YOUR STORIES 
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This section is for you guys to tell us all a spiel or two about yourself and what you have doing since leaving pussers. It could be be about any further education, employment, health, interests, family etc.

For those who are still serving then it would be nice to hear how your lengthy career has gone and how you managed to go thru the ranks to your current level.

You can write a book like mine or just a brief note on your life after leaving Leeuwin up to the present day. Those on this page are just the first lucky few who submitted their stories. I ask that all you ex 28th'rs who have not submitted a brief "life story"  do so by email to the web master  at:  mail -at sign- leeuwin28th dot com
 A really great prize will be given by me for the story that is considered to be the best received. You must be in attendance at the reunion and your spiel should have been added to the web site by June 1st 2009.

 MICHAEL CRANDON - QLD

I was in Collins Division. When I returned home from Leeuwin (medical Discharge) I looked around for work and had about 28 jobs in a relatively short period - around 10 years. I also spent 18 months in New Zealand with my wife and children during that same decade - living in Auckland.

My current occupation is Financial Planner and on the 1st of June I celebrated 20 years in this role - always with AMP Financial Planning. Our practice is pretty busy, we have 9 people (including myself and my wife) working in it and have been fortunate to be quite successful at what we do.

Prior to that I was in advertising with a newspaper up this way for a year. Prior to that I was in the Motor Industry for 9 years. As you can see I did eventually settle down on the job front.

Got married in 1974 to Pauline and have 3 boys. The youngest is 28 and the other 2 are in their 30's.

GREG SMITH - WA

I joined Duchess also, then Albatross till they knew what to do with us, finally posted to join Sydney for ferry service as an ORDCO. I didn't like "dots and dashes" so I transferred to the radar branch at Watson. After basic RP's course I went to the Perth where I did a whole lot of sailing, Rimpacs etc then a GONZO Indian ocean trip. Great one that, then too Cresswell, sea air rescue for a short while then posted to Coonawarra where they said "when you left there you were either a drunk or married". Well I didn't marry, anyway Tracy mucked all that up. Next posted to the Parramatta but she was in refit at the old Williamstown dockyard so I swapped to Kimbla. What a hell that was? Next I managed to swap to Brisbane, talk about luck!!! What a draft, Rimpac etc again but then to the Spithead Review in 1977. My brother, Mike Smith a signals man was on the Melbourne also for that trip. Next back to Australia, posted to Leeuwin as staff, at Walton division would you believe? Posted later to commission the new base HMAS Stirling. and paid off as a LSRP. I didn't want to finish in MCE (Military Corrections Establishment) Holdsworthy as they don't like it knocking Coxswains around. Bugger that, I sure have missed it, anyway that's it roughly...catcha you all L8tr.

JOHN THORPE - SA

After passing out July 1970 I was a topman for 18 months and then went to HMAS Creswell. Not exactly what I had imagined. Shortly after arriving in January 1972 I was selected to do a BA at Uni NSW while being based at HMAS Watson. After having studied Physics, Chemistry, Maths and English I was now studying Psychology, Politics, Drama and Sociology!!!!! There was absolutely no support whatsoever. An absolute joke. I resigned at the end of that year and my discharge came through in February 1973.

Since then I have been a teacher most of my working life. Primary, secondary and uni. I have held a stack of different positions including working in International Education for the SA Ed Dept. Now I work with a number of schools to lead/support international programs.

BOB HIBBERD - NSW
 I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Leeuwin and looking through the site and checking the photos has brought back fond memories of my time there and of course you guys. Tough at times but great anyway.

After Leeuwin though, everything they poured on me was a piece of cake in comparison. On leaving JRTE I joined the Sydney (Vung Tau Ferry) and in the September was on my merry way to Vietnam via Singapore. My first strip away (obviously) and I loved it and knew I’d made the right choice with this "Navy thing". From the Sydney to the Anzac and this is when I started having doubts about my choice of career. Only spent three months on this ship though before heading for EMC training down at sunny Cerberus.

