Gathering Of Eagles - Battle Of Britain Commemoration, 10-12 September 2021

 

History Of RAF Airfields North Duffield

 

Halifax at Breighton Airfield

A Zoom presentation on the history of RAF airfields in the area of North Duffield will be held at 7:30 pm on 15th June London (10:30am AEST). 

The presentation will include airfields likely to be familiar to some Odd Bods including Riccall, Breighton, and Elvington.

If you are interested in joining the meeting please contact the organiser Brian Elsey at nduffieldhistory@gmail.com so that numbers can be monitored.

Indigenous Odd Bods

Aircrew from 106 Squadron.

The Indigenous Round is being celebrated in many Australian sports this week including AFL, NRL and Netball. We thought this might be good time to recognise an indigenous Odd Bod.

The Australian War Memorial completed a talk entitled "First Nation Flyers" in 2019. It was conducted by AWM Curator, Garth O'Connell, who was also the presenter of a talk about Odd Bods in the same year. 

The "First Nation Flyers" talk covers a number of indigenous aviators including Lancaster Pilot Roy Hill. Roy was one of three brothers from the Wardandi nation in Western Australia. Roy Hill, who had enlisted in the RAAF, became a pilot and an officer in Bomber Command. Serving in Britain, he flew Lancaster bombers for No. 106 and No. 189 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. 

Squadron 106 was particularly active towards the end of the war and participated in the famous attack against the V-2 rocket research facility at Peenemünde in 1945. No. 189 Squadron was among the 107 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of No 5 Group which attacked the oil refinery in Tonsberg in Southern Norway on 25 April 1945 in the last raid of the war flown by heavy bombers of RAF Bomber Command.

Roy Hill was not a member of the Odd Bods Association but as an Australian serving in RAF squadrons was certainly an Odd Bod.

The "First Nation Flyers" talk can be found here - AWM First Nation Flyers.

POSTSCRIPT:

We have amended the title of this article to read Indigenous Odd Bod(s) because Garth O'Connell from AWM has informed us of another Aboriginal Odd Bod  - 424587 Flying Officer Errol James “Blue” INGRAM, 622 Squadron RAF (1924-1990).

Ingram flew Lancasters towards the end of the war in day and night bombing missions, food drops, and repatriation of POW's.

Aircrew Kit In The Spotlight

One of our contacts sent us this wonderful photo of Sergeant Lincoln Orville Lynch DFM, a West Indian air gunner serving with RAF No 102 Squadron.

Sergeant Lynch's story is fascinating in its own right. He shot down a Junkers JU98 on his first mission and was awarded a DFM for his "high standard of determination and devotion to duty". You can read more in his Wikipedia entry.

But the photo caught our attention for other reasons as well. Most photographs from this era lack clarity but this one, with a bit of help from colourising, shows great detail in the aviator's kit, and that is before you get to those menacing Halifax rear guns.

We have assembled some more photos of the kit worn by bomber crews and with true impartiality included some aircraft other than the Halifax. We hope you enjoy them.

Odd Bod Bill Akers gets assistance with his gear.

Flying kit of RAAF Pilot Francis Robertson.

Lancaster Crew.

Stirling Crew.

Australian and NZ Aviators in front of Mitchell Bomber 180 Sqn.

Wireless Operator In Flying Kit.

Special Birthday Wishes

It has been a long Odd Bods tradition to send birthday cards to wives and widows of veterans. The practice continues today with two of our association corresponding with these very important members of the Odd Bods family.

Anne Jones and Willa Whitewolf write personal birthday cards to wives and widows each year on behalf of the association, and are regularly heartened by the replies they receive from recipients. 

At the AGM this month, the Friends Committee passed on thanks to Anne and Willa for their part in “Pressing on....remembering.”

AGM And Your Committee of Management

 

Your Committee for 2021/22
L to R Back - Greg Smith, Steve Trask, Sue Bennett, Gary Elliott, Peter Randell, Bruce Waxman.
L to R Front - Robyn Bell, Jan Dimmick, Jenny Hibbens. Apology - Michael Rossiter.

