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AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION

VICTORIA

AIR TRAINING CORPS BRANCH

ABN 96 091 342 304

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT SECRTARY TREASURER

L. BELL H. TANK A. SYNHUR

43 Stenhouse Ave. 11 Paulette Crt . 16 Landscape Dve.

BROOKLYN BLACKBURN STH EAST DONCASTER

Vic. 3 012 Vic. 3130 Vic. 3109

(03) 9314 6223 (03) 9877 3424 (03) 9841 7680

VICE PRESIDENT DELEGATE

M. McBAIN J. MacDONALD

10 Frier Ave P O Box 663

RESERVOIR RINGWOOD

Vic. 3073 Vic. 3134

(03) 9470 1556 (03) 9870 1665

ISSUE NO. 20

AUGUST 2010

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ATTENTION ALL PAST & PRESENT ADULT MEMBERS

of the AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE CADETS

or the former

RAAF AIR TRAINING CORPS (AIRTC)

The AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION (Victorian Division)

has an AIR TRAINING CORPS BRANCH

which would be pleased to welcome you as a member.

As part of this proud Association with its long standing record of

service, our Branch consists of Veteran Air Crew and Ground Crew,

Past Cadets, Reservist Instructors and also a number of currently

Serving Members of the AAFC.

THE FUTURE OF THE BRANCH IS IN YOUR HANDS

For membership enquiries, please contact:

Laurie Bell - Branch President

43 Stonehouse Avenue

Brooklyn, 3012, Vic.

Tel: (03) 9314 6223 or 0412 505 887

Email: tiggerdel@optusnet.com.au

Or

Hugh Tank - Branch Secretary

11 Paulette Court

Blackburn South, 3130, Vic.

Tel: (03) 9877 3424

OVERHEAD RECENTLY AT AN AIR FORCE DINNER

An elderly retired ATC/AIRTC Officer (high rank too) was complaining how

his ‘Mess Kit’ had shrunk, and how he appeared to have acquired a wardrobe

cupboard ‘that shrinks clothes’!

The Editor upon reflection has realized that he too must have bought an inferior

shrinking wardrobe from the same nefarious furniture dealer. So to relieve the

stress he feels the need to go and have a good solid meal and another beer.

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THE EDITOR’S DILEMMA

Getting out a newsletter is no picnic.

If we print jokes, people say we are silly. If we don’t, they say we are too

serious.

If we clip things from other magazines, we are too lazy to write them

ourselves.

If we don’t, we get stuck with our own stuff.

If we don’t print every word of all our contributions we don’t appreciate

genius.

If we do print them the columns are filled with junk.

If we make a change in the other fellow’s article, we are too critical.

If we don’t, we are blamed for poor editing.

Now, as like as not, someone will say:

We swiped this from some other source; - We did.

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SOME MORE GREAT PHOTOS - TAKEN BY OUR MEMBER

DAVID STEER, EX AIR TRAINING CORPS AND AIRTC

INSTRUCTOR WITH NO 13 FLIGHT EDINBURGH, S.A.

RAAF BASE - EDINBURGH - SOUTH AUSTRALIA

PHOTOS TAKEN

1980

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DAVID, WE LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE OF YOUR GREAT SHOTS

RAAF BASE - EDINBURGH - SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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NOTEABLE QUOTESNOTEABLE QUOTES

‘The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve

forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not

forget.’

THOMAS SZASZ 1920

—————————

‘The enemies of Freedom do not argue; they

shout and they shoot’

DEAN Inge 1948

————————

‘A man may build himself a throne of bayonets,

but he cannot sit on it’

PHILOSOPHY OF PLOTINUS (QUOTED BY

BORIS YELTSIN AT THE TIME OF THE FAILED

MILITARY COUP IN RUSSIA AUG. 1991)

————————

‘Nuts’

GENERAL ANTHONY MCAULIFFE. REPLYING

TO THE GERMAN DEMAND FOR SURRENDER AT

BASTOGNE BELGIUM 22-12-1944.

————————

I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble, but not you

On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,

To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word

That looks like beard and sounds like bird,

And dead. Its said like bed, not bead

For goodness sake don’t call it “deed”!

Watch out for meat and great and threat

(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)

A moth is not a moth in mother

No both in bother, broth in brother,

And here is not a match for there

Nor dear and fear for bear and pair,

And then there’s dose and rose and lose

Just look them up - and goose and choose,

And cork and work and card and ward,

And font and front and word and sword,

And do and go and thwart and cart!

Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!

A dreadful language? Man alive.

I’d mastered it when I was five!

ORIGIN OF THE “LAST POST”

The Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in

military tradition which mark the phases of the day.

Where “Reveille” signalled the start of a soldier’s day,

the “Last Post” signalled its end . It is believed

originally to have been part of a more elaborate routine,

known in the British Army as “tattoo”, that had its

origins in the 17th century. During the evening, a duty

officer had to do the rounds of his unit’s position,

checking that the sentry posts were manned and

rounding up the off-duty soldiers and packing them off

to their beds or billets. He would be accompanied by

one or more musicians. The “first post” was sounded

when the duty officer started his rounds and, as the

party proceeded from post to post, a drum was played.

