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Makan - No. 29
Official Organ of 2/30th Bn. A.I.F. Assn.
Patron: Brig. F.G. Galleghan D.S.O., O.B.E. E.D. Dear Dig, We have received a long letter from the Old Gentleman, from Berlin and think that you will find it, as we did interesting. Here are some extracts -"I'm so glad the Ball was a success and especially am I glad to hear of the lad's behaviour at the Re-union. It's good news to read that the good name of the unit is still a source of pride to the lads as it was during the war. I laughed when I read in the Makan the bit about Waltzing Matilda going to the Queens Royal Regiment. I do not know how the hell it got into the papers though. You see way back in 1932 I commanded the 2nd Bn. in Newcastle and we were allied with the Queens Royals, in fact we wore their buttons and mufti ties. When I got here, they were at Dortmund but came to Berlin just after the Russians shut the gate. In the old days, I had been the correspondent for the 2nd Bn. to their Royal Magazine and so I knew them very well although I'd not met them. In Berlin, we contacted and the result is that I gave them the score of the march for their band. I've since got the piano score so they can learn the words, I was out at their mess on Boxing Day and it was like being with the 30th again. As soon as I arrived, they played Waltzing Matilda like our Band used to play it. Anyway it's good publicity for Australia and I am here to represent Aussie." That's all we can fit in this month but we will give you more next month. Latest to transfer to Life Membership in Norm Wilson of Kyogle who writes a nice long letter. Norm spent a couple of days at Xmas time with Bob Neillings at Ballina. Bob is doing well in his cream run and has a nice little two year old daughter. Norm also bumped into Tommy Gardner who was having the time of his life camping with his wife and baby daughter and he saw George Lister at Evans Heed. George has a dairy farm and is having a spell after a long tour with the Pioneer Buses. Norm rubbed shoulders with Clarrie Lattimer in the waiting room of the local Repat. doctor. Clarrie has a spot of stomach trouble. He also saw Ron Sweeney who was looking for some white faced cattle to take back to his grazing property at Rappville. The after effects of beri beri have sent Norm into hospital several times since our return and he is due for another visit shortly. He has given up dairy farming and he and his wife have taken over a General Store in Kyogle. G.F.M. Jones of Victoria Park, W.A. is doing very well for himself. He has a good job with the W.A. Newspapers and is getting married at Easter. Bill Delaney of Narromine roams around a bit these days. He was at Dubbo for a spell but is now back at his own town where the beer is tasty and plentiful. Shorty Hart must be getting as lazy as the rest of us. His wife sends his subs in for him. By the way, have you sent your subs in yet? Drop them in today because it is embarrassing for us to keep on asking for them. Derby Young (barber) is enjoying his new job in the Forestry Service. He is now living at West Kempsey and often sees Arny Ainsworth. Con Hedwards of Woolgoolga near Grafton is a keen member of his local R.S.L. and he likens the drinking there to the sessions of talk and fun we had on the canteen floor at Batu Pahat. Terry O'Rourke is another of our lads who works for the Forestry Service and from the tone of his interesting letter, they do a very good job. He often sees Tommy Stevens who is still on the hospital visiting list and Les Perry who is a pension gent. On the 15th February, all the local 8th Div. boys gathered at the Cenotaph at Narrandera to lay a wreath in memory of our Fallen. You can't beat our lads for this sort of thing. When you fellows hear the name “McDougall” you must naturally think of a great long chap limping along on a stick. One with a legal turn of mind and a nauseating habit of peering at people like ourselves through his horn rimmed spectacles whilst he confounded us with smart speeches and quotations from the writings of learned scholars. You will at once recall also that big Mac of A. Coy augmented his rations for three years from the profits of his few ducks. Garry Rickwood wrote us from Singapore that Mac has now been appointed as a Magistrate there. He also enclosed a cutting from the local paper which read as follows:
Fined $100 For Cruelty Without any malice aforethought, we have it on good authority that Mac feels that he has lived on ducks for so long he really owes them something. Ian Pryce, late of Walla Walla, has now moved to Boorowa. It is a tremendous lift for him because his new school has six times as many pupils as his last. Ian writes that Boorowa is the home town of Lloyd Stuart and they still talk of his golfing prowess. There are six pupils at the Boorowa school. Frankie Webb is still living up Yenda way and he is a ball of muscle these days. You should remember young Webb if you were a member of F Force. In No. 3 Camp, he had a gigantic ulcer, the size of a dinner plate on his hip and if anybody was marked for death, it was he. The one person in No. 1 Camp who gave Webbie a chance for life was himself and his spirit seems to have been the only thing that pulled him through. That electric eel we used to call Sgt. Don Garner wrote us a few weeks ego. His writing follows the pattern of his speech, short staccato sentences without the formality of punctuation marks. Don sold his grocery business to S.R. Buttle and remained for a time as manager for them. He is now selling Graziers and Farmers Life Assurance and is the district representative for the National Mutual Life Ass. He has already sold each of the fifty people in Narrandera two policies each. He writes that Bill McKenzie of HQ Coy is living with friends on a citrus orchard at Leeton. Bill is thinking of bringing his Mum and Dad from Scotland. Vic Hamlin is still a bachelor and is wheat farming at Boree Creek. Keith Mulholland is doing a good Job as Steward at the Narrandera Bowling Club. His wife has just had a little baby girl. Ray Kuskey is still having a very bad time with his old joints and still visits Randwick hospital three times weekly for ray treatment. His health has been so bad that he was advised to spend a few weeks at Moree to try the effect of the medicinal bath up there. A few weeks treatment gave him great relief and he might try it again later. Harold French or Frenchy to you is doing well at Walcha and is of course very much the proud father. John Meillon is a real bush lawyer now and has a practice at Forbes. He is well satisfied with the country life and visits Sydney very infrequently. His next visit will probably be planned for our 1949 re-union. Ted Lutz has a temporary position with the P.M.G. and