The seventh Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Odd Bods Association Inc. was held on Sunday 23rd May at the Oakleigh Carnegie RSL Club, Drummond Rd. Oakleigh.

An election of officials was held with the return of President Bruce Waxman, Peter Randell was appointed Vice President/Secretary, and Gary Elliott as Treasurer. Terry Maher stepped down as Vice President and the committee would like to thank Terry for his contribution to the Odd Bods over a number of years. Terry continues as a member. We were pleased to welcome Sue Bennett on to the Committee. Sue is the daughter of past Odd Bod, Jack Ruby, 409598, W/O Nav.B, 44 Sqdn.

The committee was grateful that, despite the challenges of a Covid year, our list of activities showed we were able to maintain the intent of our Purpose Statement – “To keep alive the memory of the Odd Bods, the service they gave to King and Country and to keep the Nation mindful of its debt to those who made the Supreme Sacrifice.”

Here is the list of activities for 2020:

The Friends Of The Odd Bods Association Inc

Statement of Activities 2020

For the period January 1 2020 – December 31 2020 the Friends Of The Odd Bods Association Inc has undertaken the following – 

1. Conducted an Annual General Meeting

2. Conducted 4 Committee meetings

3. Planned for attendance at the Melbourne Anzac Day March and the Annual Association Reunion in 2021

4. Maintained contact with Wesley College regarding arrangements for the  Anzac Day Service 2021

5. Provided a wreath for the VE Day memorial service at The Shrine of Remembrance

6. Attended and contributed to The Kindred Organisations And Unit Associations meetings

7. Maintained an independent blog and website and provided regular updates to members via email

8. Maintained charitable donations to the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation

9. Maintained sponsorship of 3 children in India through Ryder-Cheshire

10. Provided practical help and support and contact to veteran members

11. Maintained communication with veteran’s widows through sending birthday cards 

12. Adhered to the Association’s Purpose Statement whilst adhering to Covid 19 Restrictions

13. Continued a formal relationship with The Point Cook Airforce Museum to house and display relevant material and memorabilia from the Association and its members.

14. Attended the commemoration service and overseen placement of the memorial plaque for the Odd Bods Association in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial.

 Peter Randell – Secretary – Friends Of The Odd Bods Association Inc.

Vale Ralph White

 Longtime member of the Odd Bods, Ralph White, passed away on 3rd May 2021 at the age of 98 years.

WHITE, Ralph Robert, 427630,  Pilot, 192 Sqn.

In recent years Ralph attended the Wesley College, Glen Waverley Campus, ANZAC Day commemoration services and is seen on the right in this photo taken in 2017.

Our condolences to Marie and the White family.

VE Day - Then and Now

Victory In Europe Day is a significant day on the Friends of Odd Bods calendar and the history of our involvement goes way back.

On 8th May 1945 Winston Churchill announced the end of the war in Europe and the hopes and dreams of all allied service personnel were answered with the end of hostilities. Odd Bods made their way home to Australia and a new world order.

We have recounted on these pages many times how Odd Bods arrived without a squadron banner (because they had served on overseas squadrons) and how they formed their own association, created a banner, and set about "Pressing on ... remembering". 

One of their early goals was to recognise 8th May as a very significant date and the inaugural VE Day Pilgrimage in 1956 at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance was organised by a committee including a representative of the Odd Bods.  Hugh Niven (seen in the photo above) was our representative in 1956 and the association paid a £2 yearly subscription.

Today, The Shrine records the VE Day Service as follows - 

ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN EUROPE (VE DAY) INCORPORATING THE FRIENDS OF THE ODD BODS ASSOCIATION

In his address at today's service in the Shrine Sanctuary, the Shrine Governor recalled his attendance at Odd Bods functions in the past and expressed his delight at seeing so many Odd Bod representatives continuing the tradition on VE Day.

