A big "thank you" to all those who turned out to march in Brisbane on Monday. It was a
real please to be led by our patron George Hunt and his sidekick Ken Briggs.
BZ fellas, you make us proud.
It was great to have some 30 odd members marching again this year. I know that it
gets tougher every year, but with our "C Boat" youngsters now coming through to
carry the flag it keeps the rest of us competitive.
The march got off to a shaky start when George & Ken"s chariot was late to the
starting line, but all was resolved when our illustrious President held the March
Marshall at cutlass point until we got ourselves properly organised.
A "Mentioned in Dispatches" to Peter (Huck) Finn for exemplary service in standing by
with his wheel chair throughout the day (although not too sure who it might have been
for as there were a number of marchers who pulled up lame at the finish).
Another special mention to the "girls in the crowd" whose yelling (keep it nice ladies!)
kept us going until we reached the downhill section - just to embarrass them
completely, note was made of the presence of Anne & Amie Wood, Caroline
Williamson, Jan Woolrych, Irene Clarke, Wendy Caesar, Wendy Currell, Barbara
Sellers and Helen McKeown (apologies to those whose names didn't make it to the
Coxswain's notebook).
Following the march it was back to the Coorparoo RSL where we had earlier attended
the ANZAC Service and Don (Duck Run) Currell had laid a wreath on behalf of all
Submariners. The Club continued their fabulous support of our presence in their
domain by setting aside a whole private bar just for us where we enjoyed the company
of our shipmates with SAA Queensland picking up the food and bar tab. Loyal toasts
were drunk to the Queen, Submariners on Eternal Patrol and Ships/Boats at Sea in
keeping with the tradition of this special day. George Rose, accompanied by his
daughter and grand daughter, dropped in to join the youngsters and was seen in
deep conversation with George Hunt, Ken Briggs and Leo Roberts - no doubt winning
the Second World War all over again.
For many members it was their first opportunity to see the re-designed Submarine
Memorial Wall in the Galaxy Room (we really should talk to the RSL Club about
renaming the room). The display of our memorabilia has been brought up to date and
members commented favourably on the improvements (many thanks to the volunteers
who put in so much work to get it looking really great).
A great day was had by all and it was good to be able to catch up with everyone again.