Parthian Shot

GOLDEN CITY COLLECTORS ASSOC. OF BENDIGO INC.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

President’s Non-Report G.P. Is overseas!

No Committee Report was held in October.

Douglas Bader—3 page story from different perspectives.

The story of Darrell ‘Shifty’ Powers a member of the ‘Easy Company’ 101st Airborne unit that were immortalized in the miniseries ’Band of Brothers’

Calendar of Events

The Big Egg & the Maremma Dogs story

John’s Jokes

Article on the July-Sept. 2017 Gun Amnesty

289th Edition

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Phil Brown

Matt Carra

Phil Smith

Les Lewis

Vic Lane Sean Patten Mark Reed Chris Bruce

October 2017

Approved Collector Status as per Section 28 (2) 1996 Firearms Act.

EXECUTIVE

President Greg Penna 03 5444 0093 Vice-President Chris Jolme 03 5474 2552 Firearms Officers: Richard Penna, Chris Jolme, Larry Kinross Phil Brown & Matt Carra Hon. Secretary Leighton Rawlings 03 5443 6315 Treasurer & Richard Penna 03 5443 3549 Membership Sec. Newsletter Editor Sue Rawlings 03 5443 6315

Meetings are held on the 2nd. Tuesday of each month at the Quarry Hill Community Hall, Hamlet St., Bendigo from 7.30 pm for 8pm start

New Members and Visitors welcome.

MISSION STATEMENT

To work in a responsible and constructive manner with Government and

the Community to explore innovative ways to achieve the Association’s

Aims and Objectives

• To promote and encourage a responsible preservation of

collections of historical and antique artefacts for future

generations.

• To foster and promote a public awareness and importance to

preserve our heritage and history for all times.

• To preserve and promote a responsible maintenance and

collection of Australian military memorabilia in particular and

associated items in general.

• To encourage responsible collectors to maintain and preserve

historical and antique firearms.

• To explore innovative ways of assisting collectors in the

maintenance of their interests for the future.

The Editor P.O. Box 3066 Bendigo Mail Centre. Vic. 3554 Telephone: 03 5443 6315 Fax: 03 5441 6595 Email: gccabendigo@gmail.com Website: www.collectorsbendigo.com.au

PRESIDENT’S NON-REPORT – OCTOBER 2017

There will be no President’s Report from our hard-working President this month. After over 10 years in the role, this is a first! Gee Pee as he likes to be known is on a very well-deserved and special holiday. Greg with wife Sandra and son Lee headed to Canada for the wedding of their daughter Susan. Flying from Australia to New York, they caught up with the U.S. branch of the family, fitting in a visit to The Statue of Liberty, before heading to Canada a few days before the wedding.

They left warm spring weather behind to experience some cold snowy scenes in Canada!

Sandra, Greg and Lee above, enjoy the snow. Then they pictured with bride-to-be Susan & fiancé Mathieu in the great outdoors of Canada.

Below, Greg hams it up, playing an ‘air guitar’ by the lake in his GCCA top, then he and Lee are seen handling shards of ice.

L-R: Lee, Greg, Sandra, Susan, Mathieu, his mother, father & brother happily enjoying the wedding!

Darrell ‘Shifty’ Powers Think of the media circus, flags at half-mast, and all the things that were said of Whitney Houston when she died and Michael Jackson when he died. This hero died with barely anyone's notice. It is a shame how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these days...

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 ..."at which point my heart skipped. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem. " I was standing with a genuine war hero ... and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day. I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes... And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach. He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. Shifty died of cancer a few years after that chance meeting. There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center. No wall-to-wall, back-to-back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. The writer of this email decided that was not right! By sharing his story, he encouraged the recipients to give Shifty his own memorial service online, and therefore give him the recognition he deserved. The email was signed ‘Chuck Yeager, General [retired]’ – He died in 2009 but the email is still circulating. You can’t necessarily believe everything you read, so I was curious as to whether the story was authentic, so did a little investigating, which resulted in the information on the following page. Editor.

Research by an expert into the email resulted in these findings: The e-mail's writer described meeting "Shifty" at an airport in Philadelphia and, upon learning of his accomplishments in the war, offered to switch his first-class seat for "Shifty's" seat in coach. For some people it sounded too poignant to be true. I was very sceptical and believed it was one of those made up e-mails based on partial truths whose writer's goal is more about seeing how far it can travel in cyberspace.