Friends of the Odd Bods President, Sqn Ldr. Bruce Waxman OAM RAAF (Rtd) presented the address, while Odd Bod Doug Parry read the Ode. here is a link to the video of the livestream - https://youtu.be/16kFAgwVvPM?t=157

And here are our photos of the day - 

L to R - Cathy Randell, Peter Randell, Gary Elliott, Doug Parry, Greg Parry, Greg Smith, Bruce Waxman, Sue Smith & Robyn Bell.

Second from the right in this photo
is Edward Bartosh from the American
Ex-Servicemen's Association.

Wishes From Overseas

 Thank you to Bryan Wilcockson for sending us this wonderful image.

Bryan is our intrepid correspondent from the UK and often jokes that the Odd Bods bus could make a slight detour to Selby (UK) to pick him up for ANZAC Day.

It might be appropriate to remember that our ability to celebrate occasions like ANZAC Day here in Australia with comparitively minor restrictions on group gatherings is not yet echoed overseas in Covid affected areas.

Our thoughts go out to all those affected communities.

Odd Bods Donate To Ryder-Cheshire Timor Cyclone Relief

The Odd Bods have had a long association with charity, Ryder-Cheshire, whose activities include looking after the health and welfare of disadvantaged people in India and Timor and we are making a special donation this year. 

Friends of the Odd Bods donate $750 each year to help support three students in India, currently Abbas, Asma, and Sarthak. However a recent cyclone in Timor has created an urgent need for further assistance. 

This report from the Sydney Morning Herald on 9th April – “A state of calamity has been declared by East Timor, whose foreign minister has been asked to seek international assistance from Australia and others as it bids to recover from catastrophic floods and landslides and confronts an alarming new COVID-19 outbreak. …(following Tropical Cyclone Seroja).”

This is how Ryder-Cheshire describe the need - 

KLIBUR DOMIN CYCLONE RELIEF

“The cyclone that hit Timor-Leste and parts of Indonesia, has caused tremendous damage and loss of life. Of particular concern to us is the damage to the Ryder-Cheshire Home, Klibur Domin, at Tibar just west of Dili. Whilst damage to our infrastructure is not severe, many homes of the Klibur Domin employees have been devastated. Please consider donating to our appeal.”

Friends of the Odd Bods have just contributed $500 to the Ryder-Cheshire Cyclone Relief Appeal on behalf of members as we continue to support the work of this organization.

• Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist.

 

Odd Bods AFL and Calgary Wireless School

ANZAC Day brings us many connections, and one important link is AFL football. AFL matches played around 25th April include an ANZAC reference as part of the ceremony and many regard the match between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG on ANZAC Day a very special occasion (some of our veterans have been known to leave the reunion early to reach the first bounce).

Our picture has an Aussie Rules connection. It was taken in Canada in 1943 at the No.2 Calgary Wireless School, 66 course. There are probably a number of Odd Bods in this photo and we can identify three. In the back row, 5th from the left is Odd Bod Keam Irving, and 7th in line is Odd Bod Maurie Smith. In the front row, on the far right is George Smith.

We understand this team played against an EFTS team, the only other Australian Rules team in their area. Maurie Smith tells us that he also played in a Rugby team as fullback in Canada because Aussie Rules players knew how to mark and kick. 

After the war George Smith played for the Blackburn Football Club as full forward, while Maurie Smith played for Old Scotch Collegians in the A Grade Amateurs. 

It should be noted here that our ANZAC Luncheon Guest Speaker this year, Wing Commander Mike Oram RAAF, delivered the ball to the centre of the MCG in a special service at the ANZAC Eve match between AFL teams Melbourne & Richmond.

 

Spirit Of ANZAC Essay Wins George V. Smith Award in 2021

 

Joseph Chen receives the George V. Smith Award
from Wesley's Head of Campus Sheriden Vella

If you thought Australia’s involvement in WW1 was all about Gallipoli then reading the winning essay in this year’s George V.Smith Award at Wesley College might be a very worthwhile activity. 

