Radschool Association Magazine - Vol 29

Page 19

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Your Say!

Brian Johnston, and others, wrote,  “Sirs, I take exception to Ted McEvoy stating in Vol 28 that the game of football they play in Melbourne in a proper game. How could the man be so narrow minded, bigoted, insular and wrong all at the same time. He must have been a Radtech. Everyone, without exception, knows that ARL is the best game of all. I hope he reads this and is suitably chastised”.

We’re with you Brian – sometimes he just gets right out of hand – tb

136RTC.

Peter Nelms wrote, “I saw the story about Dee Gibbon seeking information about the first woman through Radschool (I'm assuming techo, because there were female comms ops, sigs ops, etc). I was the 'course mother' for the first course to have a female (see photo below). The photo was taken on 11 Aug 1980 and the course was 136 RTC

It did cause a few issues with her being the first - eg the guys used to get together in the block and help each other with their homework but she was stuck down in the WRAAFery.  We ended up getting a common room in the WRAAFery where the guys could go and work with her. (Hell – why didn’t we think of that – tb)

The memory isn't the sharpest now, but I think her name was Vicki Sewell. I do recall she was posted to Amberley, as a Radtech "A", after graduation. I also remember that the second female to go through, not long after, was killed in a motorcycle accident not long before graduation”.

(Does anyone know where Vicki Sewell is today?  - tb)

Peter Forster would like to know the date that Jeffry Lenden 'Curly' King died and also the cause of death. Curly was a Cpl Radtech with 35 Sqn in Vietnam from Dec 1966 to Dec 1967. Can anyone help??

Howie Campbell wrote, “Many thanks for your wonderful magazine. Good to see some of our WRAAF Radar girls' photos (I agree, but we need more – tb). I will be attending the 50th anniversary reunion of the formation of No 2 Control & Reporting Unit at LEE POINT (RAAF Darwin) at Darwin commencing on 19th September to the 27th September 2009. There are around 160 acceptances so far, and it will be good to catch up with many old friends. I was part of a group of Aircraft Plotters who helped open this unit in 1961 in time for the first post WW2  WRAAFS  to arrive in Darwin. Keep up all your good work.

Thanks Howie, don’t forget to take your camera with you, and get a bunch of photos of the girls for us – tb

Wilf Hardy wrote, he says:  “I'm very impressed with your newsletter and I think you must have a wealth of content, which is always a bugbear with these publications i.e. getting enough of it.

I joined in '55 straight from school as an adult trainee, talked into being a radio tech by the recruiting officer as I had a NSW Leaving Certificate. Course 360 Rookies at Richmond was followed by 3 months at RSTT Wagga filing a piece of mild steel perfectly square, then 15 months in the coldest hole in the world - Ballarat.

After Ballarat, I did a year at Home Command Glenbrook working at the HF transmitting station at Londonderry and the underground HF receiving station at Marsden Park. I applied for the Strategic Reserve and got a 3 month heavy radar conversion course at 1CARU Brookvale, thence briefly to Dubbo where the newly arrived equipment had been set up to test it before deployment to Butterworth.

Keep up the good work mate. You don't get much content from my era for the newsletter, which probably indicated that there arn't many of us left!

Regards,

Ian Nicholson wrote:  Thanks for your great magazine, I’ve only recently found it and have spent many hours reading back issues. I find Sam Houliston’s computer tips very useful, congrats to him. Keep up the good work the lot of you……

Tony Semler, Ex-FSGT Rad Tech G, says:  I never knew Bruce Gluyas, but, on reading his daughter’s story, and living here in South Australia, I thought maybe I could help her in some small way.

The other day I had to go north from Adelaide and dropped in to the cemetery in Kadina where Bruce is buried. The place is a credit to the town and the community in that it is so neat and well kept.  They obviously take pride in their ancestors and any others interred there.

I have included two photographs of Bruce’s grave and headstone. They are for you or the family to do with as they please.  

