributes that best characterise the Royal Military College – Duntroon’s response to the tumultuous year that is 2020. Despite the obstacles posed by bushfires and the global pandemic, the College has continued to generate officers for the Army and concurrently continued to transform training design and delivery to meet the needs of an Army in Motion. Whilst it was the classification of Army’s ab initio training as an ‘essential activity’ that permitted the College to continue functioning, it has been the agility and resilience demonstrated by staff and staff cadets that has ensured we have adapted our training model to remain safe and compliant with all Government controls and social distancing Team 3 enjoys dinner with local residents at the Parndana requirements. This was reflected by the rapid reorganisation Pub. Photo includes Mark Dickson, Grace Neuhaus, Susan that was conducted by the College once the threat of COVID- Neuhaus, and Emery Severin. 19 was realised in Australia. In March, I and II Class Cadets returned from the field environment to adopt accommodation blocks grouped by class rather than the traditional Corps of Staff Cadets company arrangement. Overnight, the delivery of lessons transitioned to ‘bullring’ style training rotations to ensure class sizes of less than 100, staff cadets adopted individual physical training programs and the ‘B’ series of exercises traditionally conducted in May were postponed until August and October. At the height of Government restrictions, the Corps of Staff Cadets’ Mess was closed and meals transitioned to ‘hot box’ containers consumed in individual rooms. Cadets’ after-hours recreational activities were also affected when local leave was temporarily suspended. Fortunately, the threat to Canberra has since

eased and Government restrictions now permit the operation Peter Neuhaus, Mark Dickson, Jim Geddes (owner of of the Mess; likewise the Cadets are once again permitted to Hanson Bay Sanctuary), Martin Hamilton-Smith, Emery take local leave. Severin and Susan Neuhaus.

21 For III Class, the only significant change (aside from strict If you wish to discuss any matter concerning the Society, social distancing) was the opportunity to continue training in please contact me at [email protected]. isolation at Camp Blake beyond the traditional time New Members constraints imposed on previous III Class. Since the last Newsletter, 23 new members have joined the A notable change in response to COVID-19 was the early Society, their names are listed below. Please continue to reach graduation of the Mid-Year Class in April. Whilst this was out to mates past and present to invite them to join us in the unprecedented in the context of my tenure at the College, it Society at www.dunsoc.com/join. New members are: was not the first occasion where a ‘special graduation’ Byron Charles Cocksedge (1993) occurred to ensure that Duntroon was able to provide leaders Anthony Francis d’Arbon (1983) for an Army on an ‘operational footing’. In some instances, Nicholas Patrick Faughey (Jun 1991) only within weeks of graduation, some of these graduates Patrick Forbes (1950) were assigned to Operation COVID-19 ASSIST and met their Kevin Thomas Graham (OCS Dec 1958) platoons and troops on operations in Australia. Kelvin Thomas Graham (UNSWR SSO 1999) Whilst COVID-19 has imposed many restrictions upon Roger Gray (1982) life at the College, it has also afforded us many opportunities Anthony Heath (Dec 1988) to pursue innovative ideas to adapt to the new environment. Alastair Hee (Jun 2001) This includes the creation of online Lee Shield Physical Daniel Henricson (Jun 1999) Training events, which required cadets to record and upload Terry Holland (OCS Jun 1958) their individual achievement to the College’s learning page. Max Lockwood (OCS Jun 1958) Additionally, the establishment of a ‘Revue’ video page and Craig Johnston (OCS Jun 1982) the use of online forums to support cadet after-hours training Steven Johnston (Dec 1991) has also been implemented. Further technological platforms, Gerry McGowan (Jun 1998) including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to capture Nicholas Press (Jun 2005) imagery in support of virtual TEWT sites, have also been Don Reid (OCS Dec 1964) utilised where travel outside of the College has not been Brian Alistair Smith (OCS Jun 1978) possible. These examples capture some of the excellent Philip Smith (OCS Dec 1981) bottom-up innovation from our people. Likewise we have John Timpson (1966) also taken this opportunity to accelerate our transformation Jason Ward (Dec 1991) through the investment in Instructor Development Courses, Nicholas Steven (Weston OCTU 44 1987) adoption of new instructional techniques and amendments to Paul Jason Willis (Dec 1992) the curriculum to capture contemporary lessons across all ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ domains ensuring our graduates are best postured to be Future Ready. From the OTU Association While training delivery methods and the traditional battle rhythm of the College may appear less familiar to what was Frank Miller (OTU 4/67) experienced by those who graduated prior to 2020, at its core it remains unchanged. The Royal Military College – As is no doubt the case with so many Duntroon continues to produce junior officers by promoting organisations in Australia, the leadership and integrity, by inspiring high ideals and the activities of the OTU Association over pursuit of