Anzac Day; Lest we forget. Fathers, Uncles etc

[Pinky the pilot]

It is only a few days until Anzac Day, and I have often wondered just how many fellow Ppruners have Fathers, Uncles, Brothers etc who have served or indeed have themselves served Australia in the Armed Forces in time of conflict.
Here is my own Hero!:ok: :ok: 39814 Baum; Ronald Wilhelm. Sgt Pilot 461 SQN RAAF Born 3-4-1921. Died 28-5-1992.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/Pinkythepilot/LloydBaum5new2.jpg
Ron flying an Avro Anson
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/Pinkythepilot/LloydBaum4new1.jpg


He was my Dad, and I miss him!!

[slackie]

Funny you should ask...am in Turkey as we speak/type....took a 2 day tour of Gallipoli...found a relative on the memorial at Chunuk Bair would died there on 8th August 1915 - 50 years to the day later I was born...that makes me.....OLD!!

[Chimbu chuckles]

http://www.fototime.com/{2CAD2ABE-3D14-489E-AED3-BE0E5C47D300}/picture.JPG

Late 1958/59ish, Malayan Emergency, RAF Tengah, 1 Sqdn RAAF.

Spoke to him yesterday...still in rude health.:ok:

[pakeha-boy]

Ces Taggert....New Zealand 2nd Infantry Battallion/North Africa..Hastings RSA member.

My uncle,a good Bugger,and a proud kiwi....and a very proud man...

[here skip]

One of the most memorable events of my short life was visiting the Isurava memorial in PNG.
The only time I've ever seen my dad cry at dawn service at the shrine of remembrance in Melbourne on ANZAC Day (he served national service and my grandfater WW2).

[Torres]

CPO ERA Fulton, Robert Andrew H1415 (RAN) 1908 - 1984

HMAS Swan 1939 - 1945 Pacific and Asian campaign. PNG, Solomons, Indonesia. First air raid on Darwin.

My Dad, a wonderful guy. I still miss him.

[Ultralights]

My grandfather was an RAAF Instructor starting off instructing in Tigers at NArranderra ,from 1941, then instructed in Wirraways, Airspeed Oxfords, Fairey Battles, Avro Ansons,

Units were
No 4ITS 9-1941/12-1941
No 11 EFTS 12-1941/2-1942
No 2 ED 2-1942/3-1942
No 5 SFTS 3-1942/9-1942
No 3 BAGS 9-1942
CFS Tamworth 9-1942/12-1944
No 8 EFTS
No 6 SFTS
GRS.

then instructed as a civie with Illawarra at YSBK to 1966


Unfortunatly he passed away 1 day after my Birth....:(
hence i have his name! :ok:

[Launchpad McQuack]

Leading Seaman Arthur Birch 1923 - 2003

Royal Navy Gunner 1939 - 1945, various decorations.

Once opened fire at what he thought was a Jap bomber with escorts over Calcutta one day...the whole harbour defense promptly followed suit...turned out it was Lord Louis Mountbatten in his C-47, who was introduced to my grandfather and rewarded his excellent shooting (?!) with a new uniform to replace the worn outfit he was wearing....

Spent most of that time fighting the Japs in Burma etc, was also the RN lightweight boxing champ for a few years. I miss my Grandad and that cockney accent dearly, will be at the local dawn parade for the first time without him this year.

He went to his grave angry that developed societies (Germany, Aussie, NZ, North America etc etc) were being held accountable for sins of the past (colonisation, holocaust etc) yet the Japanese continue to disregard their atrocities durng WWII. He saw a lot of nasty stuff when he was posted on landing craft that went up the jungle rivers.

Hope those who can make it will attend their local dawn service as well....

[kookabat]

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee27/kookabat/Bomber%20Command/jack1.jpg
AUS412686 W/O RW 'Jack' Purcell. My grandfather's uncle.
Jack was navigating a 467 Sq Lancaster bomber over Lille in May 1944 when it went missing. All on board but the pilot were KIA. Jack was 22 at the time of his death.

We hold Jack's logbook and service medals - the latter of which I will be proudly marching with in Sydney on Wednesday.

