Farewell To Walter Eacott

Immediate Past President of the Odd Bods Association, Walter Eacott OAM, passed away suddenly on Thursday 30^th November 2017.

Walter A. Eacott 162637 PLT OAM 219,272,603. Goldfish – Med, 1943- POW.  Immediate Past President Odd Bods Association. Passed 30/11/2017.

Our thoughts are with the Eacott family and all Walter's friends.

From Facebook:
"Vale Walter. Your Company and jokes will be sorely missed." - Rosemaree Matta.
"So sad to hear XX" - Amanda Riley.

The Last EATS Luncheon

The Empire Air Training Scheme luncheons have been a feature of the Odd Bods calendar for many years as veterans meet to socialise and reminisce. Faye & Gerald McPherson have organised the luncheons in recent years and agree that last Monday's event would be the last as time takes its toll on those available to attend.
Faye was good enough to sent us this great photo of the attendees.

Weston Bate Memorial Service - On The Day

Friday's service at Leonda paid a great tribute to Weston Bate and his family. Around 400 people attended the service and were treated to a variety of heartfelt stories from friends and family members. There was music, poetry and plenty of photos on large screens.
 Weston spent a very busy life and tributes included reference to his school years, his sporting prowess, his war service, teaching years, book writing, and contribution to our understanding of Australian history.

One of Weston's poems was put to music and the stirring conclusion included audio of Weston reading part of his poem "The Summit".

Perhaps the highlight of this celebration were the very personal and funny stories told by his 6 children and even Janice was brave enough to step up to the microphone.

Odd Bods attendees included Walter Eacott, Doug Parry, Alan Couper, Gerald & Faye McPherson, Gary Elliot, Terry Maher, and Greg Smith. Best wishes were passed on to the family on behalf of all Odd Bods and the Friends Of The Odd Bods Association.

A formal letter of support was sent to Janice and family by  President, Bruce Waxman OAM RAAF (Rtd)

Weston Bate Memorial Service

Recent News And Links

Mosquito Aircraft Association - a link to their latest news bulletin including details of their AGM and 25th Birthday celebrations - https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApU6F7-h3l2kg70qMA-8_mA2i4PYaA

Ryder Cheshire News - http://ryder-cheshire.org/

Ryder Cheshire Christmas Cards are available for ordering - enquiries to Helen Newton at phnewton@ryder-cheshire.org

Berlins Flak Towers - a story about the giant flak towers constructed in Berlin during WW2 - http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/travel-qed/2017/11/inside-hitlers-dark-tower/

A tribute on ABC News to 78 Squadron veteran Michael Atkinson - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-29/air-force-tribute-to-lieutenant-michael-atkinson/8998580

Tributes For Weston Bate

Weston Bate was well known for a variety of reasons. He was of course a key member of the Odd Bods and his wisdom and wit contributed to many official and social gatherings. 

His role as an historian and author has been lauded in a number of tributes including this article in the Ballarat Courier - http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/5031719/ballarat-mourns-the-loss-of-prominent-historian-weston-bate/

Weston had his own wikipedia page and has been described as an academic giant particularly for his roles at Deakin University. In 1997 he was awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to academia. He passed away on 31st October and will be sorely missed.

More Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Bate

https://melbournehistoryworkshop.com/2017/11/01/vale-weston-bate/

COMMENTS:
12/11/2017
To be told of the death of Weston Bate, OAM came as a shock to me. That learned, capable Professor of History was my Vice-President when I was President of the Odd Bods. Weston was a wonderful back-up when I was unable to attend functions, and he would take my place any time at short notice. He was a wonderful speaker, with a large amount of knowledge stored in his lively brain. He was trained as a pilot in the Empire Air Training Scheme (E.A.T.S.) that became an important part of Odd Bod activity.

Weston had a long and happy marriage with his lovely wife Janice, and I’m proud to have known them both.

Walter Eacott, OAM.

Farewell Weston Bate OAM

Weston Bate OAM passed away peacefully on Tuesday 31st October 2017. A Celebration of his life will be held later in November.

Our thoughts are with Janice, Chris and family.

Weston Arthur Bate - 430354  PLT  OAM  27 O.T.U. 1654 HCU  24 September 1924 - 31 October 2017

If you would like to leave some words about Weston please click on the "Comments" link below.

Passing The Baton With Birthday Cards

Lorna Fitch has done a remarkable job of keeping up an Odd Bods tradition of sending out birthday cards to wives and widows of Odd Bods. 

This process was started by Shirley Smith (wife of Odd Bods Founder George Smith) back in 1973 and then taken on by current Friends Of The Odd Bods member Jean Smith in 1994 before Lorna became involved in around 2012.

Lorna has now asked to pass the baton on to a younger generation and we are very pleased to advise that Anne Jones and Willa Whitewolf will be sharing the honour with Willa telling us that her sister Amy will also help out. Our photo shows Lorna and Anne during the handover.

During the handover we were able to view the collection of correspondence and record books that have accumulated over the years and from pages of the "Birthday Book" we thought these words written by Shirley Smith more than 25 years ago were worth recording.

Our thanks to Anne Jones and Willa Whitewolf for helping us to maintain the Odd Bods motto - "Pressing on.... remembering."