excellence, and by inculcating a sense of duty, the last six months have been loyalty and service to the nation. significantly limited by the COVID- This year is yet another chapter in the long and prestigious 19 pandemic. The ANZAC Day history of the Royal Military College - Duntroon. I have been March was cancelled in all capital exceptionally proud how the Staff and Cadets have again cities and the usual luncheons and other social gatherings risen to the challenge, as many have before them, in ensuring have had to be foregone. Perhaps the most important of all Army is enabled with the very best leaders it deserves. was the need to postpone the October National reunion. It has ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ now been rescheduled for the same weekend next year. The annual National Council meeting was able to proceed From the President, Duntroon through home teleconferencing. This is the forum whereby Society the State/Territory Chapters meet with the National Executive for an exchange of thoughts and ideas. Matters include future Chris (C.G.) Appleton (1978) planning and what can be done to enhance the Association’s overall performance. It was again most successful. 2020 has been an ‘annus horribilis’ to date. Drought, All of the Chapters are in good shape with eager bushfires, floods and COVID-19 have affected most participation by the membership when times allowed. Australians, many of them severely. The attendant The coffee table book on OTU Scheyville proved most suspension of almost all Society activities is the least of these successful. An additional print run was ordered and copies are impacts. being sent to the Australian War Memorial, the RMC The College’s response to COVID-19 led to the early Museum and other keepers of military history. graduation of First Class in April. How the College has Financially, the national body is in a sound situation. New adapted is addressed by the Commanding Officer elsewhere Treasurer Harry (H.) Moyle (OTU 4/67) has commenced his in this Newsletter. In the modest closed ceremonies marking duties. He is a welcome addition to the Executive body. graduation, the Commandant presented the Society’s Award OTU’s publication The Scheyvillian has continued with to Corporal Emily Kernick three editions each year. It remains a fascinating ‘read’ featuring memories of the course all those years ago, details of graduates’ subsequent lives, military histories, book 22 reviews and other matters of interest. It is highly regarded not only within the Association, but also by those in the broader defence community. Much of the near future Youth Development programme will depend on COVID-19 restrictions being removed. None the less the commitment to this important initiative will proceed with enthusiasm over the years to come. Frank Miller Chairman, OTU Association. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the Branches Australian Capital Territory Branch Office Holders Convenor: Chris (C.G.) Appleton (1978) Secretary: Jason (J.J) Hedges (1992) Rae Barnett, Charlie (C.T.) Barnett (1960), Phillip (P.J.) Treasurer: Mike (M.J.) Ryan (1980) McNamara (1969), Brian (B.J.) Goodes (OCS Dec 1965), Members: Merrie Hepworth (WRAAC OCS 1967); Mike Stewart Grant (OCTU), Ian (I.M.) Henderson (OCS Dec (M.J.) Ford (1957); Stuart (S.B.) Althaus (RMC & OCS Jun 1956), Eileen Henderson. Vacant chair Ian (I.R.) Taylor 1982) (1965)-photographer. COVID-19 has precluded any functions to date this year. The Mess is closed to functions; this situation is unlikely to change soon. New South Wales Branch Office Holders Convenor: Bob (R.L.) Guest (OCS Dec 1959) Secretary: Matt Jones (1989); [email protected]; 0438 007 770 Treasurer: Ian (I.R.) Taylor (1965); [email protected]; 0407 539 441 The ‘Breakout’ Lunch on 10 July 2020 After three months of COVID-19 lockdown and only Zoom contact, NSW Chapter members were able to join with the Regular Army Officers’ Lunch Club at the Imperial Services Club Room of the Royal Automobile Club in Sydney. Rod (R.W.) Stewart (1958), Dellane Stewart, Julie King, Observing prevailing protocols, 22 members had an Nola Bertram, John (J.F.) Bertram (1959), Jill Wright, enjoyable lunch and much missed personal contact with Lawrie (L.A.) Wright (OCS Jun 1952), Don (D.R.) Gillies friends and former colleagues. This lunch was the ‘catch-up’ (1959). from the cancelled June mid-year Graduation Lunch. We welcomed eight wives/partners, including Julie King, partner of the late Bill (W.) McDonald (1959). Photos of that event are below. During lunch there was discussion on the future of monthly lunches and how we might improve attendance. It was decided to expand our membership to all army officers including those from the Army Reserve and those who may not have had a direct association with Duntroon. As we all served together, it seems incongruous to make any differentiation as to how we obtained our commissions. Henceforth, we will welcome all who have served as Commissioned Officers in the Australian Army, which includes any who have graduated from any officer producing organisation in the world. The monthly lunches will now be known as ‘The Army Officers’ Lunch’. The first of these was held on 14 August 2020 and we welcomed three new members including a David (D.A.) Dufall (OCS Dec 1963), Ahmad (A.) Mostafa former Army Reserve Officer. (OCS Dec 1978), Ken (K.L.) Duncan (OCS Dec 1952), Dawn Duncan, Bob (R.L.) Guest (OCS Dec 1959), and Sandy Guest.