[The Voice]

My grandfather bless him passed away last year at the age of 93. He remembered with great fondness the many men and women he met whilst he served this country albeit from these shores.

He learnt his trade (building and construction) whilst serving in and around Queensland, building, constructing and maintaining many of the barracks that today are utilised by those currently in the services.

He lamented that he didn't see service overseas, however this didn't diminish his pride in having participated in some small way.

On the other hand, lets not forget those who are presently overseas in some capacity or other upholding those traditions that began before their time.

My thoughts are with them and their families.

My time as an anxious wife is about to begin.

Lest we forget.

[Captain Nomad]

Have one great-grandfather on my mum's side who was a medic in Gallipoli and worked along-side the famous Simpson. He was apparently in the tent when Simpson came in announcing that a whole battalion was down (his donkey had gone missing). He took a bullet in the groin - removed from the butt and survived - keeping the offending bullet for future generations...

On Dad's side I have my great-grandmother's brother (Uncle George) who owned one of the biggest car mechanic workshops in Brisbane and was an early PPL with his own private plane (Gypsy Moth?). He was devastated that his eyes were not good enough to let him in into the Air Force during the war.

Another great Uncle was the decorated Colin Bowden (recently passed away August last year and honoured with a RAAF funeral). He was decorated for his role as a pilot with the famous Dam Busters raid among other successful missions.

And last of all my dear Granddad who was an A1 fitter and turner on Catalina flying boats at the Rathmines base during the war after serving time at Temora with Tigers and other machines. Some of his stories really should be written down...

Lest we forget...

[gaunty]

Ah well 'tis that time again and dad (Lancasters, Dresden et al) and his best mate still, RAN (ex the Sydney before its last voyage and he's still not quite right), will have a few quiet ones with their surviving mates after the local dawn service and get on with it the day after.

60 years on its still a very private memory for them and, will most likely remain so to their graves. It's what you did then, sorted it, came home and got on with it.

It's not surprising that the most precious things in their lives are their wives, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Lest we forget.

[Old 'Un]

Another year has rolled by and again we contemplate the significance of ANZAC Day.

To those who still proudly march, albeit some more slowly than before, I stand and bow to honour you;

To those no longer with us, such as my Dad, I look at your marching comrades and I still see you amongst them;

To those who never came back, I close my eyes and say a silent prayer of thanks for your sacrifice.

"Lest we forget."

Captain Nomad raises an interesting insight when he says "Some of his stories really should be written down...". May I commend to you that even sitting down with your ANZAC and recording his/her story (on tape or digital audio file, whatever) is a priceless way of keeping these stories in perpetuity. I know in NZ, the National Sound Archive has many of these 'aural histories' and they are an extremely valuable resource. I suggest you contact your local RSA/RSL to see if any arrangement has been made to hold copies of these audio files anywhere. It's too late when the sentence starts "I wish I had..."

Le Vieux

[bushy]

My uncle was killed in the uk, flying a beaufighter, during WW2. He had an engine failure at night.
I have studied some books about beaufighters, and find it had a vmca of 170 knots. Crews often bailed out if they lost an engine.
Those boys certainly did not have it easy. They have my respect.

[gaunty]

bushy mate

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I seem to recall the Vmca of the English Electric Canberra was similar. Ditto respect.

[haughtney1]