Some versions of the e-mail give the impression it was written by another hero, famed test pilot Chuck Yeager, while others say it comes from military columnist Joe Galloway. But neither man actually wrote it. The e-mail was unsigned. The original e-mail is very moving and reminds us that we have not always given the heroes of World War II their proper send-offs. And "Shifty" died just before Michael Jackson. A lot of people were angry that news coverage of Jackson's death and memorial service pushed so many other deserving stories off the newspaper pages and TV screens.

But the questions remain. Is the personal account of meeting "Shifty" in this e-mail true, and who wrote it? I was glad that "Shifty" was finally getting his due. But who started all this? And was the account of the airport meeting real?

When I telephoned Margo Johnson she was happy to talk about her dad who was always a hero to her. He was diagnosed with cancer in January. She said that up until his last days "Shifty," a humble man, enjoyed spending time talking with soldiers. He was supposed to go to Iraq but never made it because of his health.

Shifty, who got his nickname playing basketball, did make several trips back to Europe where he fought in the War. One time he graciously met with a former German World War II veteran. Usually, a family member would go with him. But he went alone sometime around 2002. And when he returned he told his family about the man he had met in at the airport in Philadelphia who offered him his seat in first class. The story, it turns out, is true.

The Johnson family received the original e-mail on July 7, 2009 from Mark Pfiefer. He confirmed to me that he wrote the e-mail and he was the man who met "Shifty" at the airport in Philadelphia. Pfiefer, who worked for Dow Jones at the time he met "Shifty," said today he had no idea the e-mail would take on a life of its own. He just wanted those who received his e-mail to hold a private moment of silence.

"I found out this morning that some took it literally," he said, "and now thousands of people have been organized into a virtual memorial service for Shifty on July 20th. It will be on Twitter, Facebook, and a host of other social networking sites."

"Shifty's" son-in-law Seldon Johnson said "Shifty" would be humbled by all the attention. "He was that kind of man, a true hero that did not seek notoriety. It found him," he said.

Johnson noted that strangers often would send checks to "Shifty" to get his autograph. "He refused to endorse them," he said. "If they sent a return envelope, he'd sign his signature, and return free gratis."

Our country owes much to World War II heroes like Darrell "Shifty" Powers. We're losing the remaining ones each day. And as Mark Pfiefer points out, they're not getting memorial services at the Staples Center. There are more veterans like "Shifty" and they too should be remembered.

I also found some interesting information about the man himself which I believe you would enjoy reading.

Darrell "Shifty" Powers, 86, of Shifty Lane, Clinchco, Va., passed away Wednesday June 17, 2009 at Wellmont Regional Hospital, Bristol, Tenn., after a courageous battle with cancer.

He was a charter member of Clinchco Missionary Baptist Church. Shifty was a veteran of World War II, having served in the 101st Airborne, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was a member of the famed Easy Company whose exploits received worldwide recognition in "Band of Brothers," a book by historian Stephen Ambrose, and miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg.

Shifty dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy on D-Day. He also participated in all of Easy Company's battles including Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler's Eagles Nest.

Powers liked school because got to play basketball. In fact, he got his nickname, “Shifty,” from his outstanding basketball play. After graduating from the local high school, Powers decided to go to technical school.

“After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they (the government) moved all of us from the school over to the Navy Shipyard at Portsmouth, to do work on the ships there. I worked there as a machinist for a while, my buddy “Popeye” (Robert Wynn, a fellow Virginian from South Hill) and me wanted to join the military so we went and signed up for the Army before we got stuck at the shipyard. We volunteered for paratrooper school.” Powers and his fellow paratroopers were originally sent to Camp Pickett in Virginia where they got their basic physicals and their numerous shots and immunizations, but soon shipped out to Camp Toccoa, Georgia.

Powers said, “And parachuting to the ground isn’t hard either. If you jump out of an airplane you’re going to hit the ground, one way or another.” Powers laughed. “The hard part back then was landing. Nowadays they have a different type of chute and they can land fairly softly, but back then, with the chutes we had, you hit the ground pretty hard.

They taught us to yell Geronimo when we jumped. It was supposed to take our mind off jumping, but it didn’t work for me, so the instructors told me to yell Currahee (The men of the 506th were nicknamed the Currahees after the Currahee Mountain at Camp Toccoa), but that didn’t help either. They finally told me to just yell anything I wanted. Well I finally found something I could yell and it kind of distracted me, I’d yell ‘Oh S_ _ t what am I doing here.’ It worked for me” Currahee is Cherokee for “Stands alone.” Powers and his fellow Currahees adopted it as a unit motto.