23 Monthly Lunch—The Army Officers’ Lunch Duntroon Society members meet other officers at the Imperial Service Club, now incorporated in the Royal Automobile Club at Circular Quay. They normally meet on the second Friday of each month at 1200hrs for 1230hrs and have an excellent two course lunch including wines for $65 per head. Future lunches will be held on 9 October, 3 November (Melbourne Cup Luncheon, subject to the race being held), 13 November, and 11 December (Mixed Function). These lunches are known as the Army Officers’ Lunch and it is hoped that more Duntroon Society members could join their fellow officers on these monthly occasions. Out of state visitors are most welcome but should advise office holders or the Club (02 8273 2320) of their intention to Ron (R.S.C.) Morris (1956), Jan Hagerty (née Keating attend. WRAAC OCS 1963), Bob (R. E.) Hagerty (1956), Moreen Dee (WRAAC OCS 1966), Lew (L.A.) Reinhold (1956), New Zealand Marilyn Macfarlane, Max (M.T.) Lockwood (OCS Jun Branch Office Holders 1958), Jan Lockwood, Jack (J.A.N.) Chipman (1956), John (J.R.) Brown (OTU 2/68), Susan Brown, Anne Wade, Allison Patron: Major General Robin (R.G.) Williams (1952). Gilmore, Miles (M.W.) Farmer (1955), Marguerite Jenvey, Auckland Sub-branch Convenor: Lieutenant Colonel Barry Ailsa Stein, Jock (J.E.) Jenvey (1956), John (J.N.) Stein (B.D.) Dreyer (1965). (1957), Graeme Loughton, LCPL Louise (L.) Loughton Wellington Sub-branch Convenor: Brigadier Ian (I.J.) (December 2020). Duthie (1962). Auckland Sub-branch South Australia & Northern Territory Auckland region membership has been very quiet having Branch Office Holders been in COVID-19 lockdown twice, with the current lockdown finishing midnight 30 August. However, we will Chairman / Convenor: Doug (D.D.) Strain (1978) only go down to gatherings of no more than 10 for any reason, Deputy Chairman / Convenor: Peter (P.J.) Neuhaus (1975) except authorised funerals. Members: Jack (I.R.) Gregg (1976), David (D.C.) Auckland Branch had a luncheon planned for 27 August, Litchfield (1978), Chris (C.M.) Burns (OCS Dec 1979), which has now been postponed to a yet to be established later Chris (C.) Mulraney (1979), Steve (S.M.) Quinn (1978), date. Chris (C.E.T.) Roe (1987), Tim (T.J.) Hanna (1980), Steve As far as we know, all our members are well, although (S.F.) Larkins (OCS 1976), Leanne Glenny (WRAAC OCS probably bored by now, but saved by what has been superb 1983), Mark (M.G.) Dickson (1977). weather. To keep up to date with the latest information about events We have two new members: Roger Gray (1982) who is please connect with the SA Branch on Facebook @ now permanently living in the Christchurch region; and, John https://www.facebook.com/DuntroonSocietySA/. Timpson (1966) who lives in the Hawkes Bay region. Keep well, and Auckland Branch looks forward to being Annual Graduation Luncheon—1 December 2020 able to catch up over a long and enjoyable luncheon in the We will be holding our 2020 Annual Graduation Luncheon at next month or so. the Naval, Military and Air Force Club on Tuesday, 1 December 2020 commencing at 12:00 for 12.30 pm. This Wellington Sub-branch year our guest speaker will be Dr Emery (E.S.) Severin (1977). With COVID-19 lockdowns, and so on, we have nothing to After graduating from the RMC in 1977 with an honours report from Wellington although we are planning a lunch for degree in science into the Royal Australian Signals Corps, 13 September which may, or may not, happen. Emery spent a short time at 2nd Signals Regiment before Queensland going onto to take up his Rhodes Scholarship and read for a DPhil in Physical Chemistry at Oxford University. On his Branch Office Holders return to Australia in 1981, Emery resumed regimental duties at 2nd Signals Regiment followed by an appointment as aide- Convenor: Graeme (G.J.) Loughton (1956). de-camp to the Governor-General. Here in South East Queensland we were fortunate that Emery left the Army in 1986 to pursue a career in COVID-19 cancelled only three of our monthly lunches. industry. He joined BHP in the Melbourne headquarters as a These resumed in June. Then in July we enjoyed our semi- planning analyst in the Steel Group followed by managerial annual ‘with partners’ lunch with 20 attending as the photo appointments at the Newcastle Steelworks, South East Asian shows. Our social schedule is to meet for lunch monthly at steel operations based out of Singapore and the Port Kembla United Service Club, usually on the second Wednesday. Steelworks. In 1996 Emery joined Boral in Sydney to manage COVID-19 permitting, the next ‘with partners’ should be in the NSW Construction Materials businesses. He then went on November. All members with email addresses receive a to manage the Blue Circle Southern Cement Group, the monthly reminder about 10 days ahead. If you think you have Australian Construction Materials Group and Boral’s US missed out, contact the Convenor, Graeme Loughton, on businesses based out of Atlanta, Georgia. 3378 7376 or [email protected].

