Thread: Now you ignorant Pricks, if my Place is vacant next year, a moments repectful silence would be nice.

Today was our Annual Bombers Re-Union. Yep. Bombers Re-union. Only in a Democracy like Australia could a group of Males meet at various Places every year to attend a Re-Union, notified on Defence Brown Envelopes, through the Post. And this is the relevance. The Freedom of Free Speach, The Freedom of Consorting, The Freedom of open debate and discussion in, as in todays case, a Public Dining House open, of, course, to the Dining Public.

And we are vocal. More so as the afternoon wears on. Other Tables despatch their Food and Drink rather quickly compared to us. Not that we are a nuisance. Not at all. All being deaf or partly so is a result of being a Bomber. ( that explains the volumn level).

The fact the many of the other Members of the Bombers have artificial Hips and Knees is also the result of being a Bomber.

Thyere are a lot of empty places now. The long table arrangement is always set with empty places.

MANY MEMBERS HAVE MORPHED.Some into butterflys who are still active but facing the life span of the butterfly. There will one or two more places nexy year.

Others have morphed into Harley riders. Need I say more? ( empty places ).

Others, like me, are starting to look like Aliens, hardley recognizable to our former Colleagues.

There's always a lot of empty glasses. The usual goodbyes, farewells, last looks, handshakes,

Then we catch our trains home to Suburbs we have never seen before, old men tottering on and off, bewildered, thousands of young faces with a qiick smile as they dodge skillfully around us, just old men who were once Bombers for the Defence Department. When we finally got our right Bus and my 91 year old Cobber got off at his stop, he stood on the footpath looking all around, then set off in the wrong direction.

Like some of our Bombs. westwind.

And did you venerable gentlemen break out into song? This one became a favorite love song of both sides in the conflict. Rather ironic that peoples who shared an affection for the same music were under orders to kill each other. Just who is the 'enemy'..., makes one wonder.

I am the daughter of an East German soldier who came to Canada and joined the Canadian army, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and the granddaughter of a Lieutenant-colonel who was injured by shrapnel in WW1 and became the head of Veterans Affairs until his retirement. That my mother married a soldier of the previously sworn enemy was a difficult thing for my grandfather to reconcile for she was his favorite daughter. The union did not endure beyond my age of twelve and I sometimes think of myself as the child of conflict personified, ever my destiny to seek a middle way. I remember the following song from my childhood, being played on vinyl, which we children were forbidden to touch the operating mechanism and must not jump on the floor for it would make the needle skip and damage the record.

Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917) is an English singer and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. She was called "The Forces' Sweetheart"; the songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and "My Son, My Son". In 2009 she became the oldest living artist to make it to No. 1 on the British album chart, at the age of 92. She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer. She is still held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the twentieth century.

The handsome man directly under the "B" in "Bryan's" likes this.

Did any of the fellows fly the CAC Boomerang Fighter? Of entirely Australian design, apparently only 250 were ever made, making it one of the rarest production fighters of the war.

CAC Boomerang*Fighter - History, Specs and Pictures - Military Aircraft

a moments silence for he who is irreplaceable
in the warp and weave of the fabric of this society
a tyrian purple thread cannot be replaced by indigo nor forrest green

You ain't got my permission to die you old prick
keep breathing
and posting

If I am To hang in there sculptor then some young thing will have to put me on a promise. Now before adelady goes crook at more for being a silly old fart any young thing will do, a young magpie for instance. ( HE HE HE ).
Now, as members of the Science Forum I would have suspected you might do youe Maths.
Yes, we have a member of the Bombers who actually flew with Bomber Command through the Second World War. And yes, my 91 year old Cobber served in the Australian Army for Five Years in the same war. He still makes back page headlines for his sporting prowess. Australian Rules Football. ( He'll be last man standing).

But most of the current Members, including my goodself, did not serve in that Conflict. Too young thank goodness.

The Bombers started up in our Defence Department Unit sometime in the 1940's I think.

My involement was not at all glamourous. Nothing about my involvement in Life is what anyone would cheer about.

No, merely hands on the design and production and testing side of things.

My National Service training was in the Army.

My career afterwoods was within the Defence Department, apart from a little time in Private Employment.

Korea and Vietnam were active zones but fortunately I was not called upon to make up the numbers.

So my Bomber Membership is nothing more glamorous then someone who had Technological Input to the "Fit for Purpose", application of this type of Materiel.

I wish I was a Hero and deserve all the nice Postes you made to this Thread. But I will try to be a hero so I can live up to your expectations.