Grandfather (on my Dad's side)
Left NZ shores in October 1938 on a short service commission to join the RAF as an airframe apprentice. When he arrived to cold wintry dockside in Portsmouth early December 1938 he found that they had enough airframe apprentices, so he was "informed" that he could opt to become aircrew.
Not having finished his 5th form he joined as a pilot cadet into the RAF as a sergeant.
By June of 1940 he had completed his conversion training and was posted to No 54 (spitfire) squadron, Hornchurch, 11 group fighter command where he joined a mix of Poms, Ozzies, and a couple of New Zealanders with whom he served with great courage throughout that turbulent summer.
Along the way he was shot up a couple of times, and was shot down and slightly wounded once. On the plus side of the ledger, he claimed 2 BF110 destroyed, 1 Ju87 destroyed, 1/2 Bf109.
He had also achieved the rank of Pilot Officer, and was a section leader before he was rested in the early stages of 1941, and sent to a sleepy back water in the Mediterranean for some much needed R & R to help him overcome health problems bought on by high levels of stress and the UK's cold and damp climate.
That sleepy little place was a small Island called Malta.
Trouble seemed to follow him around, as it seemed that as soon as he arrived the Germans bolstered by Italian forces decided that they needed to bomb Malta out of existence.
Over the next 2 years he flew with a mixture of units, and a mixture of Spitfire V's, and Hurricane 11B's, he even did a circuit in one of the original Gloster Gladiators as bet with one of his squadron mates.
After the invasion of Sicily he was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader, transferred to the RNZAF and posted to Ohakea.
It was here in 1945 that he spent the rest of his service days training new fighter pilots before being demobbed.
He returned back to the Waikato, where he went back to work on the family dairy farm.
To the best of my knowledge he never flew on-board any aircraft of any description ever again.
He passed away in his comfy chair after watching a particularly poor performance put on by the Auckland Blues in 1993.
These guys gave their youth so that we may be free.
Lest we forget.

[Hugh Jarse]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0049.jpg
Dad and his Step Brother going to join up - Sydney 1941. He was 16.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0045.jpg
He fought the Japs in New Guinea. His unit caught these blokes...

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0047.jpg
Miya Jima 21 Mar 46. After he transferred to the BCOF in the aftermath of THIS:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/hir_10.jpghttp://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/hir_06.jpg

He fought his demons for many years after, until his passing in 2004.

Lest we forget.

[Brian Abraham]

Dad was working in the Burns Philp office in Salamaua when war broke out. He then became part of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, a 480 strong force of untrained civilians who comprised the only armed force standing against the Japanese from January til May '42 when the Kanga Force arrived at Wau. He later went to the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit. Served in New Guinea from the day it started to the day it ended, save for two weeks in '43 when he came home and married. Mum also worked in the Salamaua office at the time and was evacuated to Australia.
Brother KIA Vietnam 6th July 69 9RAR
Self Vietnam 70-71 RANHFV
Father in Law and Mum's Brother both 2/10 Battalion at Milne Bay and Shaggy Ridge.
Bushy - for info from the manual - Beaufighter (Merlins)
At take off power safety speed 160 mph IAS
ENGINE FAILURE IN FLIGHT
Prop full coarse (no feathering available)
On one engine at a weight of 20,400 lbs height can be maintained at cruising boost and rpm and rudder control is adequate down to about 125 mph IAS. For continuous flight on one engine speed should be about 140 mph IAS
The difficulties they may have had may be due to inability to reduce drag by way of coarse pitch perhaps eg loss of oil, siezed engine.

[gaunty]

haughtney1 old chap:ok:

To the best of my knowledge he never flew on-board any aircraft of any description ever again. is a consistently recurring theme amongst ex WW11 flyers of my experience.

Took my father for his first flight (and only one with me) after WW11 in the mid eighties having been myself a pilot with a raft of aircraft (and encouraged by him to be so) around me since the mid sixties. Subsequently mid nineties a dozen or so assorted international and national flights mostly to see children and grandies. It is only now that he has been retired and lives with the love of his life in a RAAFA Estate that I he lets drop bits and pieces. They'd all rather argues abnout the footy, except on Anzac Day when they all gather round the Community Hall bar and argue about the Anzac Day Footy match.

Another mate of his our next door neighbour, SQDN LDR DFC, Spitfires, Kittyhawks et al Britain, New Guinea and so on, flew with Bluey Trsucott, NEVER set foot in an aircraft ever again. As a child and interested in aviation he have me his No 1's Battledress. It lies with him now.

As a baby boomer, my male primary school teachers and some females, were fresh, (5-6 years) out the services or POW camps, German, Changi, Sandakan, Burmah and so on. One very famous coastwatcher in the islands Stan Carrol who must hace worked with worked with Jack Sue of Z Force had his son my class mate at the same school. Schoolyard Anzac Day services around Australia for mine and the next few generations had a special meaning for us then as now. The ex POWs all died much younger than they should have.

[tinpis]

Lovely weather for a service tomorrow in Darwhine
Last years was cancelled(the only time ever) due to a force 5 Cyclone bearing down on us :uhoh: !