While at HMAS Cerberus I realised I may be able to do something about a bet I’d had with my father. Dad went to England when he was 23. I bet him I would get there at an earlier age. Trouble was, how the hell could I do that now I was in the RAN ? Cerberus had the answer. A mate of mine there was heading for the UK. I asked him why and he told me he was joining the Submarine service and they did their training in Portsmouth, UK. That was my answer to "How do I get there while in this outfit?"

I joined submarines and flew to London on 18th may 1972 at the tender age of 18. I won my bet. My initial time with "boats" was supposed to be for 3 years only but I ended up doing 17 years on them, loving every moment. For anyone who has been on the Onslow in Darling Harbour, I did 4 stints on that old girl. My ex-wife said I loved that submarine more than I did her. She was right!

One story concerning Leeuwin in 1973 comes to mind. We sailed from Sydney on the Ovens heading for Singapore, except we were going via Adelaide and Perth as a good will visit by a submarine. When we got to Adelaide, the captain decided to let 7 members of the crew drive to Perth and asked for volunteers. I don’t think there was one crew member who didn’t put their name down. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was one of the lucky 7. We got to Perth and went straight to Leeuwin where we were staying until the boat arrived. There were 2 Officers, 2 Senior Sailors and 3 Junior Sailors. We got in no problem but when a mate and I tried to go ashore for a beer we were thrown in the lock up!! They said we’d deserted. It took us 5 hours to track down one of our Officers or Senior Sailors (they’d gone ashore too) to explain to these clowns we weren't deserters. By the time we got out we decided to head back to the block, shower and go out after scran. While we were getting ready the leading hand of the block invited us to the mess that night for a blue movie night so we accepted. It was supposed to start at 7:30 but by 9:30 we were still waiting. I asked the barman why the movies were so late starting and he told us it was for service personnel only (and their wives & girlfriends) and no civilians. We looked around and asked who the civvies were and made the suggestion that we’d get rid of them for him. He looked shocked and said, "you three of course" A great case of mistaken identity as we had hair down to our shoulders even though we were in the navy. They couldn't’t believe it when we produced our ID Cards. We didn’t buy another beer that night. They were all free and we even got three more submariners out of the guys who were there ha ha.

After leaving the navy in 1989 I went from job to job for about 3 years not sure what I wanted to do. I (like most of us I guess) joined straight from school and was a bit lost in the "real world". Anyway, I finally landed a job with an outfit called KRONE (Telecommunications) on the Central Coast in their Test Lab. These days I’m the Laboratory and Technical Manager for the Asia/Pacific Region R&D Test Lab.

As you know I recently married my English Rose...Marie and reside in Buff Point. I have 2 cars, a caravan, a boat and a scooter and they all just sit there cos I can’t afford to run them but what the hell, life is good.

Hope to catch up with some if not all you guys soon

Sitrep:  Sadly Bob and Marie will be unable to attend the reunion. They are imigrating to the UK to live in Setember 2008.

PETER CUMMINGS - NSW

My short time in the real navy was great but then I changed over to birdie and had an even better time of it. Probably because I was a bit more stable then. I changed in '76 the same year my son was born and went to HMAS Albatross then two years later my twin girls were born in Nowra. '79 - '81 saw me back in the West on HMAS Moresby sailing up and down the West Coast between Esperance WA and Darwin NT. Then back to the 'Tross. '85-'86. It was in my best job ever in the Sinai (Egypt). After that I just had the occasional deployment to various ships and exercises. Met Blue Walters and Trev Ritchie again onboard HMAS Success in '89 and even crashed a Wessex Helicopter on their deck that year (during K'89).

Then in '90 I heard about a job going in Newcastle with the Rescue Helicopter Service and applied. I wasn't successful the first time but then a month later they contacted me and offered me a job. They gave me 6 weeks to get out so I wrote letters and got out in 4 weeks. That was in September '90 and guess what...I'm still there. I love the job and don't know when I'll retire. Sometimes I think it will be soon as I'm required to hold a fitness standard and it is getting harder and harder each time. Maybe I should go and see my GP or something for this persistent cough.

Just after I started with the Helicopter Service I got divorced and then a couple of years later I re-married a lovely lady and still with her. My children are now all starting to have children of their own and at this time (June 06) I have one granddaughter 7, another due in a couple of days and another 2 due in December. All of the kids live close by so I get to see then often.