The drum beats told off-duty soldiers it was time to rest

- if the soldiers were billeted in a town, the beats told

them it was time to quit the pubs. “Tattoo” is a

derivation of “doe den tap toe”, Dutch for “turn off the

taps”, a call which is said to have followed the drum

beats in many a Dutch pub while English armies were

campaigning through Holland and Flanders in 1690s.

(It is also from this routine that American practice of

“taps” or “drum taps” originated.)

Another bugle call was sounded when the party

completed their rounds, when they reached the “last

post” this signalled the night sentries were alert at their

posts and gave one last warning to any soldiers still at

large that it was time to retire for the evening. “Last

Post” was incorporated into funeral and memorial

services as a final farewell and symbolises that the duty

of the dead is over and that they can rest in peace.

WORDS TO THE LAST POST Come home, come home! The Last Post is sounding for

you to hear.

All good soldiers know very well there is nothing to

fear while they do what is right, and forget all the

worries they have met in their duties through the year.

A soldier cannot always be great, but he can be a

gentleman and he can be a right good pal to his

comrades in his squad.

So all you soldiers listen to this—Deal fair by all and

you’ll never be amiss. Be brave! Be Just! Be Honest

and True Men.

Members should be aware of another version of the Last

Post and its history - the one that has been doing the rounds

is the American one and related to an incident during their

Civil War.

The Australian version can be viewed on the Royal Austra-

lian Army website-home page then to Identity, then History.

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408 SQUADRON AAFC 30TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER 12TH JUNE 2010

What a great night out, a wonderful dinner, great entertainment, everyone

decked out in their finery, superbly organised; even several members of the

original No 8 Flight Air Training Corps were in attendance.

This was an event 408 Squadron can justly be proud of.

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408 SQUADRON AAFC - CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

10 JUNE

1980

10 JUNE

2010

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THE DESTRUCTION OF THE

‘CENTURIAN TANK’ April Issue #16 and June Issue #18, 2010

Some articles published in our Newsletter bring forth much interest or curiosity, the

‘Centurian Tank’ was one such article.

The articles in both #16 and #18 were both partly correct and incorrect.

There were in fact two Tanks destroyed.

The first one was an American ‘General Grant’ WW11 tank, still on operational service with

the Australian Army. The second was a new Centurian Tank, being introduced into the

Aust. Army Circa 1956/57.

We have yet another angle on this ongoing saga which has produced so much interest to our

readers, and this time the final ‘correct’ account. Remember a number of our Branch

members did military service in the Army, so snippets of information have kept surfacing.

Our member Don Bergman, ex Army Commando Coy. and ex Vietnam Vet has , we

believe, the final true account of what happened.

“Yes there was a Centurian Tank destroyed ‘accidentally’, a new Tank, I think this was circa

1956/57.

At a graduation parade of the Melbourne University Regiment approximately 10 years ago,

Dr. Pennington, the Chancellor of the University related a story at the Parade.

As a young Lieutenant of the University Regiment he was the Platoon Commander of an

anti-tank platoon when the incident occurred.

Facts:

• Yes it was a CMF (Citizens Military Forces) Unit that destroyed the tank.

• The first tank wasn’t a Centurian that was destroyed, it was a WW11 American

‘General Grant’ tank! but still operational!

• The crew who abandoned the disabled tank were possibly regular army, in any event

they omitted to advise the Range Officer that the vehicle was left on the range. I

believe there may have been a Court Marshal over the incident.

• When Lieutenant Pennington’s anti-tank crew arrived for a practice shoot, the Range

Officer was asked “What can we shoot?”. He replied, “Anything you like.”

• The round fired did go through an open hatch and blew a hatch off the other side

destroying the tank in the process.

This armoured vehicle was on display at the Puckapunyal Tank Museum for some years, but

finally removed due to possible embarrassment by the Army.”

THANKS DON FOR THE CORRECT WIND-UP OF THIS STORY.

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FOND MEMORIES?

RAAF ASSOCIATION FUNCTION - POINT COOK

OFFICERS’ MESS ANNEX

BELIEVED TO

HAVE BEEN

TAKEN AT THE

ANNUAL

PILGRIMAGE

CIRCA 2008

ATC

BOYS

AND

GIRLS

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AIR FORCE GENERAL RESERVE BADGE

Following on from our article in the June 2010 Issue No 18 on the Air Force

General Reserve Badge, our member David Crickmore tells us:

“Yes the item on the Reserve Badge brought back memories. I still have my

set plus ATC and Reserve lapel badges. The Reserve Badge was, as you say,

the badge worn by the original AFC in WW1 - no I wasn’t there then, only

seems like it some days! The Reserve Badge was to be worn by ALL elements

of the RAAF Reserve - Active Reserve (the CAF), General Reserve - (ATC

members were attached to the General Reserve), University Air Squadrons and

RAAF National Service Trainees, of which I was one at Laverton.

