Radschool Association Magazine - Vol 31

Page 5

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Survey

Last issue we asked whether you would consider advising your child or children to join today’s RAAF. We didn’t get a lot of responses, only 38, and the result is split pretty well down the middle, 20 say YES, 18 say NO,  so I don’t think you can conclude much from that.

This time we’d like to know which TV channel news you watch. Everyone has a ‘favourite’ news channel, be it one of the commercial channels or the ABC or SBS.

TV news is a very personnel thing, people tend to watch the same news every night, for a lot of different reasons.

We’d love to know, please take a few minutes and fill in the Survey which you will find HERE

Remember, these surveys are 100% anonymous – when you participate in one we do not get any personal data from you, not your email address, not your name, nothing!

This, at left, is what is sent to us when you click the SUBMIT button.

Adverts from yore.

Here are a few more advertisements from Fred Thomason’s collection of Radio World magazines. These were all from the war years, and even though the world was at war, commerce continued on…

Remember, if you’re looking for any old radio equipment, Fred, who did two terms in the RAAF some time back, has a huge amount of stuff and his good wife has put her foot down, as wives do, and said “Fred, all that stuff has to go !!!!” so, to keep the peace, he’s only too willing to sell it all off cheap. If you want anything, give him a ring, there’s a fair chance he will have it.

Left, some of Fred’s collection of new valves, most still in their packets and right, Fred with one of his AVO’s which he’s also been directed to sell.

He's also got a Revox Stereo tape deck, one of the good ones that was used in radio stations – also up for grabs.  

And, if you’re a car buff and want to get into the vintage car game, Fred also has a 1954 Rover for sale. This one (below) has done only 95,000 miles and the motor runs as sweet as a nut.

You can contact him on 07 5422 0443.

I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.

Not far out of Kilcoy, Queensland, on the road to Jimna, is a small memorial to the 760 men of the 2/10 Australian Infantry Battalion who camped on the site in 1942. The memorial is the remaining chimney portion of a building that was part of a training camp during World War II

The Battalion, known as the Adelaide Rifles, was formed in November 1939 and sailed from Sydney in May 1940 and served in England during the Battle for Britain then moved to Egypt early in 1941 in support of the 9^th Division.

In March, 1942, after further service in Palestine and Syria, they returned to Australia and camped in an area above, which is called Sheep Station Creek, and which is not far from the neat little town of Kilcoy.

In early August of 1942, after enduring a Kilcoy winter, they moved to PNG and were part of the battle of Milne Bay which was the first defeat of the Japanese land forces in the war. The remnants of the battalion returned to Australia in March 1943 after losing 237 killed and 319 wounded.  The unit was disbanded on 29th January 1946.

This memorial was established by Mrs. Ruth Pratten and family (owners of the adjacent property) and residents of Kilcoy as a mark of the esteem in which the unit was held. It is maintained by the Kilcoy RSL.

Whenever you’re in the Kilcoy region, drop into the RSL (it’s open Wed, Fri and Sunday) and the lovely Lyn (right) will serve you a nice cold beer.

The Airline Sandwich.

We received the following story from a couple of people (no names, no pack drill), and while it’s a nice story, it seems it could be just that. It’s not new, it originated back in July 2008, and it looks like the place names in the story below have been altered from the original to “localise” it, but still, it’s a good read and the sentiments are fine. So here it is.

I was on the Perth to Sydney flight and put my carry-on in the overhead luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short snooze,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. 'Holsworthy. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan. After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that inflight refreshments were available for purchase. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a snack would help pass the time. As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his mate if he planned to buy anything. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sandwich. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base ' His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying anything.

I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.' Picking up several packets of sandwiches, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the toilet. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just outside the aircraft door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travellers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little....

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to "AUSTRALIA ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honour, and there are far too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

You can see the original version HERE

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