And Gareth Davis wrote: In Vol 28, there was a request for info on Bruce Gluyas who passed away some years ago. I was a Sgt Rad Tech (Ground) and Bruce (A21308) arrived in Vung Tau with me on 12th June 1966 as a Sgt Telegraphist with the first contingent of Base Support Flight.  There was a requirement for one Telegraphist and one Rad Tech to be based at Nui Dat and Bruce with Bill Dixon volunteered to go to Nui Dat for what was supposed to be a 3 month rotation.  They got so used to the Nui Dat life (no other RAAF and a law to themselves) that they stayed for the whole 12 months.  Bruce had particular skills in cultivating the right people, such as the army engineers who made ice, so he never suffered from having warm beer.  If Bill Dixon is still around, and can be located through this magazine, I am sure he would have lots of tales to tell.  (Are you out there Bill?? - tb)

Laurie Lindsay says, “It was great to hear from Wally Jolly (I will go to booze to do the Charleville change because it will keep me off the engine – hic!!), however I must make comment on some of his outlandish and libellous assertions.

My family and I lived in the flats on the second floor that overlooked the swimming pool.  One evening, my (then) wife looked over towards 38 Squadron’s block and saw flares going from one end of the balcony to the other.  As they got to the end of the balcony, there came screams of pain and the flares dropped to the ground.  She asked me what was happening and when I explained to her about faggot racing, she refused to believe that grown men could be that stupid.  I was not introduced to faggot racing by 38 Squadron.  I can recall one morning outside a lodge at Falls Creek seeing little dobs of ash in the snow, where members of the officer class were faggot racing on skis the night before.

One afternoon, over at Ma’s I was brutally assaulted by a gang of thugs led by Les Watts.  I can remember being on the ground, in uniform, amongst the dirt and the booze with one arm up over the bar rail.  Trevor Fuller was leaning on my arm, such that every time I tried to move, he twisted his body and nearly dislocated my shoulder.  At this stage, Les Watts sat on my chest and cut off half my moustache with a pair of nail scissors.

Les was always jealous of my moustache and my obvious ability with the fair sex. One evening, on our way back from TPNG, we were in a bar in Townsville and I was engaged in an intense conversation with an Ansett hostie.  The conversation went something like this:

Hostie: “The study of meteorology is part of our training.”

Me: (gazing intently into her eyes): “How interesting, I didn’t know that.”

Les: “Yeah, that’s so you know when to come in out of the rain.”

Consequently, with Les’s help, I slept alone that night.

Peter Higham was in charge of Electrical Section and he wanted to get into a training role, so off he went to Wagga on an instructional technique course.  When he returned, he found out that there was detachment going off to Kalumburu.  Pete nagged Tiny Ashbrook to let him go and Tiny relented.  On the Friday before Peter was due to leave, I received a phone call from Joan Higham and she abused me for around five minutes for sending her husband away again, when he had only just returned from six weeks in Wagga.  I can just see Pete sitting on the couch with a forlorn look on his face, p***ing himself laughing on the inside, as I took all the flak and he came out smelling of roses.

PS.  We showed the mention above of Peter Higham's trip to John Broughton, he also tells a story. John was a Cpl at 38 Sqn radio at the same time that Laurie was the chief, and he (John) had just returned to work after getting married. The minute he walked into the section he said "that bastard" Lyndsay called me into his office and gleefully sent me to bloody PNG for two weeks - I can tell you the new Mrs Broughton was not impressed with Officer Lyndsay!!!  tb

Badges Query

We heard from Mark Taylor who lives in the ACT and who said, “I am a badge collector and former serving officer in the Australian Army and I am particularly interested in Australia’s veterans’ associations clubs, as well as the preservation of our whole Australian history more generally.

I was wondering if you would have any association, member or special event/commemorations badges or pins – past or present – promoting your association that you or any of your members could send to me and add to my collection?  Please note, I am not a dealer and will not be selling any of the items on e-bay”.