The Texan'Poste 3. MacQ. What a great Photo. You've got to be proud man. It's my turn to be impressed. I've lost some face I'm sure withscheherazade and adelady now. How can I hope to compete for their attention when I myself get goosebumps at the sight of that young Airforce man. westwind.

Great Photo scheherazade. What a magnificent machine. They look like rockets fixed under the Wings. The proportions are as right as a finely grown cabbage. I was going to say woman, and in the context of this beautiful machine I may have gotten away with it, but man made this. Only the Angels of Desire can make a beautiful woman.

No, I cannot remember this Plane.

We made planes in Melbourne during the Second World War, at our Fishermans Bend Plant. Hurricanes? Wellingtons? I guess if I Googled Up RAAF MUSEUM, POINT COOK, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. would get some more information. Catalinas--Flying Boats, yep, I remember them. They were used on the Mail run between Australia and Tasmania.

I do not know if I posted this somewhere before, but I was one of the first Children to fly out of inland NSW during the Second World War. American Trainee Airmen were stationed at inland Training areas. They had Dakotas. Somehow or other, I have my suspicions, My Mother and us two kids got a lift on a military Dakota out of NSW into Victoria. All part of a Training exercise I expect..

Still, Ive fallen in love with this plane scheherazade and will make it my business to learn more about it. westwind.

Like some of our Bombs. westwind.

"Pilot to Bombardier, approaching target".
"Roger, sir"
"Pilot to crew, men, today's an historic day. To liberate our fellow countrymen from the scourge that has infested our soil, we must bomb our homeland"
"Sir"
"Yes westwind, speak up man"
"They're only rabbits, sir"

Hey, congrats on the reunion. No more belly landings, OK

Originally Posted by westwind

The Texan'Poste 3. MacQ. What a great Photo. You've got to be proud man. It's my turn to be impressed. I've lost some face I'm sure withscheherazade and adelady now. How can I hope to compete for their attention when I myself get goosebumps at the sight of that young Airforce man. westwind.

Since Veteran's Day was Sunday...How about a couple more?




I'll share a story dad used to tell. He never spoke much about his time in the air, but he would tell us stories about stuff that happened at base. My father was a very strong Christian, and tee-toddler. When he was in Italy, when they landed from a mission, a USO girl would give each one of them a chip. The crew could then turn in that chip at a table for a shot of whiskey to calm their nerves after a harrowing mission. Dad would always give his chip to another member of his crew.

Sums it up pretty well zinjanthropos. We did Mortar Bombs, more correctly Mortars. 81MM. Ground to air Missiles. ( Sidewinders?), not sure now. One Project was Starter Motor COMBUSTION for the Sabre Jet Engine. The Sabres were fighter bombers and used in Korea. By Australian 77 Squadron. RAAF. The CAC Plant mentioned by scheherazade was also located at Fisherman Bend Melbourne Victoria. Known as the Commonwealth Aircraft Factory.
Defence Industry is a big Enterprise, and unfortunately a going concern. Contracts are let and money made. Does wonders for the unemployment figures.

I cut out of the Business when it came to Anti=Personnel Land Mines. Booby Traps.

I didn;t mind doing my bit for my Country, but My Nature caught up with me. I really am an admirer of Beauty, either in Nature or Man Made. And, of course, saveloys. westwind.

For MacGyver. We know all about Texas here in Australia MacG. Most of our early Westerns cameout of Texas and The Saturday Arvos at the Pictures were the start of our Geography Lessons. The Ranches were as big as the Horizon and the Long Horn cattle bellowed as they needed water and grass.

Do you still want that Ranch MacG?. Or do you have an interest in doing more flying?

They say you are a nice Guy to know. That is probably right. But do Texans hit it off with other Americans? Can I send you over a few Kangaroos? westwind.

Originally Posted by westwind

For MacGyver. We know all about Texas here in Australia MacG. Most of our early Westerns cameout of Texas and The Saturday Arvos at the Pictures were the start of our Geography Lessons. The Ranches were as big as the Horizon and the Long Horn cattle bellowed as they needed water and grass.

Do you still want that Ranch MacG?. Or do you have an interest in doing more flying?

They say you are a nice Guy to know. That is probably right. But do Texans hit it off with other Americans? Can I send you over a few Kangaroos? westwind.

Well...that's my dad...not me. I never served in the military. I guess dad gave up the dream of a cattle ranch. When he got back from the war, he worked as a civil engineer with Texas Highway Dept. constructing roads and bridges all over East Texas. He then became a aerospace stress engineer, and worked for most of the major airplane manufacturers ..like Boeing and McDonald/Douglas. He helped design the 747, 757, 777, F-18, AV-8B, F-4 and countless others.