The George V. Smith Award is an award made in the name of Odd Bod co-founder and long time official, George Smith, who championed a relationship with Wesley College, Glen Waverley Campus from 2008. The award is made for the best student essay about the ANZAC Spirit and is a key part of the strong and productive connection between Wesley and Friends of the Odd Bods Association. 

This year’s essay by Year 9 student, Joseph Chen, focuses on a WW1 battle to capture Mont St Quentin and P’eronne on the Western Front near the River Somme. 

Australian War Memorial located in
Mont Saint-Quentin region 

Joseph writes that the Australian forces, commanded by General Sir John Monash, displayed the ANZAC spirit in a number of ways – “While these ANZAC qualities are certainly not the only reason for the success of the battles, they definitely contributed significantly. Through the initiative, flexibility, adaptability, courage, bravery, mateship, brotherhood and humour demonstrated, these Australians were able to raise their morale and support their fellow comrades.”

Joseph’s essay is a testament to quality research and a detailed examination of the history surrounding what has been described as one of Australia’s greatest military achievements in WW1. You can read the full essay by clicking on this link - 

           Spirit Of ANZAC Essay 2021

We thoroughly recommend this piece of writing to you, congratulate Joseph on his endeavours, and thank Wesley for supporting the George V. Smith Award.

“Pressing On Remembering”

• The George V. Smith Award includes a certificate of achievement and a $250 book voucher to assist the education of the winning student. The cost of the voucher is shared by Friends President, Bruce Waxman, and the family of George Smith.

Spine Tingling Flyovers From ANZAC March 2021

 

A couple of videos from todays Shrine service thanks to Gary Elliott. We suggest you turn up the volume.

Friends of the Odd Bods ANZAC Day Luncheon 2021

Following a tradition dating back to the 1950's the ANZAC Day luncheon was held in stylish new surroundings at Amora in Richmond. Of course Odd Bods luncheons are not about style, but sharing mateship, and good conversations with veterans, family, friends and colleagues. This years luncheon was abundant in those ingredients and clearly a success for all attendees.

President of Friends of the Odd Bods Association, Bruce Waxman, was MC for the event which included traditional presentation of the Ode, Last Post, and Reveille. Guest Speaker, Wing Commander Michael Oram RAAF gave a most engaging presentation including some very personal links with the Odd Bods from childhood.

Jenny Hibbens gave us a report on her trip to Canberra for the RAAF Centenary Celebrations (see report in seperate article).

Veterans Frank Sims and Maurie Smith contributed that all important veterans aspect to proceedings and regailed us with stories, while a newly compiled scrap book from old Odd Bods records attracted plenty of attention. Geoff Clark brought along an old newspaper from 1940 with some great aircraft photos and new members Sue and Ian Bennett were introduced to the group.

Doug Parry - Doug was an absentee but we wanted to make special mention of him because he was so keen to attend before a last minute Covid shutdown at his residences put a spanner in the works.

Geoff and Marion Conacher were also looking forward to attending before a rushed hospitalisation for Geoff earlier in the week. Geoff is recuperating well at home and we send our regards.

Finally, President, Bruce Waxman, passed on his thanks to the committee of the Friends of the Odd Bods for their contribution thoughout the year. We hope you enjoy the following photos of today's event.

Friends Of Odd Bods Continue Strong ANZAC Tradition

 

A successful day for Friends Of The Odd Bods with an outdoor service at the Odd Bods tree literally within stones throw of the Melbourne Shrine followed by the traditional luncheon held this year at Amora in Richmond.

With WW2 veterans asked not to march on St.Kilda Rd. this year we opted for a service at the Odd Bods tree. In bright sunshine we were able to complete a simple service that paid respect to the service of aviation veterans. A reading of High Flight by Peter Randell, a brief presentation on the Spirit of ANZAC from Bruce Waxman, and the laying of a wreath by Wing Commander Michael Oram all added to the occasion.

Peter Randell reads High Flight

Greg Smith, Sue Smith, Robyn Bell, Stephen Trask, Rosemaree Matta and Jane Ford were also present at the service. 

