Margaret and I had been going steady since I was eighteen and became engaged when she turned twenty (she is 2 years younger than me) We were married on Sat. 17 Aug 1963 and next day we were driving to Brisbane. Had a week to find a flat in New Farm Brisbane before leaving her for six weeks to travel outback Qld. We had our Honeymoon two and a half years later!

Posted to Woodside SA in Jan 1966 to assist in the raising of 110 Light Anti Aircraft Battery, which was to replace 111 LAA Bty who were defending the RAAF Base at Butterworth, Malaysia, against Indonesian Confrontation. The Indonesian President Sukarno was violently opposed to Malaya, Sabah and Borneo uniting to form Malaysia. This unit was one of the first to receive the newly conscripted National Servicemen into its ranks. Very good soldiers.

Margaret who was pregnant with our first son accompanied me to Butterworth in Jun 1966. Russ was born at the British Armys Minden Barracks, Maternity Hospital, Penang in Nov 1966.

Promoted to Sergeant (three stripes) in Nov 1967 as a Gun Sergeant.

We returned to Aust in May 1969 with Margaret pregnant again with our second son.She stayed in Sydney with her mother and I returned to Woodside SA. Mick (he hates Michael) was born in Aug 1969 and I was posted to 12 Field Regiment, Holsworthy, NSW, in the same month as a 105mm howitzer gun sergeant programmed to go to South Vietnam.

Was not at all impressed with being a gun sergeant on the howitzers as it was all too robotic for me, so when a friend who had served with me in Malaysia, whispered that there was a vacancy in his unit as a radar sergeant, I volunteered for the job and was accepted (knew nothing about Radar)

So in Dec 1969 I was posted to 131 Divisional Locating Battery as a Radar Sergeant and sent to the School of Artillery for three months to learn all about it. Passed the course and was now a qualified Mortar Locating Radar Sergeant and in a couple of months was on my way to Vietnam, leaving Margaret and our two sons in an Army Married Quarter in Holsworthy. Fortunately both of our families were in Sydney and she had the car so at least she could get around.

Served a year in Vietnam and on return to Oz was posted to 4 Field Regiment in Townsville as a Technical Sergeant in the Q Store. Didn’t like that one bit so after one year I applied to be posted back to Air Defence in Woodside or Divisional Locating in Enoggera Barracks Brisbane. My request was denied, so I wrote a submission to the Commanding Officer and told him what I thought of his Regiment and was promptly kicked out and posted to 16 Air Defence Regiment in Woodside SA, that was in Feb 1972.

The Commanding Officer of 16 told me I needed more ‘experience’ as a gun sergeant, I advised him that I was already the most ‘experienced’ gun Sergeant in his Regiment and what could be done with his antiquated bofors gun so ‘please sir could I go to the new missile troop that was being raised?’

Whilst outside the CO’s door and rubbing my newly kicked bum , the Regimental Sergeant Major decided to take a big chunk out of me and screamed in my little shell-like ear, things like insubordination, reduction into the ranks and extra duties for the rest of my natural born life, so I had better get my arse into gear and get back to being a gun sergeant and learn a bit of humility on the way.

Knowing him to be a wise man and having no other option I took his advice and went back on the guns. On the first major exercise the CO watched me like a hawk and I only had to flatten my gun bombardier once to convince the diggers we were going to do things my way and I wanted them done yesterday.

The CO couldn’t fault me on anything, so a week after the exercise I was not only in the missile troop but was the Troop Sergeant. I couldn’t get promoted as there was no vacancy for Staff Sergeant and that meant I couldn’t get any more money either, but I had the honour of being in charge of nine other missile sergeants, a whole bunch of diggers and a dopey Lieutenant, who unless he was standing in front of an open door couldn’t find his way out of a room.

I remained a Troop Sergeant in a couple of different Troops until Nov 1974 when someone made a terrible mistake and promoted me to Warrant Officer Class 2 and I was put into the Battery Orderly Room as the Warrant Officer Assistant Administration ( whatever that all means) and I became a pen pusher!

