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Message from the President

Welcome to our End Of Financial Year Newsletter of 2021.

Unfortunately we recently saw the passing of members Ron Ager ex RAAF WW2 and Bertie Beaumont, ex RAAF Vietnam.  The sympathy of all our Sub-Branch to the family of Ron and Bertie.   Lest We Forget. 

The congratulations of all go to the following Members for their award of the Medal of the Order of Australia:

• Alex Lennox for his services to veterans and their families.
• Greg Young for his services to veterans

Congratulations also go to:

• Rob Sweet who, at our May meeting, was presented by the Rotary Club of Karrinyup with his nomination for the Michael Chin Humanitarian Award for his outstanding contribution over many years to our Sub-Branch for his service to veterans and their families. To add to that Rob was presented with his Life Membership Award Certificate at the June Meeting. 
• Wayne Koch, Des Pryce and Don Ranford for being awarded their 50 Years of Membership Certificates.

The last three months has seen increased activities.  ANZAC House Lunch and the Perth Mint Visit were particularly well attended.  The Darwin Tour of Duty saw a contingent of 40 Members fly in to that City for a week.  It is with thanks to Paul McGuinness and his team for organising these highly successful activities.

Our Membership continues to increase, member participation is high, and our meetings are packed and enthusiastic.

I am also pleased that we have had positive publicity through Jack Meyer’s story in the March edition of the The Listening Post and on Channel 10 thanks to RSLWA.  We also had a two page spread pre ANZAC Day in the Stirling Times, and exposure on the City of Stirling’s social media page.

I encourage all of our members to continue to  participate in our Sub-Branch as they can, and in particular, to remain in contact with each other.  Advice and help is always available to those members who need it by contacting one of our Office Bearers detailed at the end of this Newsletter, our Wellbeing Support Officers or one of the appropriate support agencies, as detailed on our website and in this Newsletter.

John Rolfe

President

Awards

Ron Ager

23 August 1923 – 26 April 2021

Bertie Beaumont

22 February 1950 – 19May 2021

W19683 AIF 16 December 1941 to 15 December 1942, 

436966 RAAF from 5 June 1943 to 18 July 1945

A117180 RAAF Leading Aircraftman

No 1 Operational Support Unit

Vietnam 22 October 1970 to 4 October 1971.

What Have We Been Doing

ANZAC Day

Leading up to ANZAC Day the City of Stirling arranged publicity to encourage community participation in Dawn Services.  Wayne Koch, Peta Connolly and Peta’s daughter were the stars for our Sub-Branch.

The Stirling Times gave us a generous two page spread on 22 April 2021 involving three generations of Veterans, Peta Connolly, Geoff Pope and Wayne Koch.

Reporter Lucy Jarvis and Photographer David Bayliss from The West did a great job , and we thank them for that.

It was a positive article and focussed on the benefits of our Sub-Branch in supporing serving and ex serving members.

Thanks must go to these three active Members, Well Done.

ANZAC Day was cancelled at the 11^th hour following a massive effort by Barry Lloyd and his hard working  team.

It was shaping up to be a very successful Dawn Service, however Covid Lockdown had another idea.

Although the Service was cancelled, our Memorial looked good in the early morning light.  A small group of local Police Officers were there at Dawn, lined up in silent contemplation.

The thoughts of all our members were there at Dawn on the 25^th April.

ANZAC House Veterans Central Visit and Lunch

A very well attended group had Lunch at ANZAC House followed by a tour of Veterans Central.

Perth Mint Visit and Lunch at the Grosvener

Darwin Tour of Duty 4 June to 11 June 2021

After a delay last year because of Covid restriction, the long awaited Tour of Darwin finally went ahead.  This well planned and executed tour focussed on Darwin and surrounds and its  military related history from WW2 to present day.

Areas toured included Adelaide River, WW2 Airfields, Humpty Doo, Litchfield National Park, Darwin Aviation Museum, WW2 Storage Tunnels, Robertson Barracks and many more. 

Have You Read Our Members’ Stories

Jack Meyer

13 Squadron R.A.A.F

The Listening Post of March 2021 published Jack’s Story.

Jack is just three years younger than his beloved RAAF, which is celebrating its centenary this year. His older brother, Frank, would have shared its 100th birthday, but was listed by 13 Squadron as ‘Missing in Action’- prompting Jack to enlist as soon as he was able.

Jack is a regular attendee at our meetings and events

Jack Meyer

13 Squadron R.A.A.F

The Listening Post of March 2021 published Jack’s Story.

Jack is just three years younger than his beloved RAAF, which is celebrating its centenary this year. His older brother, Frank, would have shared its 100th birthday, but was listed by 13 Squadron as ‘Missing in Action’- prompting Jack to enlist as soon as he was able.

Jack is a regular attendee at our meetings and events

.