Royal Treatment At Westminster Abbey For One Of Our Members

Jan Dimmick is a member of the Friends Of The Odd Bods Association committee and an active member of the Bomber Command Association.

She has a tale to tell us about some very special treatment she received during a visit to the U.K. in 2017.

A Wonderful Day:

"My husband Frank, as a very young man, left school and joined the Air Force. He went to England and flew as a navigator in 460 Squadron of Bomber Command and did seven ops and three food parcel drops to the Dutch. He was home before he was twenty one. Unfortunately because he became ill in 2012 and died soon after he never saw the statue commemorating Bomber Command in Green Park, but he always wanted me to go.

A couple of years after his death I went. I had been to England before but this was the first time to the new monument. I visited a few war monuments with two English friends who started a conversation with a man near the wall for WWI. They told him my father was in WWI in the 58th  Battalion at the Western Front and received high honours and Frank’s father was in the medical corp.

The man they were speaking to was the caretaker and he came up to me, asked about my interest and said I should go to the service in Westminster Abbey marking 99 years since the end of the war. I said I would love to but how do I go about it. He wrote down a phone number and passed it to me. I went back to my accommodation to ring not knowing where the phone number would lead me. I mentioned my call to the concierge and they let me ring from their phone. I dialled, a man answered, and asked if I had any contact with the wars. I told him about my father and husband and he said “Oh yes, wait a minute”. Ten minutes later I was just ready to hang up, he came back. He asked if I could meet him outside the Abbey at eleven o’clock, the service started at twelve. He would have an invitation for me. (I later found that the phone number was for the Australian Embassy)

I arrived at eleven o’clock at the entrance of the Abbey. We saw each other and he passed me the invitation, which I still have. The time to enter was approaching so I made my way in and an usher spoke to me and I gave him my invitation. He said follow me. We walked and walked, past the choir stalls and right to the front of the Abbey. My seat was A2 front row opposite the pulpit and what I call the throne seat. Six Chelsea pensioners were opposite and a gentleman came and sat in A3 and I found out he was an ambassador – we were exactly were the Queen and Royal family sit.

The service began with flag bearers leading through the Abbey– one from Britain, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand – followed by the Clergy and the Duke of Gloucester who sat on the throne seat and his security team, one of which sat in A1 – next to me.

We had a wonderful service and a children’s choir from Australia sang, all four countries had their national anthems and I still have the Order of Service.

When it finished I was ready to leave and got up to back away but the Ambassador took me by the arm and said “Madam, you are one of us” so left with all the VIPs. I walked down the middle of Westminster Abbey feeling very shy but very proud and getting to the door of the Abbey the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop shook my hand and asked where I came from. They let me know that they would love me to visit again if I came back to the UK. They were very polite and made me feel wanted.

After the service while I waited outside Westminster Abbey looking for a taxi, it started to rain. After about a quarter of an hour I decided it was impossible to get a taxi and I needed to go to the toilet. I walked back up the steps and stood in the vestibule when a man came from the Abbey to ask if he could help me (he was an Usher of the Abbey). I told him I wished to find a toilet and he said that unfortunately they were on the far side of the Abbey but to follow him. After a short distance he said “No, I will take you to another one”. It wasn’t far but when I entered the door I saw a crown painted on it. I didn’t ask but I thought it was for Royal use.

This was one of the best days of my  life."

The following photo of Jan and her family is one of our favourites. Taken on ANZAC Day 2018 it captures the ideal location and importantly illustrates the generational interest in ANZAC.

What Many Of Us Will Never Be Able To Share On ANZAC Day

Odd Bod Maurie Smith has referred us to the archives for this article and it contains a very interesting perspective on the meaning of Anzac Day for our veterans.

The article comes from Odds'n'Ends magazine, the Odd Bods newsletter back in June 1986. The article was written by Father Max Grabau, a parish priest in a number of Melbourne Diocese up until the early 2000's.

"Many nations have an annual remembrance day, when they honor those who have fought for the country.