In the meanwhile the Vietnam War had finished (we were winning when I left) Goff had got himself elected for a little while, National Service was all over and funds to the armed forces were dramatically reduced. As I had War Service I was elegible for a War Service Home Loan and we decided to build our house at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills.

In Sep 1975 one of the Battery Sergeant Majors was found to be in the wrong wife’s panties and was kicked out of the Regiment in disgrace and I was given his job (thanks Arthur) My title was now Battery Sergeant Major, Headquarter Battery, 16 Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery. How impressive is that!

In Nov 1976 the army thought I was enjoying myself too much and subtly asked me how our house was going, I told them all the concreting of the paths and retaining walls was completed and the lawn was doing well. They replied, “Good pack your bags you’re off to Fort Fumble, better known as the College of Knowledge” and I found myself back at the School of Artillery, posted as the Battery Sergeant Major Regimental Training Wing (also known as the King of the Kids)

There were many long days and long nights but I felt a great sense of achievement in the job which lasted until Dec 1979 when another stuff-up occurred and I was promoted to Warrant Officer Class One and posted to the Land Warfare Centre, Canungra, Qld.

This time I was an Instructor of Military Law at the Warrant Officer Wing teaching sergeants how to become Warrant Officers. Now that was hard yakka! There were 80 students per course which started on a Tuesday and 8 weeks later on a Wed they marched out. The Instructors were given four days off and on the Mon prepared for the next 80 to march in the next day.

The criteria was after every lesson the instructor had to give a written test on that particular subject, which the students did as homework that night and handed in to the instructor the next day which the instructor marked that night. It was not unusual to give three or four lessons a day and have to mark up to 320 papers a night, then take the students for physical training at dawn the next morning.

I did this for one year and the next was put in charge of the course as the Section Sergeant Major, which meant my life became less hectic. The boys loved Canungra as it had formally been the Jungle Training Centre and was surrounded by rain forest and the married quarters had plenty of kids in it. They were in the Venturers and Scouts, with army guys as leaders of course. They would come home after an afternoon of fishing with catfish nearly as big as them.

Margaret and I enjoyed the social life and made a few lifetime friends from there. It was one of the most enjoyable postings we had, but all good things must come to an end and in Dec 1981 I was posted to 16 Air Defence Regiment, this time as the Regimental Sergeant Major, and we returned to our own home.

As Regimental Sergeant Major I only answered to the Commanding Officer who was a god-like figure in the Regiment and that made me Jesus Christ to all the other officers and soldiery. I was responsible to the CO for the discipline of the Regiment and it was very empowering to march along in the Barracks with my pace-stick under my arm and watch the soldiers clear the way by getting out of my sight in case I was in a bad mood. A bit like old Moses parting the Red Sea with his staff. I was also the President of the Sergeants Mess which had a membership of about fifty Warrant Officers and Sergeants.

In Aug 1983 I was posted to Keswick Barracks in Adelaide as the District Sergeant Major of the 4th Military District, which in simple terms means SA and the Broken Hill Area. The Commander of the District was a Brigadier and again he was the only man I had to answer to. This time I was responsible to him for the discipline of every military unit in the district. Again I was President of the Sergeants Mess this time with a membership of about three hundred and fifty Warrant Officers and Sergeants and about fifty Honourary Members.

We stayed in our own home in Woodside and I drove down the hills every day to the city to work. The Commander travelled the District on a regular basis and I of course accompanied him where ever he went. It was not unusual to be working in my office in the morning yet spending the night under the stars at Woomera. As President of the Mess I had to do a lot of entertaining of interstate visitors and general socialising with local dignitaries.

Fun at first but it tended to wear thin after a while, both boys were in High School and I was due to be posted interstate, probably to Canberra, which did not please me, so I gave the army six months notice and in Nov 1985 I retired after 25 years service. With another army mate we pooled our money and bought a 44ft steel ketch with plans to sail around the world, but that’s another story.