“I was in the army three years, one month and a couple of days,” Powers said before he passed on. “I was glad to see home. But you know something that puzzles me? In just about three years, we went into the army, exercised, trained, fought and won a war and came home. Our boys have been in Iraq three years now. They can’t come home because the Iraqi army boys can’t do the job and do their own fighting yet? I just believe that as long as our boys are there to do their fighting for them they won’t ever learn to help themselves.”

Ivan Schwartz, a producer on the ‘Band of Brothers’ HBO series, remembers Powers as a ‘kind, generous soul with a great sense of humour.’ ‘Shifty was an incredibly humble human being,’ said Schwarz. ‘He was like most of the other [Easy Company] soldiers we met for the series. They were good guys who were kind of shocked that, 50 years later, people were making a big deal over them for just doing their duty. ‘That’s exactly how [Powers] was, too, Schwarz said. Attempts were unsuccessful to reach Peter Youngblood Hills (pictured) – the English actor who portrayed Powers in the ‘’Band of Brothers’’

miniseries, through both HBO and his former publicity firm, Hamilton Modell in London, England.

GUN AMNESTY….AUSTRALIANS have surrendered 26,000 firearms as part of the national gun amnesty — and they’ve come in some strange shapes and sizes. Even a hand grenade was handed in. Police have reported some of the quirkiest guns handed in are among the vintage variety, including a luger pistol from World War I, a Smith and Wesson .455 revolver from WWII and a shotgun from the Vietnam War. Other disturbing finds include machine guns and a homemade sub-machine gun handed in anonymously in Sydney. Left: Police have reported some of the quirkiest guns handed in are among the vintage variety, like this one handed in by an elderly Queensland woman. Picture: Pic Jamie HansonSource:News

Corp Australia

Below: The elderly woman handed in these firearms during the gun amnesty. Picture: Jamie HansonSource:News Corp Australia

“There’s guns that’ve been handed in that would’ve been used during World War II, guns from the 1850s,” Justice Minister Michael Keenan said. “Among the more unusual firearms handed in under the amnesty have been a Beaumont Adams revolver circa 1856, a WWI era Lee Enfield rifle and two WWII US M1 carbines.” One farmer told the Herald Sun he handed in some of his family’s rare weaponry because “there are some real bad buggers out there”. As part of the first amnesty since John Howard’s scheme after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, Australians have handed in approximately 464 firearms a day.

But there’s a long way to go until some of Australia’s 260,000 illegal guns are out of terrorists’ hands.

A pump action shotgun, a WWI Luger, Walther PPK, and rare Webley from WWII and very rare Smith & Wesson 455 from WWII.Source:Supplied

Weapons that were handed in are seen at the Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre. Picture: Robert CianfloneSource:Getty

Images

“Unregistered firearms could fall into the hands of bikies,” Mr Keenan told Sky News.

“Unregistered firearms could fall into the hands of someone else who could do the wrong thing with them.” The amnesty, which was announced in June, allowed people to hand in unregistered guns from July 1 and was a key outcome of the Lindt Cafe siege review. Police confirmed 25,999 firearms had been handed in across Australia between July and September and urged owners of illegal firearms to hand in what was left before the amnesty comes to an end this month.

Left: CLOSE CALL: A Mansfield gun shop had an unstable 1940's hand grenade brought in as a part of the government's gun amnesty Right: Wanneroo Police: The National Firearms Amnesty gives anyone the opportunity to hand in

unwanted guns. The owner of this replica 44 cap gun "made our day" NSW surrendered the most firearms (13,468), followed by Queensland (7000) and Victoria (2150). South Australia (1338), Tasmania (1,136) and Western Australia followed (521). “If you hold that gun after the end of the amnesty period then you are running a very significant risk,” Mr Keenan said. It is illegal to own an unregistered gun in Australia. Outside of the amnesty period, being caught with an unregistered firearm could cost you up to 14 years in prison or a fine of up to $280,000. The amnesty runs until September 30.

Mundijong Police: This gun has been around almost as long as the Officer in Charge of Mundi! Out of the public arena now – amnesty. A whopping 154 guns have been handed into Tasmanian Police in just 7 days as part of national gun amnesty. “There are now only three weeks remaining to hand in firearms under the amnesty, and I encourage Australians to continue to take advantage of the amnesty period to help remove unregistered firearms from the community.

