Author: John Elphinston

Our Cadet Records

/ John Elphinston / 2 Comments

Some of us may have an inclination to have a look at our cadet records. Defence now has a procedure to enable that to happen and a summary unofficial document has been put together by WO1 Peter Brown from the Army Museum Duntroon.

The document can be viewed on the website by going to the Anecdotes menu and scrolling down to the Your Cadet Record paragraph.

Please note that if you have previously asked for your records, say at the reunion last year, you will need to complete the procedure from scratch.

This does not appear to be a fully fledged, official Defence procedure so please don’t try and pick holes in the procedure itself. Instead, give it a go and let your classmates know how you got on.

Cheers

John Elph

Which Class is This ?

/ John Elphinston / 7 Comments

A keen follower of our site from the class of 1973 has brought it to my attention that some of their class think that this photo is not 1972 but actually 1973!

My first response was surprise because to me I’d always thought it was WO Foster out the front . But now I’m not so sure – there was another Drill Sgt who stood with a slight bend.

What do you think?

Men’s Health – the list is available

/ John Elphinston / 8 Comments

Hi men,

The list is available by going to the Men’s Health menu and clicking on the link towards the bottom of the page.

If you have provided your ailments, please take a look and check the details are correct – mistakes can happen!

And a final word – if you haven’t provided your ailments it doesn’t stop you contacting anyone who has – it’s our site and the better informed we are, the less chance there could be of having a negative experience.

Happy to receive feedback, good or bad.

Cheers

John Elph

Men’s Health – off and running

/ John Elphinston / 3 Comments

Hey men,

Good to see a healthy response to the idea of a men’s health focus for the website. Let’s go ahead and see where it leads us. Just as a simple example of the benefit of sharing information – I am aware of someone recently recommending to a fellow classmate, that if he goes ahead to have a prostate biopsy, he should insist upon doing it under a general anaesthetic! Sounds like bloody good advice to me.

A couple of points in response to questions:

  • The page will be password protected;
  • Even if you don’t contribute your ailments does not mean you can’t make use of the information. Remember, we are all in this together so if you haven’t shared your ailments and something comes up in the future, don’t feel that you can’t reach out to anyone on the list.
  • The aim is not to see who has the longest list of ailments – I wish the only thing I’d ever had was an ingrown toenail – I’d be delighted to share the info.

So feel free to email your ailments to rmcclassof1972@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the table.

Here’s the list of ailments – if you have a further suggestion please email me.

Men’s Health – take a look

/ John Elphinston / 14 Comments

Hey men,

I’ve put a page on the website with a proposal for using the website to share our medical issues and experiences as a means to help others who may encounter a similar issue.

Please read it and let us all know your thoughts. If there are enough who oppose it , it’s dead in the water. Otherwise, we can pursue it – if it works we keep it going but if not we could terminate it at any time.

Your call.

Cheers

How Times Change . . .

/ John Elphinston / 2 Comments

Back in the day, many people of our parent’s vintage were very comfortable in their view of the world.

The war was over, the country seemed to prospering and there was plenty of technological changes coming out of the USA. Everyone seemed to be getting on with living and raising families.

What was very clear in people’s minds was what their roles in society were – to work and earn a living, to make a home and to raise children. Included in this was the clear understanding of what a housewife was . . . . . as best illustrated below.

The traditional mid century housewife

But little did our families know that within the Army there was a quiet revolution going on. The Army knew best; the Army would decide who did what and more importantly what they were to be referred to as. Roles were redefined, and old norms were no longer the case.

The most telling of all was to be told

. . . .

that’s not a housewife,

this is a

housewife!

Catch Up for Lunch Brisbane 23 Feb 2023

/ John Elphinston / 1 Comment

It was a very good turn out for lunch on Thursday. Around this table were Graham Huggins, John McNamara, John and Jacqui Black, Helen Teys, Murray and Judy Smith, Gail Huggins, Barb Callan and Peter Teys.

On the other table were Phil and Chris Newman, Kevin and Jan Loughrey, Jon Mander-Jones, Maurie Meecham and Rod Wallace. A very good turn out even after a couple of late cancellations.

So good to see some cross border migration for lunch with Jan and Kevin Loughrey up from Ballina but also a first time for Murray and Judy Smith up here from Coffs Harbour – good effort indeed!

The next catch up is planned for May on the Gold Coast at a venue of John Black’s choosing. So any Mexicans and other assorted travellers from down south, plan accordingly and join us.

Memo to all – get the cameras out earlier in the lunch next time!

Cheers