Geoff POPE

2^nd/13^th Battalion and 66 Battalion BCOF Japan

Geoff Pope provided his story of his time in Borneo and with the British Occupation Forces in Japan.  An interesting story that leads us through his time at Cowra, a reconnaissance of a POW Camp in Borneo and the devastation of Hiroshima in Japan.

Geoff is a regular attendee at our monthly meetings.

Maud BOWN

Signals – Australian Special Wireless Group and Discrimination Unit

Maude joined up in November 1942 and was soon with the then top secret ASWG.  An interesting story of a little known unit that made a huge contribution to the War effort

Maude is unable to attend our meetings but retains an active interest in our Sub-Branch.

Reg BOWN

(10 December 1923 to 17 October 2014)

WX36268   2^nd 9^th Battalion

Reg served from 23 December 1942 at the age of 19 to 30 January 1946 and served in New Guinea and Borneo. 

He and Maud married in January 1945.

Ron  AGER

(23 August 1923 – 26 April 2021)

R.A.A.F

 Ron was a regular attendee at our Sub-Branch and his story reflects his determination to contribute during WW2 despite having health problems that would have deterred a lesser man.  His story details his time with the AIF to being hospitalised in San Francisco USA on the way to Pilot Training in Canada, and his service in Australia.

It truly reflects a man of strong faith and determination

To read about 100 years of RAAF refer to the website:   https://airforce2021.airforce.gov.au/. This is an excellent reference point and makes interesting reading.

R.A.A.F.  100 Years

Aircraft production begins in Australia in June 1922 with the Avro 504K.  The British designed trainer became the first aircraft built in Australia for the RAAF.  The machine was handed over at mascot, Sydney by the Australian Aircraft & engineering Company (AA&ECO)

In June 1925, the Citizens Airforce becomes part of the Royal Australian Air Force with the appointment of the first 18 pilots as part of the General Duties Branch

On 15 June 1928 in recognition of their achievement of crossing the Pacific by air in the tri motor Southern Cross, Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm were awarded the Air Force Cross and appointed to honorary rank in the Air Force, following a precedent by Bert Hinkler the previous year.

Homages at General Meetings

Each month at the commencement of our meetings the President reads out a Homage of significant events in Australian Military History.  As our membership ranges from World War 2 to the present day we try and make the Homage relevant to our members.

Our Member Peter Edwards prepared the Homages for some years, and late in 2020 it was passed to Website and News Editor Brian Jennings.

Our website has a record of Monthly Homages dating back to 2014.  This is filed under:

Remembrance and Symbolism / Other Days of Remembrance from our Home Page.

You can access this record of Homages from this following Link:

Every effort is made to have a Homage at each meeting that has not been covered before.  Of course, to summarise such events in military history that may have particular significance to our members involves some research.  Occasionally a Member raises an event that is important to them, and this makes the Homage more relevant and interesting to all.

Should any of our Members have an event in military history that is significant to them, irrespective whether it was something they were involved in, contact Brian and he can work with you to prepare a Homage.  The Homage will not be passed on to the Executive until you have had the opportunity to vet and approve of it.  Brian’s contact details are:

Brian Jennings    jamjenb@bigpond.com         0413 604 612

Family Military and Service History

Searching for the military and service history of a family member can take time and effort.  These links are the more common ones available.  A digital copy of their service records may also be available, if not, then information is available on how to obtain them.

DVA Nominal Roll

This Link.

DVA Records and Military History

This Link.

National Archives of Australia

This Link.

Sign in as Guest

To request Service Personal and Health Records in the custody of the Department of Defence

This Link.

What is Being Planned 2021

All of our Sub-Branch social events and activities are coordinated by the Social Activities Coordinator Paul McGuinness.  For more information contact Paul on 0417 181 025.

Peer Health activities are coordinated by Alex Lennox – 0409 114 298.  In June, the CPR and First Aid Responders Course was held at ANZAC House.

Events and activities that are in the final stages of organisation include:

Veterans’ Mental Health and Crisis Support

Mental health and suicide prevention is everyone’s business, and we all have a part to play – check in on a mate, ask them if they are okay, have a conversation and help them get the support they need.

More Support:

1800RESPECT open 24/7 for national family violence and sexual assault counselling. It’s a free and confidential service.  Call 1800RESPECT (or 1800 737 732) or visit their website on This Link

MensLine Australia provides free 24/7 help, support, referrals and counselling services for men via telephone or online.  Call 1300 78 99 78 or visit their website on This Link

Open Arms provide 24/7 counselling and support to current and former ADF members and their families.  They also offer face-to-face and video counselling, online or in-person, group treatment programs, suicide prevention programs and crisis accommodation support.  See Open Arms Website on This Link

24/7 support on 1800 011 046

37-39 Reynolds Rd, Mount Pleasant WA 6153

DVA Latest News

The latest news from the DVA’s is available on its website and is accessible from This Link 

Included are articles offering information and advice that may be of interest to members.  One article relates to scams.

Beware of Scams

There is an increasing incidence of  scams through emails, text and by phone.  Many may appear to be genuine, and emails often appear to be from someone you know.

Recently one of our member’s email address book had been compromised and other members received strange emails asking them whether they are available and if replied to, then asking them to purchase gift or iTunes Cards.  You can check the email address to verify whether it is from one of your contacts by right clicking or clicking on the sender’s email name.  This applies even if it appears to be a genuine email address.  This will reveal the actual email address of the sender, and it is easy to identify a bogus address.  The best policy is do not click on anything else in the email, immediately delete it and then clear it from your bin or deleted items. 

DVA is warning veterans to be cautious of potential scammers operating online.  It would like to remind veterans and their families to be vigilant and protect themselves from any incident that may compromise their private or personal information.

If you are a veteran, or know a Veteran who may be vulnerable, please pass on the following tips:

• If you receive a phone call or letter asking for your DVA client number or banking details, do not provide them. Contact your nearest DVA office to confirm the request is legitimate.
• Be cautious if you are contacted out of the blue by someone claiming to be from any government department requesting personal information. Always contact the organisation before responding, using contact details from a trusted source.
• Never give personal details to someone you do not know and trust.
• Never provide information such as passwords, tax file numbers or bank account details via email links.
• Do not open suspicious texts or click on links or attachments in emails received from unknown or unexpected sources.
• If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.
• If you think you have provided your DVA number to a scammer, contact the nearest DVA office.

If you, or someone you know, has been approached by someone posing as a DVA representative please contact your nearest DVA office.

If you have shared personal information and believe you may be at risk, you can contact IDCARE, a not-for-profit organisation that can help and support to victims of identity theft and other cybercrime. Visit idcare.org or telephone 1800 595 160.

For additional information about scams, visit Scamwatch on This Link – you can also subscribe to a free alert service to receive updates about the latest scams.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre also provides advice for individuals, a free alert service to help you understand the latest online threats and the ability to report online crimes via This Link

And On A Lighter Note

The sea captain and the punk rocker

An old sea captain was sitting on a bench near the wharf when a young man walked up and sat down.  The young man had spiked hair and each spike was a different colour – green, red, orange, blue, and yellow.

After a while, the young man noticed that the captain was staring at him.

“What’s the matter old timer, never done anything wild in your life?”

The old captain replied, “Got drunk once and married a parrot.  I was just wondering if you were my son!”

My wife said, “If you don’t get off that computer and help with the dishes, I’ll slam your head on the keyboard.”

But I think she’s joklkjf;lkjdf3kj334l4ieljdklfkjsljfl kdjeiiijflkjlafjlkjafjalkj f3879dlkjfldsakj84

Breaking the News

The Captain called the Sergeant in. “Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private Jones’ mother died yesterday.  Better go tell him and send him in to see me.”

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation and lines up all the troops. “Listen up, men,” says the Sergeant. “Johnson, report to the mess hall for KP.  Smith, report to Personnel to sign some papers.  The rest of you men report to the Motor Pool for maintenance.  Oh by the way, Jones, your mother died, report to the commander.”

Later that day the Captain called the Sergeant into his office. “Hey, Sarge, that was a pretty cold way to inform Jones his mother died.  Couldn’t you be a bit more tactful, next time?”

“Yes, sir, “ answered the Sarge.

A few months later, the Captain called the Sergeant in again with,  “Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private Smith’s mother died.  You’d better go tell him and send him in to see me.  This time be more tactful.”

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation. “Ok, men, fall in and listen up.” “Everybody with a mother, take two steps forward.”

“Not so fast, Private Smith!”

Office Bearers 2020 – 2021

 Tune in to The Listening Post every Monday 1800-2000, Capital Radio 101.7 FM, Capital Digital and from anywhere via www.capitalcommunityradio.com  Perth’s only radio program specially for Defence personnel, past and present, their families and friends.

If you are not receiving emails from the Secretary advising you of important events, please forward your phone number and email contact to: northbeachrslwa@gmail.com

North Beach Review

North Beach Sub-Branch welcomes contributions and articles that may be used on its website and in the North Beach Review.

To discuss how you may contribute, contact:

Brian Jennings on 0413 605 612 or email Brian on  jamjenb@bigpond.com

Disclaimer

North Beach Review source material is edited to remove inappropriate content, and clarify, shorten or standardise where needed.  Although tests for accuracy are undertaken, readers should not rely on any of this material without carrying out your own due diligence.  Opinions are not necessarily those of RSL North Beach Sub-Branch or RSLWA.