is in partnership in a Greengrocery business. Ted who was a J force lad now weighs about 15 stone but still plays baseball and looks in the pink. Sgt. Billy Brown is living at Griffith and works for the P.M.G. Your old friend Paddles Clune of A Coy., the tough fellow with the big feet has written us from his dairy farm at Oxley Island. He has evidently become an atrocious liar because he says that his little son now helps with the milking and drives the cart around. His son is just 17 months old. On Friday the 25th Feb, about 40 of the members of the Assoc. entertained about the same number of next-of-kin of our deceased comrades. Those of our lads who attended had accepted the invitation which was sent to you all in the Jan. Makan. If you were not at this function you missed one of these nights which stand out sharply from the usual social routine. All the lads went along with mixed feelings, expecting to meet tearful women who by their attitude would make pleasant conversation an impossibility. We were all wrong in this respect. Mrs. Handy who used to be a member of the 2/30th Comforts Fund met all the next-ofkin as they arrived and introduced them to Colonel Ramsay as they entered the hall. Then with the few helpers she had brought along she, made sure that all the boys were quickly introduced to the quests. The shyness soon wore off and from there it was a wonderful night. These next-of-kin were not crying women and sad faced men but ordinary decent folk who were eager to learn of their boys. It was a great privilege for us to he able to help them, and our lads found that they were receiving a great kick from watching the faces of parents and wives light up as they told of little incidents of the old days. It was remarkable to see chaps, who at the Annual Reunion would set out to steadily drink themselves under the table, dashing briskly from one person to another to ensure that they met all the parents. The next-of-kin have written us letters of thanks which in themselves are quite enough recompense for the cost of the show. The function was held at the Savarin and Mr. Magnus, after giving us an original quote of less then half the usual cost finished up donating most of the food. He even had the hall decorated in purple and gold flowers and had purple and gold savouries on the table. There is one point we would like to make very clear about this function. The committee decided that lads should not bring their wives along and we think you will understand why. If wives came along the lads would have had to entertain them, and this would have detracted from the idea of entertaining the next-of-kin. The Anzac March will commence from the usual spot near the Conservatorium this year. We are hoping that you will make this our biggest roll up yet. It is a great honour to be able to participate in this annual March in remembrance of our dead comrades. The Old Man, as you well know, is very keen to see our own unit make a good show as it has done in the past. With an effort to make for some uniformity you are asked to wear a hat if you have one, and if possible a collar and tie. As ribbons have not yet been issued the wearing of your Returned from Active Service Badge will be the neatest decoration to wear. This year we hope to have a nice new banner and Jackie Boss will carry this before the unit. After the march of course you will probably forget your solemnity as you fight those big schooners at the Tatler. The unit history is at last almost ready for despatch. The printed copies are expected to reach you shortly and we hope you like the result. We anticipate that as soon as they are posted we will receive many more orders and a lot of chaps will possibly be too late. If you want a copy send your guinea in immediately before all the copies have bean sold. If you know of the addresses of any of the following members would you please notify us? They are: R. Dickson, F.T. Rooks, F.T. Hayes, F.W. Bushby, F.G. Randle. We mentioned last month that we hope to issue a list of our chaps who are in various types of businesses and trades. A list of this nature would be beneficial to both sellers and buyers so if you want your name included let us know. If you do not notify us we will presume that those of the lads who have shops would prefer not to be mentioned. 'We welcome two new members this month. They are Jack O'Malley of Frogmore and Ernie Gayford. We haven't any news items from Jim but Ernie is in very bad health in Yaralla. A recurrence of beri beri has invalided him, temporarily we hope. If you are visiting Yaralla pop in to see him. Dadda Duprez is still in the T.B. ward out there and Carl Odgers will also be a patient for some time yet. They would both appreciate a visit from you. Here are a few addresses for you: J.B. Gaden, - John - Quartermaster A Coy - never once guilty of remembering to bring a complete meal to the field whilst in training - attempted to give up the grog in 1908. A. McK. Garner - B Coy – Lieut - Fell out with the powers that be and transferred to Brigade - always well dressed - mercer. D. F. Garner – Don - B Coy - Sgt. W.A. – lean but tough - swarthy complexion – dark hair - speaks with rapidity of a Bren Gun - insurance manager. D.H. Gee - Des - Carrier Platoon later "A" Coy. Pte. - good "scrounger." The Fourth Annual General Meeting which was held at Sargents', on the 18th March, was a very jolly little show. There were about 45 members present. The office bearers of the previous year were all elected unopposed and it looked like a very dull meeting until Ray Simmons got stuck into various methods which we could use to balance our yearly budget. Every person in the hall then decided to have a say and we heard some very sound debating on the subject. It was finally decided to ask Ward Booth and Johnny Parsons to join the Social Committee and raise enough coin to keep us out of the red. These two additions to the Social Committee will probably mean that we will see a strip-tease act at the Ball which will be held on the 21st May at, the Dungowan Restaurant in Martin Place. You will receive an early Makan next month to give you final details about the Ball but in the meantime start to gather your party together. This will be your big opportunity to give your wife, mother or girl friend the time of her life. Don't miss the Ball. Fifty copies of the Unit History left. If you want a cony send in your order, NOW. See you on Anzac Day. Cheerio, STAN ARNEIL. When remitting money please make all cheques and postal notes payable to the 2/30n Bn. A.I.F. Association at Sydney and forward same to R.E. Ellis, 21 Military Road, Neutral Ray. Here is the financial statement of the Next-of-Kin Get Together Function held at the Savarin recently :
Expenditure £36.18.2 REG ELLIS Back to 1949 index or Main Index |