I'm basically doing in civvie street what I did in pussers, that is checking and training of both Aircrew and Rescue Crew here in Newcastle and Tamworth. It keeps me busy which is the way I like it and they tend to let me work my own hours. The only down side is that I work for a charity and sometimes I think that they think I'm the charity. But I'm not complaining(well not that much anyway).

GREG SMITHARD - NSW

I left the navy in 1979 to have my first child, a daughter. I worked for Fairfax doing security for about 1 year and for a swimming pool company for about 8 years before leaving to join Australia Post where i still am now. We had our 2nd child a son in 1985. All is well with me, no breakdowns or health problems unless you call drinking and backing slow horses one.

STEVE HOULSDWORTH - SA

I left the navy after my 12 years engagement was up to work as a storeman for Remington Firearms. A year later I started as a truckie which I still do with Star Track Express but only local area work now. I have three daughters and my first granddaughter born last year, so its one married, one a medic in the navy and the last one still with Mum and dad at school. Health seems to be okay, only the mandatory greying and loss of hair, though I have kept enough to have a ridiculous comb over. So life for me has been good, no excitement except for the kids and it can stay that way till I leave.

GLENN WHITEHEAD - NSW

As a brief outline of the past 30 or so years I suppose that the relevant matters are that after discharge (elective at the FAO) I went to Europe with Bob Lane and Peter Cleaver (27th I think) and then joined the NSW Police.

I spent 10 years as a Police Prosecutor and studied for my HSC at night. Then 5 and a half years to do my Law Degree. Oddly I had always pictured myself as a Barrister but never thought I would ever get to do it. I've been doing it for over 20 years now and the cases are a bit more demanding these days. It has something to do with seniority. People think you know more. I suppose you do. I do mainly criminal stuff, murder and drugs and mayhem.

Yeah things have been ok. A few medical hitches (cancer etc.) and nearly lost my leg 3 years ago riding my motor bike to the city when I had an argument with a garbage truck. But I am doing well and just ran the City to Surf in 90 something minutes which for a 53 year old is ok by me. I am a committed Christian for the past 5 years. Gave up the grog because I liked it too much and it got in the road too often. I am married (second time) 4 kids.

and about the Reunion:

ROBERT LANE - NSW

Well guys after being discharged as Glenn says above I went to Europe with him and Peter Cleaver, real hippies driving around Europe in a yellow combi van with flowers painted on the front. 

When we came back to oz, I returned to the old home town of Tingha NSW and started working for Coca-Cola. I have had several roles from making the Syrup the drink is made from ( the secret ingredients arrive in special containers marked WARNING HIGHLY CORROSIVE) treating the water, doing the lab tests on finished product, supervising the warehouse and finally a Business Development Rep.

On February 24th this year after 30years I left and have been trading the stock exchange from home and baby sitting my 19 month old granddaughter. I have been married for 28 years last June, to an understanding and lovely woman and have two sons 21 and 23 years old. They are top guys in spite of their old man.

I now live at Gilgai NSW about 10 km from the old town of Tingha and since leaving Coke have become very contented. Unlike Glenn ( who I can recommend as a good best man if needed) I haven't given up the grog but my doctor would like it if I did, but apart from a failing memory I enjoy pretty good health, thank God.

IAN SYMINGTON - WA

Well I left in 1975 after 6 years as a ABWM, married Debbie in 1974 after going out with her since Leeuwin ( Glenn and Pete would remember Deb from Lawley St ) still married and we have a son 26 and a daughter 24. After getting out we headed up to the wheat belt of W.A. and worked for a machiney business for 4 years and then bought the guy out, 12 months later we bought another one in a neighbouring town. A couple of years went by and then we bought a bulk fuel busiess as well, then 4 years later we bought 2 more in other towns which we ran all the business's until we sold everything in 95.

I became a trouble shooter for people who were having a problem with their ag business and went around sorting them out, good money but spent a lot of time away.

Back in 96 after my daughter having a lot of skin problems and the medical system not being able to help her, I got involved in a network marketing health company ( didn't think I would ever get involved with network marketing ) and in 6 weeks we had the problem under control.