24 In 2010 Emery was recruited and appointed as Managing on leaving the Army. The group meets from 0730 to 0900 hrs Director and CEO of Nuplex Limited, a dual-listed company on the second Tuesday of every month, at Cafe Bocelli on on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. Hutt Street, Adelaide. Any visitors to Adelaide are most Headquartered in Sydney, Nuplex was a global specialty welcome. If you wish to know more please contact Ilona chemicals manufacturing company with operations in Horan (1999) at [email protected] or Jake Australasia, South East Asia, China, Europe, and the Middle Kearsley (1997) at [email protected]. East and the USA. Emery remained in that role until the company was purchased in late 2016 by private equity. At the Victoria & Tasmania time, the sale was the largest acquisition in New Zealand Branch Office Holders corporate history. Emery retired from corporate life after the sale of Nuplex and has pursued philanthropic interests related Victoria continues to operate by committee with occasional to tertiary education with UNSW and has become more meetings and primary contact by email. actively involved in the management of the small family Coordinator: Bob (R.A.) Slater (1963). vineyard in the Eden Valley in South Australia. Treasurer: Alan (A.M.) McDonald (1951). Emery is married to Sharman, a physicist, and they have Members: Konrad (C.) Ermert (1962) (Membership) and two sons. Hugo is currently serving as an army officer in the John (J.G.) Carmichael (OCS Jun 1977). Royal Australian Engineers and Gus is studying for a PhD in Membership bio-technology at UNSW. In his address Emery will explore the good and bad of how We remain open to ideas from Duntroon Society members in his officer training assisted, or impeded, him progressing his the Southern region and will be happy to assist with any local stellar business career. Following his address, he will be connections that Duntroon/ADFA may wish from time to joined by Adam Watson (1994), current Head of Business time. Development at BAE Systems and Chair Elect of the Defence Mid-year Luncheon Teaming Centre, and they will then be interviewed by the convenor and made available to answer questions from those Our May luncheon that was to be held again at the Danish present. Club this year had to be cancelled due to the government health requirements in the wake of COVID-19. It is hoped we can resurrect this event next year on Thursday 13 May 2021. Annual Luncheon The annual Luncheon is planned, COVID-19 willing, be held at University of Melbourne’s Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street Carlton, on Thursday 15 October, 12 for 12.30 pm until 2 pm, cost $65 per head. Guests are most welcome. Topic for Discussion: Duntroon as a Role Model for a Dual Career - Captain Keith Wolahan (FAC 1/1998). Our speaker this year is a barrister at the Victorian bar, who was commissioned through Melbourne University Regiment and Duntroon. He completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan with Commandos (for which he received a Commendation) and returned a third time as the successful defending barrister for the two commandos court martialled for the death of civilians sheltering with Taliban shooters. Keith will talk about the effect his Duntroon training had on his dual career. Emery Severin. [RSVP NLT 9 October to Alan McDonald, 13 Moorhead Ave. Mornington, 3931, (03) 5975 4113, with cheques made The cost of the luncheon is $75.00 which includes a main payable to ‘Duntroon Society Victoria Branch’ – or contact course and dessert. All pre-luncheon and luncheon drinks are Bob Slater for electronic transfer details.] to be paid for at the bar. Payment is via EFT to Westpac BSB Bob Slater, 0418 317 057, [email protected] No: 735-041 Account No: 502573 Account: The Duntroon Society. Please note your name as the description. For Western Australia alternative payment contact Doug Strain on 0407 200 664. [email protected] Branch Office Holders Second Tuesday Group Convenor: Bob (W.R.M.) Hunter (1985) Social Convenor: Kevin (K.F.) Poynton (1974) Adelaide ex-serving and serving officers have been meeting informally on a monthly basis for nearly 20 years through a Note these positions are both endorsed by members but held group informally titled the ‘Second Tuesday’ group. This informally as no specific constitution is in place. group continues as a conduit for local graduates to network Social Functions and has a core group of local business identities, Any visitors to WA or others wishing to be informed please supplemented by serving officers on postings to Adelaide. contact the WA Convenor, Bob Hunter on Many useful business contacts have resulted, and some [email protected] or 0413 045 355. serving officers have been able to identify a pathway to life ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 25 any spare food miraculously appearing at the table. He can of Coming Events course escape this situation by somehow managing to answer Please note that the dates advertised will be in doubt due an impossible question correctly, in which case he is now to social distancing restrictions extant at the time. declared to be ‘Incl Bluff’, pronounced ‘Inkle Bluff’. He will ACT Branch then be permitted to bid for any spare food, though his chance Cancelled. Autumn Luncheon, Duntroon House. of winning any is negligible—unless of course it is a poorly cooked brussels sprout, a dry piece of swede turnip, or NSW Branch something else that no-one will eat, no matter how hungry 9 October, 3 November (Melbourne Cup Luncheon), 13 they are. November, and 11 December (Mixed Function). Seated next