Congratulations to Bob Cramp (1973) in being awarded an OAM in this year’s Australia Day Honours List. Bob has been recognised for his service to the sport of shooting and to the community.

All Classmates who are available are invited to a gathering to celebrate the life of Nev White, who passed on 15 December 2025. We will meet at the Arboretum at 10 am on Thursday 29 January 2026. The Engineers will say a few words and then reflect with coffee etc. These will be purchased individually from the Cafe. No members of the White family will be present.

We hope that you are able to join us.

The photo below came to me by way of John Culleton (Gallipoli ’74) and Bob Brown (Gallipoli ’74) and apparently shows a number of our number who gathered at RMC to play an annual game against the current cadets. It could be the 1984 gathering.

So the challenge is to try and recognise who is in the photo! I’ll kick off with the obvious – Paddy Ryan, John Culleton, Bob Brown, Don Muirhead (also picks up the prize for the biggest shoulders), Al McMurran. So come on men – who else is in it?

Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. May you enjoy the company and comfort of family, loved ones and friends. At this time, we keep in our hearts and minds the memory of those who have left us, and their loved ones still with us.

Mates forever.

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.    

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?