Over the next few years I spent a lot of time with all kinds of medical people around Aust and overseas and now I help others with all kinds of issues. The business has been very good to us and we now do it full time.

In my spare time I breed Arab horses and ride Endurance which involves riding anything from 40km to 160km in a day ( 1 horse 1 rider 100 miles in 1 day ) it keeps you reasonably fit.

I still enjoy a few beers on a regular basis and have had very good health all my life and look forward to plenty more of the same in the future. Live in Gidgegannup (made famous by Peter Brocks death) and I am still married to my lovely wife (not sure how she has put up with me for this long).

I am looking forward to catching up with all the guys in 09

GARRY BRYEN - NSW

When I left pussers in July '81 I was promised a job in Griffith, NSW as a wheat farm Manager. But that never eventuated. I was employed by the same people (Bartters Enterprises) as a laborer at their main farm in Hanwood and I got to drive a truck or fork lift for the engineers and do some industrial spray painting, as well as insulation spraying, which stuffed up my lungs to a certain extent. Worked there for about three and a half years and then went to a few different companies in Griffith, including selling tyres , grain handling, door to door sales and general laboring. Ran out of work and on the dole for two years then finally decide to move back to Nowra with my wife and never looked back.

Got married in '82 to Jean who had four boys already and had a wonderful time with her until she died from cancer in '99 Got a job in Nowra with Dowell Windows in '88 and worked there for thirteen years making aluminium windows and doors,nearly ended up foreman, but damaged my right arm and had to go on workers comp. So then I had to find suitable work so that the injury wouldn't occur again. Was told to be a salesman but I had already done that, so I decided to learn computers and did the ICDL course in Ulladulla and then went on to do the Certificate IV IT, Client Support. Now I am qualified to consult and build computers as well as do one on one teaching.

My arm declared was "Possibly permanently injured" and I am now with my partner Louise in Sri Lanka looking after an orphanage in Rambukkana with 24 children. The orphanage is totally funded from Australian donations and sponsorships. We will be returning home on the 2nd of January 2007.

Update: Garry is back in Australia and living in the Nowra area...where else?

MURRAY MARSH - VIC

I must say from the outset that since leaving the Navy I made little effort to reconnect with the past until recently when I joined the Sydney Association, but having done so I find my curiosity getting the better of me and hence I have stumbled across the 28th intake reunion notice posted on the Sydney notice board. I have been further encouraged by my family to continue with this discovery.

I live Mt Eliza Victoria, have 4 adult children, two living in QLD, 1 in Ballina and one still at home.

For the past 20 plus years I have been employed by a company called Ensign Laboratories as the Corporate Resources Manager, we are a major R&D company with a substantial manufacturing division.

Since leaving the Navy I have been blessed with good health as has my family.

I have not been in touch with any ex navy guys until now.

I must say that when I read through the roll of the 28th I was still able to put young faces to a lot of the names, I was particularly saddened to see the word deceased next to a few old mates.

From Leeuwin I was posted to the Sydney, then to Cerberus, to Yeronga for Pathology training, to Melbourne back to the Sydney then finally to Cerberus. I have mixed feelings about those years, I guess that like many other young fellows of that era, the Navy was a means to ends with particular regard to getting away from less that satisfactory home situations. With this being the underlying reason for my being in the Navy I was destined to be a pain in the proverbial rear end for my superiors. I had a notorious reputation for challenging what appeared to me to be poor policy, and I was less than charitable when provided with inept responses by way of explanations when challenged.

I never did turn out to be any good with bureaucracies.

Putting aside the institution of the Navy, I loved my years in the medical branch and even to today I think that was the best job I ever had.

I look forward to renewing old acquaintances.

TONY CHARLWOOD - WA

I am currently serving on HMAS ANZAC and at this stage I will be here until Jun 08. I have however heard it may be extended another 12 months due to the shortage of Chiefs willing to go to sea and 37 Senior Sailor billets to go to the new Tri Service Investigation branch that is being started next year.

I don't mind the sea time with the extra money but it makes many of us mad because a few of us seem to keep going round the buoy and back to sea again.