to him is a Third Class cadet. He has survived Monthly Lunch. Imperial Service Club at the Royal his year in Fourth Class but the memory is still fresh. This Automobile Club building at Circular Quay. cadet is now clear of the immediate danger zone, but he still Queensland Branch has to be careful and he knows it. Experience has taught him TBA. Monthly (second Wednesday). Meet at noon for lunch to keep a low profile. at the United Service Club. The lofty lance-corporal in Second Class is relaxed and TBA. Next ‘With Partners’ lunch. doesn’t attempt to hide his superiority. Self-confident, he is South Australia Branch (incorporating NT) counting the days to enjoying the status and authority of First Class. His aristocratic mien suggests that this particular cadet 1 December 2020. Annual Graduation Luncheon, Naval, is hoping to be allocated to the Royal Regiment of Australian Military and Air Force Club, Adelaide. Artillery. Victoria Branch (incorporating Tasmania) At the head of the table is the rugby battle hardened 13 May 2021. 1200 for 1230. Annual lunch at the Danish sergeant in First Class. He is not to be trifled with—and he Club, 3rd Floor, 428 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. knows it. However, in a surprising gesture of humanity, he Western Australia Branch has generously offered the hapless Ex Bluff Fourth Class Quarterly drinks. For details, please feel free to contact the cadet a glimmer of hope to achieve Incl Bluff status by WA convenor, Bob Hunter on answering the simple question put to him in this cartoon. [email protected] or 0413 045 355. An exaggerated scenario? No, not really. This was real life in Jock Irvine’s era from 1953 to 1956. It had also existed RMC Ceremonial Events much earlier and it persisted a lot later. As can be seen above 30 November 2020. Prizes & Awards Ceremony. in Alan Murray’s article early this same Newsletter, things 2 December 2020. The Graduation Parade. had become even worse by the 1980s, but thankfully this is now far in the past. Retired Officers Luncheon Club—Canberra This Club meets on the first Thursday of every month for John Bullen was a Third Class cadet in Alamein Company lunch at the Royal Canberra Golf Club at 12 noon. Retired when Colour Sergeant Jock Irvine was the Alamein Company officers meet in a very pleasant venue for a convivial monthly CQMS in 1956. gathering which originated in 1985. There is a selected menu which ensures that the cost will be approximately $30 including pre-lunch drinks and wine. Bookings are essential. If you are interested please contact Don McDonough (1961) on (02) 6259 6583.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shorts  Tim The Yowie Man has an episode relating to the Cork Block Cavern. You can view the episode in full here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jock Irvine’s Cartoons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John (J.E.) Bullen (1958) The Over 90s In recent Newsletters we have published a list of RMC Jock Irvine’s cartoon in the previous issue of the Newsletter graduates who had reached the age of 90 years. We update it showed the arrival (late!) on evening Mess Parade of a here. desperate Fourth Class cadet at the conclusion of his impossible ‘Wet Twos Leap’. W.H. Wansley (Jun 1941) b. 31 August 1921 We now see him inside the dining room. He is still L.W. Wright (1942) b. 10 May 1922 desperate – this time for sustenance which he knows he is not W.D. Jamieson (1943) b. 16 February 1924 going to get. Seated at the bottom of the table, it is his job to D.R. Begg (1944) b. 28 December 1924 divide and distribute the food delivered in bulk to the table by P.W.F. Joplin (1944) b. 2 June 1925 the Mess stewards. Woe betide him if he dares to divide it J.E. Neylan (1948) b. 23 April 1926 equally. This explains his physical condition as depicted here. C.StJ. Griffiths (1947) b. 15 June 1926 For the slightest infraction at the table, real or imagined, J.F. McDonagh (1946) b. 6 November 1926 or for failing to answer an impossible question correctly, he R.R. Harding (1948) b. 20 December 1926 will be declared ‘Ex Bluff’, a status that denies him access to L.R. Greville (1946) b. 10 August 1927 26 K.J. Hill (1948) b. 10 September 1927 Vale: Colonel Harold (Hal) Oxley OBE 1916 – I.D. Stock (1948) b. 15 March 1928 2020 (1937) J.I. Martyn (1948) b. 13 April 1928 A.T. Pembroke (1950) b. 23 July 1928 Chris (C.G.) Appleton (1978) D.M. Butler (1948) b. 3 September 1928 Hal Oxley, a stalwart of the Society in Victoria died on 8 W.M. Purdy (1948) b. 19 October 1928 March 2020, aged 103. P.H. Bennett (1948) b. 27 December 1928 Born in Adelaide 1916 and educated in Melbourne. He F.P. Scott (1948) b. 19 January 1929 entered the College in 1934 when it was in Sydney, where he P.H. Kitney (1953) b. 17 February 1929 played first grade hockey and qualified as a surf lifesaver and N.C. Schofield (1950) b. 27 February 1929 graduated in 1937 by which time the College had returned to A.R. Vail (1951) b. 7 March 1929 Duntroon. M.J. Lamborn (1948) b. 20 March 1929 At the outbreak of the Second World War he was serving J.E. Duff (1951) b. 19 August 1929 with the Darwin Mobile Force and sailed with the 2/8th W.P. Riley (1951) b. 24 September 1929 Infantry Battalion AIF (as Adjutant) to the Middle East in B.G. Florence (OCS Dec 1952) b. 9 November 1929 1940. He served as a Company Commander in the Greek R.J. Wilson (1948) b. 13 November 1929 campaign, after which he was posted to HQ 9 Div as a Staff M.B. Pears (1950) b. 14 November 1929 Captain during the siege of Tobruk. After Tobruk, he was

