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Circular No. 125 Official Organ of 2/30th Bn. A.I.F. Assn Dear Dig, Sammy Hall has just returned from a holiday in Queensland and whilst he was there he renewed acquaintance with Vince O'Reilly, Tommy Aspinall and Ernie McNiven. Big Mac has been down to see us now and again but Vince and Tom have not been sighted in these parts since the war. It was a great pleasure to hear of them again and we can assure them of the red carpet if they ever visit Sydney. Sammy's letter is a good one and reads as follows:-- "I have just come back from holidays at Surfers Paradise, and brought back news of three of the boys from around those parts, which perhaps you may be interested in, for Makan. I met Vince O'Reilly, Tommy Aspinall and Ernie McNiven whilst away and enrolled Tom Aspinall for the Association, the other two of course are life members. I hadn't seen any of them since we came back. Tom's address is Annerley, Brisbane. I was walking down the street in Southport, when Vince O'Reilly grabbed me and asked if by any chance I was Sammy Hall. The recognition was mutual and we had a great natter. I was fortunate enough to meet his wife and two daughters, who were in town with him. Vince's dairy farm on the Coomera is prospering, all the O'Reilly's are in good health. Vince is on the phone and would be pleased to see any of the lads who pass this way. In gathering all this information, I had lost my own wife, and it took some time to track her down after I left them. I naturally asked Vince after Tommy Aspinall as they were both Queenslanders and both in my section. He only had a hazy idea where Tommy lived in Brisbane (but his wife knew the exact address) although he had been there many times. So I called on the Aspinall's when I was in Brisbane. Tommy has acquired, one house, one wife and two boys and is a carpenter by trade. I enjoyed a substantial supper. Tom hasn't been well of late, but thinks he is on the right track, and like a lot of us is having troubles with the Repat. I spent some very pleasant hours there, recalling old times - hard times and good times - one name bringing up another, etc., etc. Both Tom and Vince sent regards to their old mates. Whilst there, the talk turned to McNiven and I found that big Mac and Bangalow are practically identical. As I was going through Bangalow on my way home, I enquired of the Locals for news of him and was directed to a garage which I was given to understand was his latest acquisition. Mac was doing a good job overseeing, but fortunately did not seem to have any inclination to tinker with engines or things mechanical. I hope to stay a little longer next year if I am up that way and meet some more of the boys." Ossie Jackson recently contested the Federal seat of Richmond in a recent by-election. Although Ossie was beaten, he polled well and we hope he will contest the seat at the next election. This country could do with a lot of Ossie Jacksons in Parliament. LAST POST: Dadda Duprez is dead. He died early in October at Yaralla Hospital from the effects of the illnesses he contracted whilst serving his country. He was buried from the R.S.L. Hall at Ashfield. With the passing of Dadda we have lost another of the "characters" of the Unit. Here and there in the Unit some men stood out in distinctive tones. John Gaden, Lofty Ambrose, Dadda Duprez and others. Each had some quality which made him different from the rest of us. When one looks back it is hard to pin point just exactly what was so distinctive about Dadda although he was a character all on his own. Perhaps it was his appearance, as he took the morning parade at Bathurst in the winter of 1941. Red eyed, gravel-voiced and showing in every line of his face the signs of a jovial night in the mess, he would freeze with a glance the slightest smile or smirk on the faces of any of the troops. He was a martinet both on the parade ground and in the field. Dadda was a First World War lad and as such I think he regarded us all somewhat as children. Perhaps that very attitude of his first engendered our approach to him as he was always known to us as Dadda. Our old Dadda Duprez. Dadda in the campaign was as tough and efficient as he had been on the parade ground. True, he regarded the Japs as a something of nuisance and concentrated firstly on the requirements of his own troops. To him is credited one of the biggest laughs we had in the campaign. It occurred the night we were walking down the railway line from Batu Annum. It was as black as sin and we were all edgy and tired. Dadda had a particular grievance and let everyone know it. It appears that earlier in the night when we were halted and given final orders for the night to 'rest'. Dadda sat down, took off his boots, and stretched out on the bare ground for a sleep. Two hours later a change of plans gave us only a few minutes to prepare to move to new positions. Dadda began cursing as he was prodded into wakefulness, and groping around, in the darkness, he found his boots and forced them onto his already