Thank God my marble wasnt rolled I would have made a rotten soldier

[Islander Jock]

My dad - a Vietnam vet sadly passed away last year. Only now I think of all the times when as a kid I was so proud of him being in the army. He obviously didn't like it all that much becuase he spent a lot of time telling me I shouldn't have signed up myself. But I certainly had no regrets after nearly 21 yrs service.
Mrs IJ (CFI)'s uncle was Group Captain Hugh Verity who flew Lysanders for the SOS during WWII. We were honoured to have him at our wedding in UK in 97 where he gave us an autographed copy of his book "We Landed by Moonlight". Now that is an exciting read.
http://harringtonmuseum.org.uk/Lysander%20Mk%203.jpg

[gaunty]

IJ

Lysanders their crew and the SOS! now there are some serious legends that very few people actually know much about.:D

The other side used an equally adept aircraft the Fieseler Storch, I understand we captured a bunch, the US Army operated them and one was used by Monty himself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_156

And you'll probably have to kill me if I tell everybody that our modern day version of that was the training and I have no doubt live insertions and extractions by the Turbine Porter and our "special" lads.:ok:

[bushy]

Hi Brian. There were many beaufighter models. i have a copy of the crash log which states "On the TFX in the event of an ngine failure after takeoff, the safety speed at full load (including a torpedo) was a horrendous 170 knots."
The TFX had Hercules radial engines. They built 1000 TFX's.
Those boys did not have nice, easily managed equipment.

[Brian Abraham]

G'day Bushy, I had the Merlin version in the bookcase and just finished downloading the TFX manual 5 minutes ago which says "If engine failure occurs on take off with torpedo loads, 160 mph and full power should be maintained until the torpedo has been jettisoned. (If a torpedo is carried, set master and selector switches for release during pre take off check; the torpedo can then be jettisoned quickly in emergency during, or shortly after, take off.)"

I did love an item which says "Although stable in level in level flight, cloud or night flying is not advisable as handling becomes difficult below 180 mph IAS."
And it was a night fighter. No tail wheel locking on some either. Got to give it to the boys. Ever heard of gun deviation as applied to a mag compass - "Firing the 20 mm guns causes disturbances of the P4 compass deviation. The deviation may be restored to the values on the compass card by firing a one second burst while flying level on compass north."

[Chimbu chuckles]

No wonder vastly more kids, and that's really what they were, died in accidents than by enemy action.

I have flown a couple of modern jet fighter simulators...the real all singing and dancing sims they train real fighter pilots on...and from a pure flying point of view they are dead set EASY to fly...whether it be taking off, landing or burning around rolling and looping...combat would clearly be a different ball game all together.

[Taildragger67]

My Mum's brothers, Bobby and Jim. Bobby was killed in on the way to Darwin, where he would've met up with his little brother, Jim. Jim was never the same after hearing of the loss of his big brother and after being caught up in the air raids and died a broken man after the war.

Thank you for what you did, boys. It has not been forgotten.

A waste of good men.

[Gnadenburg]

My grandfather didn't quite make in his 84th ANZAC Day and passed yesterday.

ex-AIF New Guinea & SW Pacific. Stole a Melbourne tram on leave and missed the Borneo campaign.

RIP Pop

[Di_Vosh]

A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.

He was getting old and paunchy

And his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the R.S.L. Club,

Telling stories of the past.

Of a War that he once fought in

And the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his mates;

They were heroes every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours

His tales became a joke,

All his mates listened quietly

For they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,

For ol' Bob has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer,

For a Soldier Died Today.

He won't be mourned by many,

Just his children and his wife.

For he lived a very ordinary,

Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,

Going quietly on his way;

And the world won't note his passing,

'tho a Soldier Died Today.

When Politicians leave this earth,

Their bodies lie in State,

While thousands note their passing,

And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories,

From the time that they were young.

But the passing of a Soldier

Goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution

To the welfare of our land.

Some jerk who breaks his promise,

And cons his fellow man ?

Or the ordinary fellow

Who in times of war and strife,

Goes of to serve his Country

And offers up his life ?