“As we know, just one firearm in the wrong hands can be deadly.” An incredible 643,726 firearms were handed in during the 1996 amnesty. While an amnesty of this sort serves the obvious purpose of removing illegal unregistered firearms from within the community, sadly, some wonderful collectable items with significant historical value which could be purchased by genuine firearms collectors and registered, may be destroyed! For example, The Beaumont Adams revolver circa 1856, the WWI era Lee Enfield rifle and two WWII US M1 carbines. Sue Rawlings. Editor

Below is the story of an unusual friendship and working relationship between 2 large dogs and a heap of happy chooks, who get to live the good life roaming wherever they please, with a portable home within spitting distance, on hand for them to do what comes naturally to them – lay eggs! These lovely free-range eggs are available for purchase. Details at the bottom of the article. Editor. Hen’s best friend Many people would be quite horrified to find two large dogs wandering amongst their flock of hens, but not the owner or hens of a boutique free range egg farm named The Big Egg, located a few kms from Eaglehawk. The business, recently established by owner Bruce Bloemhoff, who relocated from Melbourne, is the realisation of a dream to once again live and work in a rural environment to keep active after leaving the City, with Bendigo being his final choice of destination. Coming from a farming background, Bruce spent years working with the Police Force Air Wing and, in recent years, in his own Tourism business.

Two Maremma dogs guard this flock around the clock. Mandy and the very originally named Pup Pup, are right at home among several hundred hens. It is their job to guard and protect them day and night. At dusk each evening both dogs change their demeanour and start patrolling the paddocks around the hen house area. Bruce said, “It is just like they are saying we are on duty now, take a hike,” even being disinclined to approach Bruce, and only at dawn, when Bruce comes out to collect the early laid eggs, do they relax. Pup Pup is just 5 months old and following Mandy’s lead with no training from Bruce. Both dogs have warm comfortable kennels provided but rarely used preferring to sleep outside near the hens or around the mobile hen house even in inclement weather. Dating back some 2000 years, The Maremma breed is quite ancient originating in Italy to guard flocks of sheep. The breed can be bonded to several species as a puppy including sheep, goats, penguins and of course poultry. Unlike many other dog breeds, Maremma

require little training once they are bonded to a species. A desire to guard and protect is bred into their disposition. The breed is proud, independent and well able to show initiative and think for themselves without the help of man. Additionally, they can look after themselves and their charges, and can even react negatively if constrained and restricted to instructions, which many other dog breeds require. The large male dogs, in particular, can be fiercely protective of their charges not allowing any predatory animals such as foxes or other dogs, or, in overseas countries, wolves or coyotes to endanger their flock. Strange people are also less than welcome. At the same time, with Bruce, they can be playful and love a hug, pat or tummy rub. As far as food is concerned they are rustic and eat sparingly, are never greedy and generally are not thieves. Home for these wonderful dogs is The Big Egg free range egg farm and they could not be happier

Truly free range, these hens are referred to as “pastured free range” as they do not have a large shed or barn to return to at night. Their accommodation, referred to as a caravan, is mobile and moved to fresh pasture every day or two. Apart from overnight, these hens are outdoors from dawn to dusk. The hen caravan is set up with laying boxes and night time perching areas. The hens either lay early morning or return throughout the day to lay in the caravan nests. Bruce provides a home delivery egg service to most Bendigo suburbs and has plans to introduce ducks in the near future to provide a

limited supply of fresh duck eggs for those who fancy them. Bruce can be contacted on (03) 5446 1592, Mobile: 0415 771 707, or by email: thebigegg@bigpond.com Recently retired, Bruce has embarked on this new venture. Once he has the business up and running, he plans to join our Collectors Club, so I thought I’d give him a leg along by sharing his story, which was featured in the Bendigo Weekly. His dogs aren’t unlike the one starring in the movie ‘Oddballs’ with Shane Jacobson, broadcast recently.