The Active Reservists at 21 Squadron in particular, did not like the badges as

they considered themselves above the rest of the Reserve mobs, especially

those attached to the ATC, so they took them off.

It suited us in the General Reserve for when we went into camp particularly,

we were not seen as a “Week End Warrior” but doing something of use with

our work with the cadets. We got all the help we needed around the bases on

which we attended for camps of all sorts just by being identified by the

triangular badge, especially at Laverton where 21 Squadron was based.

Over time the badge was removed and from memory I think the last time I

wore it was when the new all seasons uniform came into use.”

‘NATIONAL SERVICE’

As the 60th Anniversary of National Service is to be celebrated in Canberra in

September this year, we thought it fitting that much of our September

Newsletter Issue No 21, should be devoted to the story of ‘NATIONAL

SERVICE’

Many AAFC Cadets might well ask ‘What was National Service’?

There were two National Service Schemes, both were brought into being by

Australian Governments of the day to partially train young men for combat

(Navy, Army, Air Force), during times of perceived threat to the Nation.

Many in the second scheme went to Vietnam.

Will it happen again?

Read all about it in our next Issue.

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401 AAFC SQUADRON - SURREY HILLS

OUR MEMBER ALBERT LINDNER AND SOME OF HIS CREW

THIS IS NOT A FAKE SHOT

Just one of those rare lucky shots

Taken by a friend of our member Hugh Tank

‘somewhere in New Zealand’

BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN AT AN ECUMENICAL CHURCH PARADE

1ST APRIL 2007

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MORE ON THE AVRO 707A EXPERIMENTAL PLANE SHOWN ON PAGE 13, JULY ISSUE #19

Just to hand some further info on this Experimental Jet, from our member

David Crickmore, Qld.

“The latest issue brought back some memories. Firstly, the aircraft on page 13

is an AVRO 707A, which was a British experimental delta wing aircraft, used

by the RAAF Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) which was

based at Laverton before it moved to RAAF Edinburgh. From memory the

aircraft, of which there was only one, is housed at the RAAF Museum at PCK.

ARDU had the first 2 hangars up from the old Parade Ground in Tangamere

Road. There was a very wobbly Air Traffic Control tower before they built the

new one down past 1AD and the Central Stores building.

The article on the Catalina is interesting. One of the locals here in Hervey Bay

was a regular ferry pilot from USA to AUST for the delivery of the Catalinas.

As well, one of our former members Stan Taylor - great article in Barry

Videon’s book on Stan - who stayed with Anne and us several times on their

way down to visit family in QLD. He flew a modified Catalina for many years

out of Townsville. The aircraft was fitted out with electro magnetic gear for

mineral surveys. I am quite sure that Anne Taylor would be able to confirm

more on this.

The item on the “crash land” of the Dakota brings back memories! I was the

Adjutant of the ATC General Service Training Camp at East Sale at the time of

the incident. The CO of the Victorian Squadron was FLTLT Hatton and the

only time I ever spoke to him was when he phoned ESL to say the aircraft

carrying the cadets had crashed! What a phone call. East Sale Ops called to

say the same thing, but at least they told us that all was well and the cadets and

crew were all well looked after by the locals. From memory the cadets were

from 23 Flight at Mildura hence the drabs. One of the cadets had finally

persuaded his mother to sign the Consent to Fly form which used to be at the

back of the little Blue Cadet’s Record of Service book which they all carried

with them. And on his first flight it happened! He was very proud of the fact.

After the fuss the cadets were picked up by RAAF buses from East Sale and

driven up to the Camp. The aircraft was from the RAAF Aircraft Research and

Development Unit (ARDU) at Laverton. ARDU used to provide aircraft for a

variety of ATC activities, one was when in May 1965 I took 3 staff and 42

cadets to the Army Barracks at Brighton in Tasmania for a GST.”

Further interesting technical information from our member Peter Colliver

will appear in our October Edition, September being entirely devoted to

‘National Service.’

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!!1st FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

BRANCH LUNCHES!!

Each month the ATC/AAFC Branch holds an

‘informal’ lunch on this 1st Friday of each month.

All members of the Air Training Corps, and retired AIRTC

and AAFC cadets and staff, or serving staff are

cordially invited to attend these enjoyable lunches.

The venue is the Box Hill R.S.L. at 26 Nelson Road,

Box Hill (plenty of parking); and the crew meet

at the entrance lounge at 12 noon.

LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE.

WELFARE:

For all Branch Welfare matters contact Hugh on:

(03) 9877 3424

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EDITORIAL:

For Editorial comments, etc., contact:

Hugh Tank

11 Paulette Court

Blackburn South Vic 3130

(03) 9877 3424

OR

Laurie Bell on

tiggerdel@optusnet.com.au