posted to 1 Aust Corps as G2 Liaison for the Syrian This list is not complete and is subject to constant change. campaign. There could be survivors in the Classes of April 1944 and In April 1942 he returned to Australia and was promoted 1947. The Classes of 1950 and 1951 would, by now, have to lieutenant colonel as G2 First Aust Army. In August 1942 members who have already reached that very significant age, he was posted to the First Army’s Advanced HQ in Port but we do not have their appropriate details. Without your Moresby and as Acting Colonel Staff Duties. At 26 years of help we cannot ensure the accuracy of the listing. age, it is likely that Hal was the youngest (worn rank) colonel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ in the Army. After further service as an acting colonel in HQ Obituary New Guinea Force, he returned to Brisbane as G1 Plans. Since the publication of the last Newsletter we have learned Later he joined the Advanced Echelon of Land Headquarters of the deaths of the following: in New Guinea. His war service was recognised with a 1 Jan 17 Brigadier I.D. Stock (1948) Mention in Despatches and the award of the OBE. 12 Feb 19 Lieutenant Colonel D. Fock (OCS Dec 1952) Hal left the Regular Army in 1946 and enjoyed a 27 Aug 19 Lieutenant C.A. Lealand (1958) successful business career as the Executive Director of a large 25 Dec 19 Major V.N. Murphy (OCS Dec 1957) public industrial manufacturing company. He was committed 20 Jan 20 Lieutenant Colonel K.H. Mitchell (1958) to Legacy and was Secretary of a Legacy home. 8 Mar 20 Colonel H. Oxley (1937) In his late thirties, Hal became a Christian, going on to 21 Apr 20 Captain D.J. Dennis (OTU 2/65) establish a Life Ministry Centre, Oxley College, Oxley Kids 27 Apr 20 Lieutenant Colonel R.P. Kudnig (OCS Dec 1953) and Life Ministry Bible College, the latter providing ministry, 27 Apr 20 Lieutenant Colonel B.R. Windsor (OCS Dec 1958) 4 May 20 Major L.D. Edwards (OCS Jun 1973) training hundreds of pastors and educating thousands of 6 May 20 Lieutenant Colonel R.F. Irwin (OCS Jun 1963) children. In retirement, Hal established Associated Christian 9 May 20 Brigadier F.J. Cross (1956) Ministries and Associated Christian Ministers International, a 21 May 20 Brigadier J.W. Ryan (OCS Dec 1961) fellowship of Ministers world-wide, totalling over 3,000 5 Jun 20 Colonel P.W. Blyth (1955) ministers from many nations. 12 Jun 20 Major R.G. Anderson (OCS Dec 1963) In August, Australia remembered the 75th anniversary of 20 Jun 20 Second Lieutenant C.L. Joscelyne (OTU 1/68) the end of the Second World War. Hal’s service is 26 Jun 20 Captain D.J. Wilmore (OCS Dec 1967) emblematic of the service of graduates in that war. 26 Jun 20 Lieutenant K.T. Feakes (OCS Jun 1954) His widow, Mrs Jillene Oxley has gifted some of Hal’s 29 Jun 20 Major J.H. Boot (OCS Dec 1963) 11 Jul 20 Major L.P. Tonagh (OCS Jun 1954) photos of life to the College. Three are reproduced below. 12 Jul 20 Lieutenant Colonel D. Rankine (OCS Jun 1954) 14 Jul 20 Colonel J.P. Brown (1947) 17 Jul 20 Lieutenant Colonel D.J. Lobb (WRAAC OCS 1952) (1) 2 Aug 20 Captain R.W. Thomson (OTU 3/66) 9 Aug 20 Captain J.M. Healy (WRAAC OCS 1960) (2) 16 Aug 20 Brigadier P.J. Bray (1962) 16 Aug 20 Major J.E. Campbell (OCS Jun 1957) 18 Aug 19 Colonel J.M. Hutcheson (1947) 27 Aug 20 Colonel A.V. Preece (1946) 29 Aug 20 Lieutenant Colonel J.M. Owens (OCS Dec 1964) 1 Sep 20 Lieutenant Colonel A.G. Roberts (OCS Dec 1954) 5 Sep 20 Major K.M. Riley (OCS Dec 1973) 6 Sep 20 Lieutenant Colonel P.G. Badcock (OCS Jun 1968) 8 Sep 20 Captain J.G.I. Wing (Dec 2007)

(1) Di Lobb, who has died aged 90, was a member of the very first graduating class from WRAAC OCS, then at Mildura. {See following Obituary. Ed} (2) Neé Davidson. {See following Obituary. Ed} Duntroon 1937. Hal Oxley at the head of second table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

27 work in New Zealand for some years in accountancy and bookkeeping positions for which she was highly valued. Returning to Australia, Di enlisted in the WRAAC in 1964 as a lieutenant CMF at 2 WRAAC Coy Victoria Barracks Sydney and quickly became immersed in work and friendship, renewing old friendships and making new ones. She had a friendly nature, beautiful smile and a well- developed sense of humour and was a delight to be around. She loved animals particularly dogs and cats and most of her life owned a dog and was very supportive of Guide Dogs Australia. In March 1967 she commenced CMF Full Time Duty at Victoria Barracks Sydney working in Logistics Branch becoming responsible for the personal removal of soldiers and families during the war in South Vietnam, an extremely frantic appointment. Later she was appointed to Equestrian training in Sydney around 1934–36. Personnel Branch HQ E Command as the Welfare Officer which also was very demanding. In September 1971 Di was awarded and received the MBE at Government House Sydney for outstanding personal effort and administration of Army welfare services. With the impending cessation of CMF Full Time Duty, Di transferred to the Australian Regular Army in May 1971 and was posted to Army Office Canberra to become part of the Community Services Research Team and in 1974 she undertook a 12-month community services course, through the Department of Youth and Community Services in Sydney following which she assumed the appointment of Community Services Officer at HQ Liverpool Area. The Community Services Course provided a variety of experiences including a week living in a womens’ gaol in Sydney. Hal with his horse. Prior to her next posting as Commanding Officer and ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chief Instructor WRAAC School and