FIGHTER ACE DOUGLAS BADER: The RAF’s Legless Legend

Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was born in London on February 21, 1910. A good student, Bader won a scholarship to St Edward's School in Oxford. Following a visit to the RAF College at Cranwell, Bader set his sights on becoming a pilot and won a place as a cadet at Cranwell. During his time at Cranwell, Bader developed a reputation as a pilot of above average skill, albeit headstrong and inclined to challenge authority. An outstanding sportsman from school days, Bader excelled at rugby, cricket and also boxing and might have played rugby at national level, had it not been for his accident in 1931. Bader was commissioned as an Officer in the Royal Air Force in 1930 and was posted to 23 Squadron at RAF Kenley. Bader's ability as a pilot was such that he was selected to fly in the Squadron's aerobatic display team at the prestigious RAF Hendon display in 1931 but he was also notorious for low level aerobatics. In December 1931, Bader crashed during an unauthorized low level aerobatic routine at Woodley while visiting the Reading Aero Club. Though Bader survived the crash, he came close to death in the days afterward and his injuries were so severe that both of his legs were amputated. He was fitted with artificial "tin" legs and soon learned to walk without the use of a stick and was not only soon driving his car but also flying - on an unofficial basis. Though Bader was passed by the Central Flying School as perfectly able to fly, the lack of any provision in Kings Regulations to deal with his case meant that he could not be passed as fit to fly and Bader was offered a ground commission. Unwilling to remain in the RAF as a ground based officer, Bader resigned and found work with the Asiatic Petroleum Company. Never reconciled to civilian life despite marriage and becoming a first-class golfer, at the outbreak of the Second World War Bader applied to rejoin the RAF. With pilots in short supply the Regulations were overlooked and by June 1940 Bader had been posted to command 242 Squadron, a unit that had suffered high casualties during the Battle of France. Determined to raise morale, Bader's methods were typically uncompromising and he was responsible for welding 242 back into an effective fighting unit. During the Battle of Britain, Bader's aggressive and outspoken character and strong ideas on tactics brought him into conflict with his superior officers. Following the Battle, what became known as the Big Wing strategy favoured by Bader became the chosen strategy of Fighter Command as it was better suited to the offensive posture of 1941, however undoubtedly Hugh Dowding had been right to reject the strategy in the desperate days of 1940. The character of Fighter Command's operations during the summer of 1941 suited Baders' aggressive character perfectly. Promoted to Wing Commander, Bader was stationed at RAF Tangmere from where he lead the Tangmere Wing in sweeps over North West Europe aimed to bring the Luftwaffe into combat. By the summer of 1941 Bader had claimed 22 victories making him the fifth highest scoring pilot in the RAF.

However, on 9th August 1941 Bader failed to return from an operation when his aircraft was downed near Le Touquet, France. The circumstances of Bader's loss are uncertain - Bader said that he thought that a German aircraft had collided with him, while Adolf Galland said that Bader had been shot down by one of his pilots. Modern research suggests that Bader may have been a victim of 'friendly fire', accidentally misidentified and shot down by one of his fellow RAF pilots. Whatever the cause, Bader bailed out from his damaged machine and parachuted to the ground but both his artificial legs were badly damaged. Bader was captured by German forces and was taken to a hospital near St Omer where his damaged artificial legs were patched up. Unaware of the indomitable character of their prisoner, the German hospital staff allowed Bader to retain his clothing and with the help of sympathetic locals broke out from the hospital. He was taken to a hiding place at the home of a local farmer but was betrayed and was re-arrested. Taking no further chances, the Germans put Bader under close guard and he was sent to presser of war camp in Germany, eventually ending up in the infamous Colditz camp as a result of his constant and unremitting hostility to his captors. Bader remained in captivity despite numerous escape attempts until Colditz was liberated in 1945. Bader was promoted to Group Captain following his return to the UK but left the Royal Air Force in 1946. He returned to his former employer where he eventually became managing director of a subsidiary, Shell Aircraft, serving until 1969 when he left to become a member of the Civil Aviation Authority Board. Paul Brickhill’s biography of Bader, ‘’Reach for the Sky’’, was published in 1954 and was later made into a movie. Bader’s autobiography, Fight for the Sky, appeared in 1973. He was knighted in 1976 for his work on behalf of the disabled. Douglas Bader died in 1982, but his heroic memory remains an inspiration to many throughout the world. The Douglas Bader Foundation, set up after his death to continue for work, continues to assist those who have lost limbs. *************************************************************************************** Sir Douglas Bader, the Second World War fighter ace, put other pilots at risk with his flying tactics, claims a new documentary. Article written by Richard Alleyne. [Originally published online 21 Sept. 2012]

