Magazine of the Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association (December 2017 Edition) TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor’s “Stand in the Door.” RLIRA Chairman’s Message Patron’s Year End Address CEO Report Sad Farewells’ New Boots on the Ground Tribute to Lt. Col CW Aust MLM Africa Branch- Reports UK Branch Report Australia Branch Report Blasts from the Past Cheetahs from Days of Yore Fire Force - Rh Airforce Perspective The Manne Speak “Stand in the Door.” Editor in Chief Jimmy Swan We all salute one of our amazing leaders. Lt Col C Aust who passed recently and know he will RIP. What an innings Sir! Thanks to all who made the effort to be at his service and know those who could not be there share my respect and condolences to the family. What a great way to end 2017 with some of these great stories included in this magazine. Our area Chairman’s and Committees, members and wives, what incredible effort you all make to keeping our unit and units of others less active, alive and we all remain proud as vets and Rhodesians. Well done RLI! Thanks to Martyn, Dave and team who keep our museum and Troopie pristine. This is such an important part of the RLI and its memories. On the home front, we have had to return to the old Flame Lily now named Australian Adventure Park and give it another go. See web and FB C:\Users\Jimmy\Desktop\RLI CHEETAH MAG\Dec 2017\www.australianadventurepark.com.au http://www.australianadventurepark.com/. We continue to run the Z Special Commando Tours on Fraser Island and now represent the P+O ships docking so some positive response. https://www.zspecialunittours.com/ What a fantastic experience to jump out of a C17 Cargo plane (est. 76 tons pay load compared 20 tons of C130) out of Waverly Air force Base and into Ramblers near Brisbane with CSM Bill Cochrane, RLI Hon Life Member and close friend to us and to the RLI. Talk about huge. Congrats to Keith Blanchard for going airborne and completing his A License and believe more. I feel honored to understand I helped inspire this. May you and your families all have a wonderful Xmas and all the best for 2018? Be Safe! CHAIRMANS MESSAGE Greetings to you All As I sat down to write this message for Cheetah, I received the sad news of the passing of our popular Commanding Officer, Lt Col Charlie Aust MLM. All our thoughts go out to Pam and her children at this sad time. He will always be remembered with respect and affection. The Association is still surging ahead, and it is good to see the South African Branch are now over 500 Members, which is good news, the UK/Europe Branch is around 400, and the Australian Branch over 100, with a scattering of members elsewhere around the world. Martyn Hudson, the founder of the UK/Europe Branch has gone into semi-retirement in Lincolnshire and has stood down as UK Chairman and Museum Curator. I would like to thank him most sincerely for all his outstanding efforts over the last 11 years. He formed the UK Branch, rescued The Trooper Statue, Colours and other Memorabilia from the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM) and despite ill health organised the superb Rededication of The Trooper and Laying Up of our Queens Colours in Hatfield House. He then went on to create our splendid Museum in Bedford. He really deserves a huge vote of thanks from everyone for his sterling efforts to “Preserve our Heritage”. Thank you to Martyn for a job well done. I wish his successor as UK/Europe Chairman, David Roberts, and all the best in continuing the momentum in the UK. In respect of the Museum it is looking good and the rent is now paid up until 2020. David Roberts and his son have been digitalising all the group photos of Commandos, Sports teams, Messes etc., some of which were starting to fade anyway. They are now going to be displayed on two flat screen TV’s in the Museum. It has been decided to close the Museum for the UK Winter, as it rarely has any visitors and also it will give us chance to find a new Curator. So, it was closed on 1 September and will reopen on 1 April 2018(It will of course be opened if any Branch Function is held in Bedford, like Remembrance Day). During this time it is hoped to create a small section within the Museum, remembering Rhodesian civilians who contributed to the war, Troops canteens, Agric alert, etc. When it reopens the UK Committee are looking to having a regular opening time once a month, with a committee member in attendance, rather than the ad hoc arrangement of being open on request when Martyn lived in Bedford. This will enable people wanting to visit from UK and abroad to plan their programme. Once finalised Museum Opening times will be published on the web site, before the reopening. You can all be assured that the Museum is still in good hands and will continue to be so until the end of 2020, when we will have to make a decision on its future. Apologies for being so ‘long winded’ about the Museum, but it is essential that all members know, it is still there, still in good condition, and is only closing for the UK Winter. I take this opportunity to wish all members and their families a very Happy Christmas and all the best for 2018. May the Saints keep marching on Ian Buttenshaw Chairman RLIRA PATRONS-CHRISTMAS MESSAGE “Yet another year has flown by. Where has time gone? 2017 has been a busy year for the association and has witnessed changes in leadership in Australia and the UK. I am ever grateful to our committees for the willing work they do to keep the flame alive. We are all in good hands and long may it continue. Thanks to all our members for your wonderful support and in particular the magnificent generosity towards welfare demands. As you know the needs of those who find themselves in difficult positions due to ill health or lack of job opportunities has increased. The fact that we have kept abreast of demands has been a remarkable achievement. Rest assured that no one of our ouens will be left to starve. It has also been a year of sadness with many of our members passing to higher service. Here I pay tribute to the late great Lt Col Charlie Aust and pass our deepest sympathy to the Pam and family. This wonderful leader and soldier will be sorely missed. I had the opportunity to visit Perth during the year and tried to get together with our newest branch. Unfortunately the heavens opened on the day and we were unable to move due to flooded roads. We did manage to meet with Dawn and Phil Losper, Dawn is doing a great job in establishing this branch and deserves our highest praise. To all our brave men and women, have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a fantastic and healthy 2918. Our best wishes The Saints keep marching on” Ian & Alannah Bate CEO REPORT As I give thought to the Associations development in this 56th year since the birth of the Battalion we need also to remember the RLI Regimental Association celebrates our 50th Anniversary in 2018. Over the past ten years or so there has been remarkable growth of the Association worldwide. It is only a few years (2020) now to the celebration of that all too important 60th Regimental Birthday and it is my sincerest wish and hope that we all will make it. This edition is a bumper edition with a special emphasis on our late Sunray Charlie Aust. Thank you to all that submitted material and for all the branches submitting reports. In some instances not all the photographs could be used as they would make the final magazine difficult to manage. The magazine does take up a lot of bandwidth so to print this will fell a forest of trees. Rather save to your PC and read at leisure. A copy will always be available from the website NEWS page. Of course as we go to press we mourn the sad loss of our ex Sunray Lt Col JW Aust and a tribute to our once leader is the theme of this edition. A thoughtful photographer focused on the faces and some of these photographs appear in the tribute. I would like to thank Jimmy Swan for stepping forward eighteen months ago to be the editor. Jimmy has now completed his ‘contract’ and takes a break. The editor’s post is now vacant and as I was unsuccessful in finding a replacement I will take on the task for the time being. Below appears some report back on a number of the events I attended in this last reporting period. 16 July 2017 – Transvaal Scottish Memorial-Johannesburg Delville Wood Remembrance Service This is an annual event by invitation of the President of the SA Legion and we usually only see a handful of members turning up. Richard Haye carried the Association Standard on the March this year Cenotaph-The View Parktown Johannesburg Patrons Day and Operation Uric Remembered 2 September 2017 – Garden of Remembrance-Dickie Fritz Shellhole-Johannesburg I was privileged to attend this important event in the Africa Branch calendar and to lay the wreath on the behalf of the RLI Association.