I bought a house in Bibra Lake, WA which is about 15 minutes south of Perth about 5 years ago and as the War Office and two kids are quite happy there. I intend retiring and staying in WA. We think it's a great place to live even if the rest of the country think it's behind the times.

Tweed heads for 2009 sounds good to me. It will be good to catch up with the troops as many I have not seen for many years.

RON RIDDELL (CLARK) - WA

It's been quite a few years since we did the deed and joined the grey funnel line. You may not remember me as my name then was Ron Clark ("RJ" was the nickname I got from the Divisional Staff) I was posted to Duchess after JRTE then to Albatross for a month or so then to the "Ferry" for a trip to Vietnam. It was then to Cerberus for branch training and then onto Anzac. An opportunity came up to transfer to HMAS Supply so I joined her in mid year to go to Rimpac 72 then onto Japan, Hong Kong, Subic, Manila, Darwin and Port Moresby then home. That was a great trip. In '73 Supply sailed as part of a protest cruise with the Kiwi's to Muraroa when the frog's were doing nasty things in the atmosphere. That was an interesting 3 months. To top the year off we then went out into the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, Mombassa and the Seychelles. Mid '74 I went back to HMAS Cerberus for a brickies and lagger's course and then I posted to Fleet Maintenance at Williamstown. I did very little in what I trained for because an old Dibby by the name of PO Tom Lawton took me under his wing and we formed the metal spray party. A Stoker associating with dibbies.That was a good year, though.

It was at this time I got engaged to my present wife and decided that married life and Navy didn't mix very well so I discharged from the Navy in June '75. We married in November '75 and just celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. We have 4 daughters. The oldest is 26 and the youngest is 17. We moved to WA in 1990 after 16 years in Melbourne. My eldest daughter joined Navy Cadets in 1991 as a 13year old and left at 19. My other 3 daughters have been or are in Navy Cadets. One is the most senior Cadet in WA as a Cadet Midshipman. I was asked to join in 1991 when the CO of the Unit found out I was ex-Navy, so 14 years later I'm still in. Incidentally the CO then, was also a Stoker in the RN and his first ship was HMS Duchess. Well, I've rattled on long enough. I hope you get the Reunion off the ground, it would be good to catch up with many old shipmates again.

JOHN HOGG - NSW     
  After my 20 years in uniform I took 5 months off to recharge my batteries and rest. In this time I returned to the US West Coast for a little holiday.

http://www.users.bigpond.com/flagecho/Hogg%20Biography.htm

When I got back home I sat the Commonwealth PS (public service) test and came 600th odd out of 10,000, made a phone call and joined the Defense Department. I started off as an Administrative Service Officer Grade 3 (ASO3) at the Remington Blg working for Mr John Miles at AMC. Then after 12 months I was promoted to ASO4 (Stores Inspector) working for the SIS (senior Inspector Stores) John Russell at Zetland just before it closed down. Later the department moved to Blg 99 ADI-NED GID.

At the new refurbished blg the department name was changed to MCCA-E (later called LDA-E). I was an SCI (ship Configuration Inspector) formerly called a Stores inspector - seagoing since 1913. In this job I had many different tasks like commissioning and decommissioning, configuration validations and similar type tasks like SIRT (ship configuration reviews) to do on naval units ranging from small boats to ships of Melbourne's size.

My main job hi-lites were validating and SIRT'ing Fremantle Patrol boats and similar in Cairns, posting onboard the Kanimbla on arrival ex Battle Creek MI USA and validating over 8 months traveling many sea miles showing the flag, Commissioning load outs and validation of MHC's (Huon Class) at ADI Newcastle, DDG and FFG validations and lastly looking after the LPA project for Manoora and Kanimbla at Forgacs Dockyard Newcastle NSW.

Unfortunately I had 2 nervous breakdowns onboard Manoora and Success which added to medical problems including uncontrolled diabetes depression, acute anxiety and pancreatitus made me medically unfit for sea going anymore. After nearly a year and a half off sick and long service leave I got a "piss easy" position at the Administration cell of the RAN Hydrographic Office in Wollongong NSW. Unfortunately the Captain at the time and I didn't see "eye to eye" and not too long after my position became redundant (wonder why?), so I elected to retire from full time work instead of commuting to Sydney again.