The Politician's stipend

And the style in which he lives,

Are often disproportionate,

To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,

Who offers up his all,

Is paid off with a medal,

And perhaps a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them,

For it is so many times,

That our Bobs and Jims

Went to battle, but we still pine.

It was not the Politicians,

With their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us our freedom

That our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,

With your enemies at hand,

Would you really want some cop-out,

With his ever waffling stand.?

Or would you want a Soldier

His home, his country, his kin,

Just a common Soldier,

Who would fight until the end ?

He was just a common Soldier,

And his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us

We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,

We find the Soldier's part

Is to clean up all the troubles,

That the Politicians start.

If we cannot do him honour

While he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage

At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline

In the paper that might say,

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."


"A Soldier Died Today" by A Lawrence Vaincourt. It was eloquently read
by Grace McDonell of Year 10 at the Anzac Day Dawn Service held at the
cenotaph in Halliday Park. Grace had been invited by the Mitcham R.S.L
to participate, and her delivery respected the sombre mood of the
occasion

[bushy]

We only need soldiers when the polititions do something stupid.

[Gary Parata]

Here is the poem I posted last year after visiting Gallipoli for the first time on ANZAC Day. It is an original draft, but has undergone a couple of revisions since then. Standing on Chunuk Bair puts you "in the zone" and it is putting pen to paper and the words just fall out. I'll make two comments about it. Firstly, I am harsh on Churchill. The history books don't really say so, but Churchill carried Gallipoli with him until the day he died, so it is unfair to imply otherwise which is what I have done. But history is a harsh mistress, and in this case, so it should be. The British failed to learn the expensive lessons of the Crimean War, using similar tactics right throughout the entire Great War, both with and without horses. They didn't learn, and we paid for it. That leads me to my second comment. It wasn't just ANZAC and Turk that suffered terribly, but the British, French, and Indian armies suffered immeasurably, too. Notwithstanding the Indians, it was a British and French war, it was never ours, and that is why they don’t get a mention. Add to that the fact that while they lost more men in terms of sheer numbers, the disproportionate loss to Australia and especially New Zealand crippled whole communities in our countries.

Inasmuch as it could be possible, I hope you enjoy it.



Chunuk Bair



Light show cast surreal glow,
Sea front still, as warm tears flow,
Unchecked; I leave them be,
On Gallipoli I discover me.

Tears anoint the sacred ground,
Self-conscious now I look around,
Through misty eyes and haze I see,
That others cry, not just me.

From ANZAC Cove I start to walk,
Possessed of mind, bereft of talk,
Towards a hill of infamy
Of untold pain, of loss, I see.

But pause a moment at Lone Pine,
The Diggers there lie for all time,
Lost wave by wave; it was insane,
For what; some lame-brained plan, our bane.

Objective now hoves into sight,
With visions of that awful night,
Of boys, the best of ANZAC might,
With careless thought, thrown into fight.

Now atop the blood soaked fill,
Of Chunuk Bair; that bastard hill,
‘Twas briefly won, but at what cost?
I’ll tell you: a generation of Wellingtons lost.

In one mass grave the hundreds lie,
On August night they came to die,
No dreams to see the world fulfilled,
But oblivion; and families willed.

Was not just ANZAC suffered great,
For Turkish youth befell same fate,
Land and country, vow to protect,
And that they did, with no regret.

This land we came to habitate,
Was never ours to infiltrate,
Let order from afar decide,
The fate of all those that died.

First Sea Lord, with blank face,
Resigns in shame and stark disgrace
Then absolved of blame he quickens pace
To another war, and a greater race

For him no pain, no empty shell,
No memories of fiery hell,
Churchillian values? time will tell,
Whether all this was actually worth it.

The words of Ataturk ring true,
They comfort me, they should do you,
Boundless compassion, holding firm,
(I would have liked to have known him.)

Turk and ANZAC, hand in hand,
Together now, warm in this land,
For us no fear, no more regret,
Firm friends now, lest we forget.

Light show cast surreal glow,
Sea front still, as warm tears flow,
Unchecked; I leave them be,
On Chunuk Bair, I discover me.



Gary Parata (New Zealand)
Gallipoli, April 25, 2006

[pakeha-boy]

Gary.....absolutely brilliant mate!!:ok: