I(Registered at the GY,

Vol. 5. No. 59.

Perth. for transmission by p

2/2 COMMANDO

COURIERMARCH, 1952 Price: 1d.

~ditcI*illi"ABSENT FRIENDS"

During the evening of the Annual Re-union one of the main toastswas to "Absent Frtends": The speaker very aptly remarked thatthese "absent friends" could be divided into two classes.

Firstly there was the chap who could not, Or does not, attend ourfunclions through work, distance of travel, sickness, or anyone ofa number of private and personal reasons. These members are to bep itie d as they are missing out on some really crackerjack tu r nouts.We only hope that in the future they will be able to make SOme ar-rangements to join us-if not for all of our dos then at least for someof the more important ones.

f course there is always the member who just doesn't turn upfor no reason whatsover. This chap is the Ioser and the SOOner herealises it and does something about rectifying his error the better hewill be, When he does show up he is assured of a very warm welcomeand we know that once he does attencl he will come again and again,

In the second grou p we have those members of the Unit who,dur ing the war years or afterwards, have passed on. Those memberwho died for the cause for which we all fought. Each and every onf us had his own personal idea of why we joined up and for what wewere fighting, and in the back of our minds was the thought that oneday we may receive our final pass and check in. You and I were thelucky ones that returned. Our mates died that we may live a life atour own making.

Anzac Day is the National Day of Remembrance for all men whofell during the two World Wars. Your Association has always beena proud participant in the local march and service heid in Perth onthat day-April 25. Again this year we will march as a Unit underour own flag and a record attendance is hoped for and expected. Likeour own private Commemoration Day Service this Anzac Parade is amust. No excuses are expected. Be there and honor those malesof ours who we knew in years gone by, "We will remember them."

COMMANDO COURII:R

Committee CommentThe committee met on March

t Sth anti for a number of reasonsthe attendance was below the us-ual number only eight membersbeing able to allend.

A letter was to hand fr orn theMilitary lIistory section to say thatas Cotonet Tre.ou r who was deal-ing with Unit llistories, had died,the matter had heen passed on toanother trustee who would get intouch with us at a later date. Inconsequence nothing further canbe done in regard to Unit lIistory.

The Annual Re-union was view-ed in retrospect and it was unan-imously ag: eed that at future func-tions a pianist was a necessity tomake things go with a swing. Allpresent were most pleased withthe wonderful roll up of countryfolk.

A review of the CommemorationDay showed that this service a SOpleased the committee anti onceagain the good attendance was re-marked upon. It was resolved thata working bee at a later date bearranged to paint all the nameplates and give them a brighter ap-pearance. Discussion took placeon the possibilities of guest speak-ers for future meetings and a tent-ative list of possible speakers wadrawn up for guidance of the pre-sent and future committees.

Arrangements for Anzac Daywere co 111 pie ted and these will bereviewed under Anssociatlon Activ-ities.

A couple of cocky young ser-vicemen, having dined at a ratherexclusive restur an t, told the stew-ard that they liked their coffee liketheir women-hot and sweet.

The steward gravely nodded andenquired: "Black or white?"

Ajocialion _AcliuitiejFirstly, the Annual Re-union,

he'ILl at Monash House on Satur-day, February 23 rd. This functionagain proved to be an excellenlevening. Everyone seemed to havea really good time and the laterevellers carried on until 4.30 a.rn.Sunday morning. Approximately70 rolled up including guests. orthis number 24 carne from thecountry districts which is a mar-ve "uus response. Also we hadmany wires and telephone callsfrom country folk who could notmake the do. Jack Denman rangfrom Gerald ton to wish us a goodevening from all the boys in thatdistrict and Bernie Lan grid ge wiredtrom Donnybrook, as did NormThornton and Geo. Smith IromDenmark. The catering was againwell carried out and the beer flow-t'ti liheral'ly. Spee che s were welldelivered and excellently receivedand generally everybody had a 1(00dnight. We would have liked tohave seen a greater response fromthe city types who, after all, haveonly to catch a bus or a tram toget there but it was not to be.

Commemoration Sunday wasonce again we'll attended, nearly 40of the Unit turning up with quitea gathering of Irrends and relations.In the absence of the president,John Bu rridge, General SecretaryColin Doig conducted the serviceand gave what was described as areally good address. Gerry Me-Kenzie mustered the parade in hisusual efficient manner and arrange-ments went according to plan. Thiservice is definitely gaining groundyearly and is proving to be an ex-cellent commemoration. DaveRitchie :took over the duties ofWarden of our trees in Kings Parkfor the ensuing twelve months re-lieving our origina'i Warden, Geo.Boyland.

The March meeting on the 4thsaw a recession of attendance, pro-hably accounted for by its proxirn-"ity to the Annual Re-union. Iltook the form of a darts eveningand we finished up playing the

COMMANDO COURIER Page Three.----------------------~~Committee of the Perth Sub-BranchH.S.L., who, I'm sorry to relate,proved a bit too hot for us, show-in>( that they had had a lot of mis-s pent evenings by their prowess onthe dart board.Anzac Day (Friday, April 25th)

is swiftly looming up and arrange-me nt s art! wed in hand. We wil'lparade as usual near Pier Street at10 o'clock and take part in themarch. Afterwards our usual Iunc-tion on the Esplanade is out owingto the new liquor laws forbiddingdrinking in public parks. Thankstv the good otlices of Tom Nisbetwe will be able to meet after theparade at the 16th l:3atta'lion Drillll.ul, Bazaar Terrace, and imbibe ina few snorts as usual. The drillwill be to march ofT to approxim-ately the Repatriation Building thenback through Government Gardensto the Esplanade and thence to theDrill Hal'l.The April monthly meeting takes

place on t st (April Fool's Day) atMonash Club and the committee isin the process of lining up some-body really good to give us a talk.At the time of wriling this para.the name of the actual person wasnot available but we can be surethat whoever is teed up will merityour attendance. To give thespeaker a feeling of confidence agood roll up is essential as talkin gto empty seats is no fun. So, boys,do your best to be at Monash Clubon April t st and hear something toyour advantage.The Annual General Meeting wi'll

take place on June 3 I'd and now isthe time to start lookuig aroundfor new blood to give you I' Asso-ciation a new lease of life. Thereis nothing quite like an infusion ornew blood to make an organisationsuch as ours take added impetus asthe old committee members andexecutives slowly run out of ideasand a few new committee membersor executives will bring new mindsto the problems which beset us.So then, chaps, look around andfind a few new men to elect to yourgoverning body in June.

../

(Printed for the publisher by "Thewan Express", 10 Helena Street,

Midland Junction, W.A.)

As stated earlier we saw a bigintlux of country visitors for theAnnual Re-union and here aresome of the lads we met.

Ernie Denwoodie down from Kal-goorlie, and appeared to be in greatspirits. Believe the Denwoodie hasCHan ged his domicile to Collie giv-ing the go'id away for the blackdiamonds. Anyhow, Ernie, goodluck to you in your change of oc-cupation.

Dick Darrington was in townfrom Ou airadin g and said he feltfine and enjoyed huuself thorough-ly at the Re-union. Said thingswere a bit dry up Quairading waybut as a baker the season didn'tworry him as much as the cockles.

As usual Jack Hasson made thetrip from Ballidu and was amongthe last to give the party away. Itwouldn't be a Re-union without theHasson's smiling visage and greatdesire to box on after everyoneelse had had his chips. Jack re-ports a good season and big hopesfor the future in the farming ven-ture at Ballidu.

Saw Ernie Bingham and he look-ed in the pink, practically fightingfit. He extractecl all the enjoymenthe possibly could out of the nightand we can only hope that he canbe among the regulars at our Re-unions.

f cou rse Jack Fowler was thereand enjoying himself no encl. Jackhas yet to miss a Re-union andsays they are the event of the yearfor him.

Another regular was GordonHolmes al'l the way from Cran-brook. Gordon appears to be verywell in health and says work is nothard to get down Cranbrook way.Gave us quite a rap up for the'Courier'. Says it is a wonderfulcontribution to the friendship ofall the boys.

Down from Collie were Don Hud-son and Ray Watson. Don't tellme they didn't have a good time:They played on to the wee srna'll

I

Page Four. . .__ C:::_O:::_M_MANDOCOUR,IEH

huurs of the morning and appearedtu have a wun derfut time. BothRoy and "JJuddy" looked extrawe.I uud the bracing air of thecoal fields must have something torecommend it after seeing thishusky pair.

All' llillman made the trip fromBroomehill and said that he neverenjoyed himself more. lIe hopesto make it an annual as he met somany of his mates for the firsttime for an age. Alf looks extrawe I and reports a good season inthe farming business at Broome-hill. lie specially asked me to passon his regards to all his mates in3 Section, wherever they be.

Bert Burgess was down andmade it a case of business and pleasur e as he brought down his patentrotary wool winding table for ademonstration to E'lder Smith andCo. By the way you wool cockiesthis is a great idea as it will saveyou miles of walking during shear-ing and if you are interested get intouch with Bu rt Bu rgess at Broomehill and he will give you furtherparticulars. Bert seemed to bepleased with the way the Associa-tion is shaping and came to lightwith quite a few good ideas whichI hope to be able to put to you allat a later date.A most welcome visitor was Don

Murray who came down from Yorkfor the occasion. Don ably pro-posed the toast of 'Absent Friends',stepping into the breach at a mo-ment's notice and really treated thesubject well. Don is as lean as alathe but says he was never betterin his life and can thoroughly r e-co m me nd the land to any of theboys who are interested.

The Sad'ier Bros., Charlie andStan, were among the gathering,renewing old acquaintances in abig way. Both look well and pros-perous and report good doings onthe land except for the inroads ofArtie Fadden and his minions. Asusual I was calling Stan, Charlie ,and Charlie, Stan, but evenutallygot the personalities sorted out.

Jim Ga'llaghe r, who recently habeen doing .the Rural School atHarvey, was among those present,

and must say looked a picture ofhealth. Jim is hopeful of gettinga War Service Farm ere long andjoin the bloated band of wool cock-les. Can assure you it is not allbeer and turkey Jim, but the doughis good at the moment. Jim wouldlike to be remembered to Bill Cok-er and Joe Garland, and "Swede"Rowley, very Iond.y. Says a fewnoggins with the above would bea bit good.

Vince Swann was our longesttraveller coming all the way fromSalmon Gums. lIis visit had aduel purpose as he brought hiswife to hospita'i and she presentedhim with an offspring. Sorry wecan't remember the sex but never-theless our congratulations 'Swan-ny'. Vince hasn't put on muchweight since army days but looksvery well.

"Doc" Wheatley, looking as skinny as a rake handle but admittingthat he could still shoot the eyeout of a kangaroo at 500 yards,was also present. "Doc" is amongour regulars at these functions andnever tai'ls to have a good time. Hesays the market garden is still go-ing well and that he is building upa nice .asset at Byford.

The irrepressible Wendel Wilkiewas seen also, with a whimsicalgleam in the eye and done up likea sore toe. Nobody could accusethe Wende1 of not having a goodtime as that is his forte whereever he be. He admits to being inthe best of health and says thefarming game is treating him kind-ly. lie sends his best wishes to allthe gan g wherever they be.

"Robbie" Rowan-Robinson, whohad been in the city for the pre-vious fortnight, was present at theRe-union and we promptly co-opted him for a toast. That of thePresident and Executive, and thenice things he said about them hadthem absolutely blushing. Thanksfor yOLlI' fine compliments, Robbie,we try to do our best.

Freddy Griffiths of lead miningfame, was among the assemblageand enjoying the show to the u t-1110St. Fred is headin g back Northto the lead mine any tick of the

COMMANDO COURIER

clock now so he was probabty hav-ing a final splurge.

Must not forget that old regularLew Thompson, Lew never failsto turn up to an Annual Re-unionand he gets around meeling oldmates and fights all the Timorcampaign over again and generallyhas a wow of a time. The passingof the years appears to be treatingLew very lightly as he does noteern to have aged a day. I Ie ismost anxious that his best regardsbe passed on to all the old gan g.

Of course a Re-union would notbe complete if DOn Turton wasn'tp resent. Don tells me he is con-templating a trip East soon to geta bit of the tiredness ou t of hissystem as he has been going likethe proverbial scalded cat for quitea while now. Now is one of oursu ccesslu'l farmers and when I saysuccessful I mean that his modernmethods are the envy of all hisdistrict. lie is really showing themhow. Don wishes to be remem-bered to the gang, especially Ber-nie Callanan,

A notable absentee was MickMorgan who had the misfortune tolose his mother a day previouslyand natural'ly could not make theRe-union. Our sincere condolencesMick, and we hope to see you againAnzac Day,

Johnny Burridge was also un-able to be present owing to busi-ness reasons having to go downthe south-west on urgent applebusiness. lie sent us a wire wish-ing us a very pleasant evening. Joehas been a very busy man of lateand finds it increastn gly difTicull togive his time to Association affairs.

In Johnnie's absence, Bill Ep pschaired the dinner and did a won-derful job.

Must congratulate Jack Carey onhis wonderful speech in which heproposed the toast of Allied Ser-vices. Il was a real gem and show-ed that Jack had given the mattera lot of thou ght.

In reply to the above toast curold friend Dave Ross was at his

Page Five,

witty besl. It is always a pleasureto have Dave present at our func-tions as he enjoys himself to thelimit. Dave looks lillie diITerentto when we knew him in Dilll.

Saw quite a few of the city folkfor the first time for an age, not-ably Charlie King, who is now look-ing very well and contented andlikes his job as scale attendant atannington. Alby Friend, wholikes that "area of the,' Puture",Kw\nana, reports that he is fit andwell and doing alright. "Blossom"Lawrence also present as big as ahouse and his smile in proportion,"Dusty" Studdy, whose vocal ec-centricities had the mob in convu l-sions, was in top form.

Les Glasson was down from Kal-goorlie recently and reports mostof the gang are going well upthere, Says Tony Davidson is asbig as a horse and doin g extra we'llin the fruit and vegetable game.

Rod Dhu has gone East on a tripand hopes to contact quite a fewof the gang while away, both inMelbourne and Sydney. So lookout you Eastern Staters I

Jim Ritchie and Warwick Cross-ing have started out on their shear-ing runs already and we will prob-ably see them in six or nine monthstime with large cheques and largerthirsts. Hope you both have goodseasons Jim and "Wack".

Back from South Australia towork on the land at Quindanningis "Barney" Barnes. Gordon looka picture of health and says thereis plenty of work in S.A. l Iebrings news of Alan Hollow who inow in the building trade and do-ing quite well. Dud Tapper is alsoin the building trade as a bricklayerand has his own gang. "Barney"also met Freddy Growns in Adel-aide and reports him to be doingquite wel'l.By the way Dud Tapper, if this

should meet your eye could you byany chance get me the addressesof Bob Williamson, Jimmy Veal,Ron Gurr, Dignum, Litchfield andthat chap at Snowtown whose nameI've forgotten?

Page Six. COMMANDO COURIER

IIad a 1110st welcome letter fromBill Tomasetti who is with the De-partment of Territories in NewIreland being stationed at Kaviean gas Assistant District Officer. Theo'ld "Tomato Sou pee" had beendown to Sydney and did theSchool of Pacific Administrationand is now well and truly on thejob. While at the school he ob-tained four credits out of five sub-jects. Being A.D.O. helps a lotsays Bill. lie recently completeda patrol of the Tabar Is'les. Hesays the "famous whiteman's bur-

den" is not very heavy up there.His wife and family are with himwhich includes two daughters, oneaged five and the other two and ahalf. All thriving.

Bill promises to write more fullyin the near future and give ussome account of his doings in NewIreland. If you address any cor-respondence to C. D. Doig, 9 Bar-rack-st., Perth; or to Jack Hartley,Be rowra, Waters-rd., Berowra,N.S.W., it wil'l smartly be seizedupon for inclusion in future 'Cour-iers', Bill.

1I11111111111111111111.IIIIIIIIIIIIIBIIIIIl\111111011l111il1lIllaIlIlIElllllllllllllr

e.u:The ever presenl problem of un-

paid subscripttons arises onceagain. Quite a few are still in thewilderness of debt to the Associa-tion so boys do the correct tbingand send on your 5/- to bringyou up to date.

Don't forgel the April meetingon the t st, We can guarantee agood night out for you and al1 youhave to do is roll alon g.

Anzac Day is a must for all whocan make it. It is amazing thatthose who COrle once rarely stayaway in the future as it is always aday to be remembered.

COMMANDO COURIER Page Seven.

l1ew ~cut~ 1t/d/eJ l1ewJSorry I haven't got much in the

way of news this 1110nth boys-nothein g in the city very much theseclays I have to depend on lettersfor this State's contribution to the'Cou rier', so it's up to you fellowsto see that some mail other thanblack snakes comes my way. Ac-tually, the one and only leiter ofthe month is Irorn Russ Symons,who recently did a tour of the norlhcoast. Russ reports having had awonderful trip up and back fromCanu ngra. lie stayed at Ca nun gr afor some time and says its still thesame old place we all re mc mbe r,only the beer situation is somethingwe all dream of-it's on frOI11 10to 10, or after if you are still ondeck; 110 standing up to swill eilherplenty of stools, etc., to sit ancldrink in comfort. Russ had a veryenjoyable session there wil h EddyRowe, who is doing very nicely outat Pine Creek and sends his regardsto all the boys. Thanks for the do-nation, Eddie. Russ also had a dayin Brisbane with Kel Carthew. Kelhas moved into a new home inKedron with his family and Russ

says it's the goods. Col Cubiwas also on Russ's visiting list andthey had a few beers togelher. Colstill has the shop at Ascot, pl uanother on the other side of town,alongside a rubbidy-club. Thankfor the three subs Russ and I'll seeabou t that address for you. 11eareta rumor from a real estate acquaintance of mine that Micky Devlin habeen house hunting up my way.

* ... ..ANZAC DAY

We'll be following our usual pr actise of putting a wreath on theenotaph at eight in the morning,

and then forming up near the Ed-ward the Seventh Statue near theConservatorium. After the marchwe'll pile onto my truck and ad-journ to Alan Luby 's home forlunch and a few grogs, after whichthe ArnclifTe RS.L. Clubrooms willbe open house for anyone wantingto bend the elbow further. Rollup lads and let's make it an evenbetter day than last year.

-JACK IIARTLEY.

A young couple woke up theJustice of the Peace in the middleof the night to marry them. Afterthe knot was tied he wen t ou t onthe verandah to see them ofT. Theyoung couple started a terrificargument, much to the dismay ofthe kindly Justice. Ile listenecl inshocked silence for a time, andthen went to them and told themreprovingly that it wasn't nice toargue like that right after they hadjust been rnar r ied.

"Why, you act like a couple thathad been married for many years."

"She's so unreasonable," saidthe husband.

"He's the one who's unreason-able," retorted the bride.

The Justice asked them to tellhim what the trouble was; probablyhe could advise them and help

them settle the matter. The younghusband looked angrily at his wifeand grumbled: "She wants to eat."

• • • •The following were extract

which came from newspapers ...just as well our printer is infall-able (?).

"The engineer put on full steam,dashed against the cow, and liter-ally cut her into calves."

"The stateman and a party offieJlcls are here to shoot pheas-ants. "

"As Mr. Blank mounted theplatform to open the flower show,all eyes were fixed on the large rednose he displayed. Only years ofpatient cultivation could have pro-du ced an object of such brilliance."

"We respectfully advise that Mr.Smith's body was taken to Hell(Hull) for internment, where re-pose the remains of other membersof his family."

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Page Eight. COMMANDO COURIER

Once again I am writing thescant news which seems to be tyn-ical of Victoria these days, so hopeyo u will glean a little news out ofthe text. Take it from here, Coliuo t in g Dick Bent:ey?

ne thing is essential to startu r news. Editor, please convey

to R1Y Parry ou I' hearty con gratu-'lations on his winning an M.M.-it was a gnlnd effort for Ray hlShad a long fight on the road tohealth. Personal con grats. Ray,for ,tfter au chat prior to yourleaving Victe ia I thought you stilllooked a sick man. Great recoveryand grand efTort old pal.Maybe all will be interested to

know that "Double Diamond", theAssociation bulletin produced inVictoria, is devoted mostly to2/2 activities during the war."Balcly" is writing a short historyf Timor-believe it is tip top.

This will please au]' patron, MajorLove, who has been very keen forthis story to be told in full. Theold chap Will get a kick with "I3~I-dy" doing it. This Association iskeen to do a job of work and h agot its teeth well into all activities.Will get some copies forwarded asI am sure they will prove of inter-est to all in the West. .News has just come that Carl-

ton has been chosen as the Olympicsite and that the Commonwealth,State Govern men t and the ]\1\'1-bourne City Council have decidedto snare the expense of over half amillion pounds. Now we can goahead and plan our final Re-unionthat will bring us all back to thefold for the great occasion, We do-finitely intend to he'd this grc.,..tvent: r e and with co-operation fromall States expect it to be a hu» ~success.Congr atulations to George Ro\1-

inson and his (Yood lady on th.ar riva' of a son, this being the thirIof the Robinson children. Thoughtbein a • pnstie would walk ofT whatit tal'i,s to turn out a real plumb-ing j r '

Another in the "stork stakes"is th. elusive and little seen Gor-linn "Blue" Stanley. To hir1'-\dau <'Iller, the second. A clark

horse is "Blue"-reacling that looksa bit of an anomaly! "Blue" wouldwelcome anyone passing throughDandenong. See him at the ex-change, men. We will see youA nzac Day, Gordon!

Kevin Cur ran has laid the foun-dation for a good business by gain-ing a clearance from Hawthorn andwe al'l wish him well on the eveof his new venture.Must appeal fur a big muster on

Anzac Day, news of whereabouts,etc., to appear in lime for the"March and Do". Also, men,would like a little news of yourdoings to pass on to "Maestro"Doig for inclusion in the 'Courier',some old friend may be extremelyinterested, so-Do it NOWI

0, my good friends throughoutA ustralia, on behalf of the "Invis-ible Men" of Victoria, I send youcordial greetings and wishes forgood health ancl happiness. Nowgrab your pockets ICheerio, amigos.AHCH CAMPBELL.

This joke comes from American"Juclge":- ,The psych iatrist was in terview-

in g a rosy-cheeked you n g draftee."What," he asked, "cia you like

to do best, Mortimer?""Shoot Japs," answered th e

youth."And what cia you like to do

next best?""Make slingshots to shoot Japs

with."The psychiatrist frowned, made

notations on Mortimer's file sheet."Well, what do you like next

best? "Mortimer hung his head, mumbl-

ed: "Steal little girls' bloomers ofTthem."The psych, removed his glasses,

stared hard over his nose, clearedhis throat and asked sweetly: "Andthen what do you like to do?""Take the elastic out of the

bloomers to make more slingshotsto shoot more Japs with."