News just to hand is that Mike Izzard, who entered RMC in 1969, passed away yesterday. Mike’s wife Trish is reported as seriously ill. More news will bring posted as it becomes available.

This is to sadly advise that Nev White passed away today. The Canberra Engineers are supporting Michele and the family.

Eric and Paulette had a long telephone call with Michele this afternoon; in the circumstances she is alright and is holding it together.

Michele has advised that she will be following Nev’s written wishes, given to his daughters in 2023. Accordingly, they will have a private cremation and will then hold a small get-together of family and close friends to celebrate Nev’s life.  She had no idea when the get-together would be held, but it will not be till well after Christmas.

As previously requested please do not contact Michele directly, but pass on any messages through Eric.”

Once again we were priviledged to be invited by the youngsters to share Christmas dinner. Our numbers were down but we made up for it with style. Phil and Chris Newman, Al McMurran, Kev Loughrey and John Elphinston and Sandra Davies represented the class of ’72 but alas no photo – we’re getting forgetful. But thankfully someone remembered the camera, and there were a few other photos taken – first prize goes to the Gallipoli Survivors from ’72 and ’74.

It was somewhat special to see the class of ’74, many of whom, some of us hadn’t seen for 50 plus years. It’s pleasing to report that all our hard work paid off as they’ve turned out to be a fine bunch of young men. Well not so young anymore but . . . .They spruiked their 50th Anniversary Class Book and they’ve kindly agreed to for it to go up on our website so you can judge for yourselves.

The speeches were good – lively and entertaining and Kev did us proud with a heartfelt speech of thanks. We were also priviledged to have Tracey Spicer deliver an after-dinner talk on Artificial Intelligence. Tracey’s grandfather was a decorated WWII veteran and a very close neighbour to Peter and Rosemary Keane in The Gap.

Thanks to Peter Keane for organising the dinner and for the invitation.

Classmates,

I regret to advise that Nev White is very seriously ill.  He became ill in Brisbane about seven weeks ago after driving from Canberra.  Within days he was in hospital,  had been diagnosed with multiple advanced cancers, had difficulty communicating and had failed a cognition test.  He was returned to Canberra where he underwent about a week of radiotherapy.  Since then he has mostly been medicated at home, where his mobility and communication deteriorated further.  After another short period in hospital he is now home again, receiving palliative care.  He cannot communicate and it is not clear what he understands or if he recognises people.   

This has been very hard on Michele and family. The Canberra Sappers have been aware and have provided what support they can.   Michele has now agreed to inform the broader class group, but is keen to maintain family privacy and dignity.   Please do not contact Michele directly but if you wish to pass a message please do so through Eric at ericrigter@gmail.com.    

Twenty two classmates and partners met on 8 December at ‘Snappers’, an outdoor venue that’s part of the Canberra Southern Cross Club. We jagged a warm day with a cooling breeze off the lake – perfect for outdoor dining.

Great company, good food and a few laughs.

Having been ‘volunteered’ to organise this year’s Canberra Christmas gathering, Pat and Kym have made a decision to return to Snappers at the Yarralumla Yacht Club.  A booking has been made for 1200 (midday!) on Monday 8^th Dec.

Please put it in your diaries – a reminder and a request for firm numbers will be sent out  in the preceding week. 

The invitation includes spouses/partners/friends, and any out-of-towners who might be in Canberra on that date.

Dress code this year will be Tacky Xmas shirt for the men (within limits): ladies their usual stylish daywear.

For those looking for the Contact List after my post this morning, the correct address is https://duntroonclassof1972.com/contact-list/

Note that it is password protected.

A revised Class List has been posted at https://duntroonclassof1972.com/class-list/. Thanks to all those who provided updates – hopefully we’re up to date!

Next planned catch up in Canberra is Monday 29^th Sep.  Please put it into your diaries and save the date.

Location yet to be decided. Please let Kym know if you’d like. to attend.

And as always, partners and any visiting out-of-towners are encouraged to attend.

An interesting query from Frank Edwards. He recently acquired his Army Pers records and came across an entry immediately post Staff College (1985) that read “awarded Graduate Diploma in Military Studies”. He does not recall any such award or even a suggestion of one. 

This is quite separate from the Graduate Diploma of Strategic Studies awarded from JSSC and the BA (Mil) from UNSW.

Can anyone shed light on this?