swollen feet. It was not until battalion was on the move a few minutes later that Dadda realised that his boots were on the wrong feet! The language was shocking, but the boots were there to stay. It was dreadful and then, late in the night, a message came up that there was "a gap in the line." As usual the message became mutilated and by the time it reached our Company it was "there is a Jap on the line! Oh! Said Dadda, through clenched teeth, "there's a Jap on the line, is there? Well, he got IN by himself! Let the so and so get OUT by himself!" Yes, we had a lot of laughs out of Dadda and most of them were made deliberately by him to help us over a bad mile. We won't forget you Dadda. Whenever we gather together you will be there! SOLDIER SETTLERS: Charlie Williams of the 8th Div. Sigs. is making an investigation of the Soldier Settlement Scheme with a view to attempting to alter the ruling which excludes returned soldiers who did not apply for inclusion in a ballot within the statutory period of five years after discharge. Charlie argues that there could be a host of reasons why returned soldiers were unable to apply for inclusion in the ballot within the statutory period, and yet who may now be in a position to apply for a soldiers block. He has one or two returned men who now wish to apply for a block but because of the lapse of time are debarred from doing so. Charlie plans to take the matter as high as possible and would like anybody interested to contact him at Homebush, Phone 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. FA1850 and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. UPI 7776. Stewart Blow of Berry recently passed through Sydney en route to Queensland for a holiday in the sun. At Sydney he left his two children in the care of Reg and Val Friend. It didn't quite work out that way because the kids took charge of Reg and Val However, they all enjoyed the holiday. Blair Taylor has been transferred to Canberra and his address until he purchases a home will be C/- Hotel Acton, Canberra, A.C.T. Blair previously lived at West Ryde. ANNUAL REUNION: The Annual Reunion was held at the Railways Institute Hall on October 4th. Due to the short notice it was not well attended, about fifty members only being present. We hope that we will not have the same trouble with a booking next year and we will apply for the Railways Institute Hall again. The reunion was a lot of fun although we nearly had to call the fire brigade out, to get Jackie Goodwin and Sandy Christensen away from the microphone. They sang duets at length, ad nauseum. However, they appeared to be enjoying it so much that apart from stamping our feet continuously and later turning our backs on the stage we did nothing to stop them. Col. O'Donnell was down from Queensland. Col looks remarkably well but like others he has mellowed a lot. Sid Grounds laid down the law and Sammy Hall drank lemonade. Bluey McIver and Ron McBurney of course took charge of the bar and to Ron is credited one of the best laughs of the night. It happened as Porky Moore was leaving. Ron called him over and said "Are you leaving now Porky?" "Yes," said Porky, "Well, here are some dry rations in case you get cut off!", said Ron and he pressed a little newspaper parcel of cheese biscuits into Porky's hands. Porky was too flabbergasted to say a word. It was a grand little reunion, as Jack Black said, "It was just like our Annual Meeting and they are the best reunions of all." Don't miss the reunions unless you are particularly inconvenienced. Your friends are always glad to see you! CHRISTMAS SOCIAL A Christmas Social will be held at 100 Clarence Street, on Friday night. 6th December, Admission will be 5/- per male to cover the cost of the rent of the hall. Supper will not be provided and all ladies who attend are asked to bring enough supper for their own party. All ladies will be admitted free of charge. All the supper will be placed together and served buffet style during the evening. Men may bring two bottles of cold beer if they wish, but no more than that. We have strict instructions about the liquor arrangements from the owners of the hall and we do not wish to break our promise to them, so limit the drink to two bottles per male guest. The evening will be a simple social with perhaps a little dance if the mood prevails, an item or two from Des. Kearney and Ward Booth, you've all heard it before, but it gets better each time, and Vince Leonard on the piano. If you care to see it, we have arranged for a showing of the official Olympic Games film. Next of kin are especially asked to come along. We are hoping for a good night and we expect a large crowd to attend. Evening clothes will not be worn of course. This will be a completely informal evening. LAST POST Your old mate Ned Kelaher (sic - KELEHER) died last month. He had fought a losing battle against T.B. since the war years. Ned was an ex H.Q. Coy. lad, a good soldier and a good P.O.W. He was one of the unfortunates whose body was wrecked by excessive manual labour. Ned always did his share