promotion to lieutenant colonel, Di was honoured by being invited to inspect the A Soldier of the Queen at Rest: Guard at Victoria Barracks Sydney, the first woman to do so Lieutenant Colonel Diana Joan Lobb MBE since the ceremony began there 130 years before. She had WRAAC/RACT (WRAAC OCS 1952) her stern face on that day as depicted in the many newspaper Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) K.A. (Kath) McQuarrie AM articles throughout Australia. This was the highlight of Di’s WRAAC/RACT career and she was the last female officer to serve in that position prior to the disbandment of the WRAAC and the Diana Joan Lobb, or Di as most of us integration of women into training with men. knew her, was born on 8 June 1930 at Stoke Newington, London and travelled to Australia with her parents in 1937. They joined family members already in Australia and operated a corner shop near North Strathfield Railway Station and lived in the attached residence. Di was expected to help and she and her paternal grandfather worked in the shop on Sundays so her parents could take a break. Although a proud Australian, she never forgot her English heritage and loved the familiar songs and music from “A Night at the Proms”. From Primary School and three years of high school at Homebush, Di was selected to attend Fort Street Girls High, already showing her ability for the future. She was a capable sportswoman and played cricket with the YWCA and made Inspecting the Guard at Victoria Barracks Sydney. lifelong friends at school and in sport. Di was a member of Di then elected to serve in RACT until her discharge in the Air League and, forbidden to join the Army by her father 1983. In 1985 she received a photograph from the Director of “because only no hopers or those in trouble did that”, she Movement and Transport – Army, Colonel Geoff studied and worked in accountancy until at 21 she finally Christopherson of the Larc V which bore her name in the attended the 1952 WRAAC Officer Cadet Course (OCS) at 1984/85 Antarctic Expedition. The photograph was a much Mildura, the first course to be conducted after the Second treasured possession and hung in her room until her death. World War. Di made many long term friends at OCS, In retirement Di moved to Mullumbimby NSW with her including staff members and outlived many, if not all of them. mother and step father, built a comfortable home with views After graduating as a lieutenant, Di served in a variety of of the mountains and to Byron Bay and grew small crops regimental postings before discharging in 1956 and going to initially of egg plants and zucchinis before embarking on 28 raising Murray Grey cattle, ending up with a herd of about led who astray, but it seems to have simply been a case of 80. Many of the cows were named after Army officers with kindred spirits sharing a lively sense of humour. similar characteristics! She became deeply involved in the Not long afterwards, in Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, community: the Uniting Church, the Bush Fire Brigade (after June encountered the very formidable Colonel Dawn starting a fire on the property), the RSL and Lawn Bowls, the Jackson, then nearing the end of her 15-year reign as Director latter almost taking over her life in competitions, training, of the WRAAC. The Director took one stern look at district committees and as a referee for over 25 years. Di Lieutenant Davidson’s normally blonde hair and demanded became the Patron of the WRAAC Association NSW a to know what had happened. June’s helpful reply “That’s position she held until her death. Then followed some years ‘Midnight Panther’, Ma’am” did not go down well. of living at Batemans Bay and Canberra and finally returning June was then the Adjutant/Quartermaster at 31 WRAAC to the north to Ocean Shores near Brunswick Heads. During Barracks, about two kilometres further along St Kilda Road this time she continued to bowl, took up rifle shooting and from Victoria Barracks. She was next posted as Adjutant at was a keen member of the Volunteer Coastal Patrol at the WRAAC School at Georges Heights. Batemans Bay. Di had many friends and maintained contact After marrying Major John Healy (1956) in 1963, June with previous Army mates. She remained active in the RSL launched herself into a wide variety of positions, often in the and was guest speaker for an ANZAC service at areas of training and office management, wherever John was Mullumbimby RSL. posted. At the same time June worked as a volunteer on In 2012 her health deteriorated and in 2017 Di moved to numerous Army Wives Committees and helped in setting up Canberra to be close to her long-time friend of 58 years Kath the first Thrift Shop at Canungra to assist in the funding of McQuarrie together with her standard Schnauzer Boadie. the local Girl Guides. Overseas, June was a Research and During this time she renewed friendships with old Army Library Assistant at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, friends and those at St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Forrest and she also worked with the Home for Abandoned and and at Belconnen and the WRAAC Association ACT. In Orphaned Children in Singapore. March 2018 Di moved into St Andrews Village Hughes At the same time she was also the mother of two where she was cared for and loved. She celebrated her 90th daughters. birthday in style in June 2020 and her sudden death on 17 July In 1978 June joined the WRAAC Association, later 2020 was a shock to staff and friends. A Service of becoming a State President and, later still, National President Thanksgiving was held at St Andrews Presbyterian Church from 1995 to 1999. Forrest ACT, the Church she loved, on 22 July 2020 followed In 1981, long before John died in 1994, June became a by cremation at Norwood Park. Her ashes will be interred at foundation member of the Defence Widows Support Group. Mullumbimby next to her mother Violet in November 2020. This group assists Defence widows whose husbands did not A Soldier of the Queen, now At Rest. Vale Diana Joan die due to war related causes and who therefore do not qualify Lobb MBE. for a War Widows’ Pension. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ June was quick to join the Duntroon Society soon after it Vale: June Healy (née Davidson) OAM, Fellow started in the early 1980s and soon became the WRAAC OCS of the Duntroon Society representative on the Society Council, a position she held until her health began to deteriorate. For her contributions to John (J.E.) Bullen (1958) the Society over a 30-year period, June was appointed a Fellow of the Society in 2016, an honour shared with only Brilliant, charming, glamorous, two other women – ‘Sister Cav’ (Clarice O’Callaghan) and feisty, fun and unforgettable. Grace Watson. These are words that have In 1990 June Healy was awarded the Medal of the Order already appeared in death notices of Australia for service to veterans. Her service included her for June Healy published activity as the Deputy National Secretary of the RSL from separately in Perth and in 1981 to 1992 when she became the National Secretary, an Canberra. They are all true, and appointment prematurely terminated by the serious illness many more may come to the minds of those who knew this and death of her husband John. lively, compassionate and capable woman well. When John died in 1994, June joined the War Widows' Born June Marie Davidson in June 1934, June became Guild of Australia, becoming its ACT President in 1995 and accustomed to responsibility at an early age, being the eldest then National President from 1998 to 2002. of five children. She went to Girdlestone Girls High School June’s energy throughout her entire adult life led her into in the heart of Perth and in 1951 she started with the West a diverse range of activities much too vast to be listed here, Australian newspaper where she worked for a decade. Joining but here are some of them. the CMF in 1954 June served in the Royal Australian Army Worked with Tampines Homes for Physically and Nursing Corps until signing up for the Regular Army by Mentally Disabled persons, and with Cheshire Homes for attending the WRAAC Officer Cadet School at Georges Muscular Dystrophy patients. Heights, Sydney, graduating in 1960. Employed in staff training for John P Young and The young Lieutenant Davidson soon made her mark. In Associates Management Consultants, for Condamine 1961 she attended a Quartermaster course at Canungra where Country Estate Brisbane, and for Village Cinemas she quickly teamed up with the mischievous and even Melbourne. younger Second Lieutenant Kevin ‘KT’ Graham (OCS Dec National President of the Council on the Ageing (COTA, 1958). Finding themselves in a serious minded class Australia). dominated by elderly warrant officers and equally aged newly Secretary of the Heart Foundation (ACT). commissioned quartermaster lieutenants, these two President of the Canberra Services Club. irreverently set about livening things up – achieving their mission handsomely. Sixty years later it’s hard to be sure who

29 Member of the International Disaster Emergency Committee of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid and Editor representative on the International Disaster Emergency Professor Mike (M.J.) Ryan (1980) Committee (IDEC). School of Engineering and IT Board member of the Ryder Cheshire World War UNSW Canberra Memorial Fund, the Life Education Centre, the Heart Northcott Drive CANBERRA ACT 2600 Foundation (ACT Division), and the ACTION Bus Advisory Telephone: (02) 6268 8200 Fax: (02) 6268 8443 Committee (ie Canberra’s bus network). E-mail: [email protected] Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Medical Ethics Associate Editors Committee, the Sir Edward Dunlop Medical Research Foundation (ACT), the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Colonel Ross (R.R.) Harding (Retd) (1948) Council (APAC), the Respite Care Task Group for Aged Care 37 Quandong St. O’CONNOR ACT 2602 Australia, and the Seniors Card Scheme Committee for the Telephone: (02) 6248 5494 ACT Government, E-mail: [email protected] June was active in many other benevolent activities, especially health and pharmaceutical, but the short list above Major General Chris (C.A.) Field serves to give an indication of the wide range of interests E-mail: [email protected] where June willingly contributed to the best of her ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ considerable ability. She was also an enthusiastic participant in all activities of the RMC 1956 graduating class, never missing an opportunity to promote the interests of the class. Great friend to many in the wider Duntroon community, June is sorely missed. In life she achieved a lot – and in real style!

Private June Davidson in the centre of a Nursing Corps group, Perth, 1950s ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Profile of Corps of Staff Cadets Current strength (17 March 2020) 407 First Class 208 Second Class 98 Third Class 101 Cambodia 1 Fiji 1 Malaysia 2 New Zealand 4 Pakistan 4 Papua New Guinea 12 Philippines 1 Qatar 2 Thailand 1 Tonga 3 Females 62 RAAF 10 Staff cadets with previous military service 43 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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