If you can help Mark, you can contact him via email at marksand@grapevine.com.au or you can ring him on (02) 6257 8458

Dan Horsfall wrote, he says: “G'day Folks,  I see Kevin Harrington in WA is listed as a member and Ian Champion in Victoria is too, please forward my email and phone number on to them as I would like to have a chat and catch up. Love the magazine and thanks for all your efforts.  I have mentioned it to a few ex RadTechs where I work, hopefully they will join. When I retire to the Geelong area in a couple of years I will try and catch up with the guys I spent time with over my 9 years in the RAAF.  It would be good if you had an option for members to list their email address in the listing of members should they desire.  Thanks again”!!

Dan, we’ve looked at that and a few other ways of helping blokes and blokettes get in touch with each other and we feel all it would do is introduce another variable into the system. It would also provide web crawlers with a bunch of email addresses they could add to their ever growing SPAM lists, which would mean those displaying their email addresses would start to get SPAM from far and wide – as does the Radschool email address now. As it is, provided you join the association, we have your email address and we’ll display your name only in the list of names. Then, all anyone has to do if they wish to get in touch with someone is write to us (as you did) and ask us to forward their contact details onto the person they are looking for. (See our Privacy Policy).  tb.

Peter Atkins wrote, Gday.. just flicking through the magazine.  Firstly, I was at rad school in 1967 with some doubtful characters, I remember Jim Dickson, “Shorty" Bowden, Mike Kelly, but I didn’t quite make it, so I remustered to Air Defence but I always kept in contact with some of my old tech mates. Re the photo of the plotter girls in your magazine Vol28, I recognise quite a few of the girls, I think it was taken at RAAF Brookvale sometime around 1969 or 70, I wish I could put a name to the faces, but I can only give you one and that is Dale Osborne, who is 5^th from the left, in the back row. I served with her in Brookvale and Willytown.

Peter thinks the photo would have been taken at one of the 2 "WRAAF" houses at Brookvale, he says:  "I would guess "Bluegum" by the mural on the wall. Anyway, kindest regards and hope that has been of help.  The memory fades after so many years.  I didn’t know it then but my "near tech" experience would be invaluable in later life working in Systems Engineering." 

Ray Miles, and old Telstech//Radtech G//CETECH, wrote, I have recently returned from some full time reserve work again (they keep chasing me!) and missed your last survey. I am the very happy owner of a 2008 Ford Territory (dual fuel) - my first Ford (proudly Aussie - at least about as Aussie as you can get with a car!).  You are probably quite aware of this, but further to the rise in sea level: 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

"The United Nations 1990 Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) study presents the extent of soil degradation in the world. Nearly one sixth of the world's vegetated area has suffered some degree of degradation during the last 50 years. More than three quarters of this degradation is caused by agriculture and livestock production or by converting forest to crop-land.

The degradation processes are diverse: salinisation and water logging on poorly managed irrigated lands; compaction caused by the use of heavy machinery; and pollution from the excessive application of pesticides or manure. But erosion is by far the most common type of land degradation accounting for 84 percent of affected areas, according to the cited study."

We know that wind and rain erosion is moving a lot of material into the seas and wave action is eroding the coastlines into the seas. This has to have a raising effect on the sea level. As quoted above, human activity is exacerbating this rate of transfer, countered a little by the effects of damming rivers, etc. We also know that land masses are gradually rising and falling (presumably under the sea as well) and this adds a further variable complication to the mix.

There is certainly a lot of interesting information out there, and if one is prepared to look at it objectively, I can't see much of a case for carbon emission driven global warming - nor can some climatology scientists.

I am an amateur in the science of climatology, but it would seem to me that the earth possesses a self limiting mechanism. More than 70% of the earth's surface is water, so if the temperature rises I would expect more water to evaporate and form more clouds, which would reduce the heat of the sun (while to some extent keeping the warmth in!). I note that scientists expect that with warming, more ice will melt, but also for more snow to fall, and they don't know which will be greater! Speaking of the sun, there is strong evidence that its output is not constant and seems to have been significantly higher (sunspots, etc) for some centuries from around 1400 and earlier. If anything is likely to have an impact on our climate, the sun certainly is. (I know what you're thinking Frank!! - tb)

Cheers mate, keep up the good work,

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