Best move I ever made. So here I am at 53 back home where it all started 35 years before when I left Wollongong Railway station as a young fella one cold winters morning.

Apart from this web site, tracking down the guys and helping organise our 40th reunion I like to play lawn bowls. I have also been active in soccer as a manager for my best mate who has coached both senior, U/19 and junior teams for many years. I am currently single, lost both parents to lung cancer and have one great younger brother (ex mobie and CPOMTP) and four sisters who mostly live locally.

Life is good especially not having to get up on a rainy Monday morning to go to work.

NEIL HAINES - VIC

Hi John and others. It's Neil Haines (Collins) and I've used my work log-in as with time I feel is easy to keep things simple! I was shocked to receive your email and learn of the possibility of a reunion...I'm in! I've had little to do with the ex-life and by chance attended the decommissioning of HMAS Canberra a couple of weeks back (in WA) and ran into people I hadn't seen in many years. I completed my 20 years service and moved into the security industry. Although I joined from Sydney I now live with my (3rd) wife in Melbourne. I have a 30 something son in London, 30 something daughter in Hong Kong (with 3 grand children) and a 5 year old daughter with current wife (will I ever learn?). I guess the process from here is to keep contact through this site but equally I am happy to supply my work email to anyone. I look forward to catching up with you all....may I suggest we wear name badges to respect our aging memories?

PS. I drove past Leeuwin when I was recently in WA, memories flooded back that had been locked away for a lifetime....and gee it looked small!! Regards to all. Neil BLUE WALTERS - NSW

Howdy Gentlemen, Blue Walters ex-Walton. Currently residing in Newcastle with wife, dog and four aviaries of mixed birds. Still working, three grandkids F7, M4 and M1week. My three kids grew up and live Gold Coast, Canberra and Sydney so I do a fair bit of traveling. Since I left the pus have only run into Robbie Robinson at the WTRs Reunions every three years. It surprised me when I eventually made CPOWTR especially after the bad luck Lucky and I had on DUCHESS...we were misunderstood by the COXN. Would definitely attend any 28th reunion anywhere. I paid off in 97 after loosing my sense of humour and from what I see and hear it was the right time to leave.

BRIAN PETTITT - WA

I started off at sea on DUCHESS (good to see a new 154 in the fleet) also before moving to Kuttabul for a few weeks and then to SYDNEY. Next to CERBERUS to become a communicator until they found they couldn't teach me how to type. From there to ALBATROSS with a change of rate to MET. Postings followed to YARRA, TEAL/IBIS, SYDNEY, ALBATROSS, MELBOURNE, KUTTABUL, ALBATROSS, DIAMANTINA, ALBATROSS and finally LEEUWIN where I paid off in 1980.I joined the Weather Bureau for 6 years, then looked after kids in a school hostel for 10 years before moving on to Customs. Still never married - got close a few times but would still like to. In my other life, like Ron, I became tied up in Navy Cadets in 1980 and I am now a Unit CO (TS COCKBURN). That also lead to sailing which I now instruct and go for the occasional race with Corsairs. I still live in Perth.

STEVE POTTER - VIC

 G'day all, well I left the navy in 1990, having served 21 years of undetected crime. Upon completion of 6 months long service leave I found work in a University Security area for 7 years. There I couldn't work civvies out so I set up formal security training for the in-house blokes. This got them licensed and and I created leading hand billets so they had something to set as a goal. I don't think the powers to be agreed with me on that issue as things started to get nasty. My boss didn't have a spine and I had to take on the boffins on my own. After a couple of years it took its toll on me because I got pretty crook and found myself in the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital for 5 weeks. There I met an Pensions Officer who helped me put in a claim to DVA (Department of Veterans affairs). As a result I'm classified as a TPI (Totally Permanently Incapacitated).

I met my lovely wife while in the navy back in 1971, married in 1973, we have 2 sons aged 30 and 22 and two grandkids who are girls. You know your alive when babies are running around, my health has returned and life is fine at the moment