Yet Anzac Day has an atmosphere all its own. An atmosphere which has changed considerably over the years, and which means different things to different people.

It is inevitable that the further we are distanced from this century's two world wars, that there are changes in the outlook of the population.

Nevertheless it is sad to see the day being used by extremist groups for their own ends. On the other hand it is just a holiday for many, and if Anzac Day falls on a weekend, then a holiday is claimed the following week. Which isn't exactly what it's all about - or wasn't, until recently.

So what is, or was, it all about?

Alan Seymour's play, The One Day Of The Year, is currently having a return season in Melbourne. It is a good play technically; a genuine drama about real people. A plot which is real enough and which still has point after all these years.

The old soldier whose attitude to Anzac Day is not understood by his son, and vice versa. Both sides of the argument are well presented, with the audience's sympathy, on the whole, shifting from the son to the father in the end.

But somehow even this honest attempt by an honest author fails to penetrate the real depths of Anzac Day reunions.

This is leaving the annual march to the Shrine of Remembrance, which serves its purpose as a healthy reminder to succeeding generations that the freedoms in which they luxuriate did not come about by chance, but were won the hard way, and may yet have to be defended again.

And rescinding from the fact that it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, which happens in services all through the land. What does bring old servicemen together once a year after all this time?

Many have philosophised about this over the generations: mostly with some elements of truth, yet missing the reality. And it has little to do with the reasons wars were fought, whatever they may have been. Nor, even, the varied reasons for which men and women volunteered in the services.

Contrary to some popular views, reunions are not spent in beery braggadocio about exploits of great daring, nor in any forlorn attempt to glorify war.

Any reminiscing is mostly about amusing incidents, or a few memories about those who have died since last Anzac Day. Much conversation is about grandchildren, or arthritis, or exploits on the local bowling green.

Anyone who had ideas about the glory of war soon lost them in the face of reality. There isn't much glory to be had in a water-logged trench or in jungle mud or being pitched about in an angry sea.

And thoughts of the glamour of being heroes were soon corrected by other heads, with reminders of the so-true tale of the pied piper of Hamelin.

Even the youngest soon realised that patriotic political speeches about nothing being too good for our gallant lads had no more substance than the promises of gold to the pied piper. Servicemen are very popular in times of war and danger, but nobody wants to know them when the danger is past.

It has been truly said that a wartime serviceman's life is mostly boredom, with occasions of intense excitement. And, perhaps, therein lies the crux of the matter.

A sharing in something which nobody else could therefore share with them. Not spouses, not children, not anyone.

Of all human emotions and experiences, there is nothing quite so basic as coming face to face with seemingly certain death. To share this emotion creates a strange and remarkable bond.

This is so when it happens once; a car accident, a bomb, an escape from drowning, or whatever. If it happens several times, the bond is stronger among families in say, London during the blitz or among children who learned when to dive for the gutter during rocket-bomb raids. 

When it is between people who have volunteered to offer, if necessary, their lives, it is something else again. And when it happens not once, but by entering the same situation again and again over a long period, the bond among those who survive is remarkable.

This is the experience which cannot be described adequately, and therefore cannot be shared by anyone who did not take part in it. And it is true of any group of people who, knowing one another well, entered the occasion of seemingly certain death over and over.

It matters not whether it was in foxholes at Tobruk, a jungle in New Guinea, in opposing dugouts at Stalingrad, in German U-boats, or in a bomber heading for Hilter's Reich.

People who have something in common naturally come together to share. Whether they be philatelists, scuba divers, parachute jumpers, nudists, pediatricians or musicians.

But the repeated sharing of the presence of imminent death cannot be fully appreciated or understood by strangers to it. It is, to a large degree, what brings its sharers together, in any country.

They don't talk about it. There is no need to. It's just a sharing and they all understand without philosophising or articulating - most couldn't anyway.

In Australia it happens on Anzac Day. Nothing in their later lives will ever reach that level of intensity. For many, their later lives seem to have been lived on borrowed time."