of the work even though he knew his health was failing. As proof of his great spirit, I can remember him plodding through a long hot day on Singapore Island, when our task was to shift a mountain of bags of wet salt. The salt weighed almost three hundred pounds per bag and Ned didn't flinch all day. He was a good Comrade with a dry but unfailing sense of humour. One of his funny little remarks was "It would bring tears of sympathy to a glass eye!" Ned spent the years subsequent to the war in Yaralla Hospital and it was there that his courage was most needed. If you saw him there with all the nauseating accoutrements of the T.B. Ward, battling on with a laugh and a joke, you would have felt very humble in his presence and very grateful for your own good health. He told me once, at Yaralla that he "was used to waiting, and hoping and a few more years will soon pass!" Ned's sunny disposition was too much for one of the nursing sisters at Yaralla so she married him and continued to nurse Ned until he died. They were blessed with one daughter who is now four. Some years now, Ned and Reg, lived side by side and it became a weekly ritual for them to drink a bottle of beer every Sunday morning in Reg's house. The practice went on for years and Reg and Ned became the closest of friends. Ned was rational and sure of himself until the end, and spoke to Reg, not long before he died. He was a good friend of most men in the Unit and unswervingly supported the Old Man in everything he did. He died with the full sacraments of his religion and the Unit and others of the Division were well represented at his funeral. With the death of Ned, another piece of the body of the Unit has gone and so it will continue until all the Unit has disappeared. But whilst a man of the Unit remains, Ned will be remembered. God love you Ned! Your long period of suffering has finished. WARATAH FESTIVAL One of the most attractive features of the recent Waratah Festival in Sydney was the display of floral Unit badges, on the lawns of Hyde Park. There were thirty or forty entries and our Unit was represented by a floral colour patch made by Mrs. Ray Simmons. Mrs. Simmons is quite a big noise in the world of floral decorations and she made a first class job of our entry. Unfortunately the entries were only on display for two days and many of our members who went along to Hyde Park during the week to see them, were disappointed to find that the display had finished. UNIT MEMORIAL Card afternoon to raise funds. The raising of money to defray the expenses associated with the erection of the Memorial at Bathurst is in the hands of Nugent Giekie's wife, Olga. As a first step Mrs. Geikie is organising a ladies card afternoon on 19th November at the Womens Pioneer Society Rooms, Market Street. The rooms are situated above Fay's Shoe Store in Market Street. Cost per head will be 6/-d, and afternoon tea will be provided. Ladies may play Scrabble, Bridge or other card games as they wish. This will be an enjoyable afternoon and it is hoped a good crowd will attend. ERECTION OF MEMORIAL AT BATHURST A draft programme of the opening is as follows: ROADSIDE MEMORIAL - LIMEKILNS ROAD, BATHURST. UNVEILING CEREMONY – SATURDAY, 23rd NOVEMBER,1957.
2.00 p.m. Selections
by the N.S.W. Scottish Pipe Band. O God our help in Ages Past.
O God, our help in
ages past,
Under the shadow of
Thy Throne;
Time, like an
ever-rolling stream,
O God, our help in
ages Past,
2.35 p.m. Address of
Welcome (The President, 2/30th Battalion A.I.F. Assoc.) TRANSPORT. We require space urgently for next of kin. Will all members going by car, with a seat available, please ring Steve Allardice at WL. 3777. CATERING. A cup of tea will be provided free of charge for all people attending the ceremony. It will be available continuously during the afternoon. COUNTRY MEMBERS. Will country members who intend to make the trip please pick up local next of kin of deceased. Will somebody from Katoomba please pick up Mrs. Blackwood from that town and bring her along. GENERAL INVITATION. We cordially invite all members of the Division who are interested to attend. We will be honoured by their presence, and would like you to make our attitude known to them. GENERAL. Would all people who are going please ring Steve Allardice and tell him the size of their party. We require the information urgently' to provide for afternoon tea and to gauge the size of the crowd. NEXT OF KIN OF DECEASED COMRADES. It will be our privilege to entertain these friends of ours and free transport will be provided for all next of kin of deceased, providing they register with Steve Allardice at WL 3777 not later than Sunday 17th November. CONCLUSION. We have worked hard for the success of this ceremony and we expect a big crowd. If you can possibly pay your respects to your dead comrades by being present we urge you to do so. We particularly wish to see as many next of kin of deceased as possible, and request that you pass the word around to those whom you know. See you on the 23rd. STAN ARNEIL. Back to 1957 index or Main Index |