Britain's most famous war time pilot, who lost both his legs in a crash before the war, was an enthusiast for the so-called "Big wing" attack formation in which up to 60 aircraft swooped down on the enemy in a cluster. But the new film, while acknowledging his brilliance as a flier, said that his adherence to the technique endangered the lives of other pilots and slowed down the attack. Wing Commander Tom Neil, 93, who had 15 confirmed kills and was

awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, told the Times: "They always arrived after the action. "We would be arriving home with our tongues hanging out and we'd see these 60 aircraft in close formation coming overhead, going, 'Where is all the enemy?' Well, they'd all gone home. "They were claiming 20, 25, 30 aircraft shot down but as far as we were concerned no aircraft were shot down. The claims by Big Wing always seemed exaggerated." Large formations are said to be dangerous because of the risks of colliding with other aircraft while moving through the clouds. It also took too long to bring all the pilots into formation meaning that they missed all the action. "Big Wing was absolute nonsense," said another pilot. The pilots lent their expertise to Heroes of the Skies, a series of six hour-long programmes which was broadcast in Britain on Channel 5.

Bader was able to persuade Air Vice-Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who was in charge of defending the skies over the middle of England, that Big Wing would be a success. Their plans were opposed by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, who was in charge of defending London and the South East. Park successfully argued that smaller groups were able to engage more quickly, but after the Battle of Britain he was outmanoeuvred politically and lost his position to Leigh-Mallory. Sir Alan Smith, 95, Bader's wingman, defended Big Wing. "It was very logical and very sensible," he said. Sir Alan said that Bader, who scored at least 20 kills, was an inspirational figure regardless of the politics of Big Wing. "He was a marvellous leader, a brilliant pilot, a dead shot and everything you relished. "He didn't just save my life, he saved a hell of a lot of lives." Bader, who lost his legs in a crash before the war, was able to use his disability to his advantage in tight turns. While the g-force would cause able-bodied pilots to blackout as blood rushed from their heads to their legs, Bader, who had both legs amputated after a crash in 1931, could recover more quickly. Bader had to bail out over France in August 1941 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. His story was told in the film Reach for the Sky. He died in 1982.

Someone sent me this interesting snippet from a newspaper, titled ‘War of Words’. After I had a chuckle at the content, I decided I wanted to know more about this man.

I have included a brief biography of his life, and an article that questions his tactics in the air, however, when researching all the available material about this brilliant man, I found a very extensive biography of his life, which I found fascinating, but was much too long to include in this newsletter. If you have a computer, and would like to read more, check out the link below. Sue Rawlings. Editor.

http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/fighter-ace-douglas-bader-the-rafs-legless-legend/

J O H N ‘ S J O K E S

Biblical Smile for the Day MARIJUANA and MARRIAGE in Washington State On a single day, Washington State recently passed two laws. They: 1. Legalised gay marriage, and 2. Legalised marijuana. Legalising gay marriage and marijuana on the same day now makes perfect Biblical sense. Leviticus 20:13 says: "If a man lies with another man they should be stoned.” Apparently, we just hadn't interpreted it correctly before! An Irish woman of advanced age visited her physician to ask his advice on reviving her husband's libido.... "What about trying Viagra?" asked the doctor. "Not a chance" she replied. "He won't even take an aspirin". "Not a problem," said the doctor. "Give him an Irish Viagra.” "What on Earth is Irish Viagra?" she asked. "It's Viagra dissolved in his morning cup of coffee. He won't even taste it. Let me know how it goes," he said. She called the doctor the very next afternoon. "How did it go?" he asked. "Oh faith, bejaysus and begorrah, doctor, it was terrible. Just horrid, I tell ya! I'm beside meself!" "Oh, no! What in the world happened?" "Well, I did the deed, Doctor, just as you advised. I put the Viagra in his morning coffee, and he drank it. Well, you know, it took effect almost immediately, and he jumped straight up out of his chair with a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye, and his pants a-bulging. Then, with one fierce swoop of his arm, he sent the cups, saucers, and everything else that was on the table flying across the room, ripped me clothes to tatters and passionately took me then and there, right on top of the table. T’was a nightmare, I tell ya, an absolute nightmare!" “Why so terrible?" asked the doctor. "Wasn't the sex good?" "Freakin' jaysus, it was the best sex I've had in me last 25 years, but sure as I'm sittin here, doctor, I'll never be able to show me face in Starbucks again!" Woman sues Hospital over the result of her husband’s surgery. A recent article in the West Australian newspaper reported that a woman, Mrs. Maynard, has sued a Perth Hospital, saying that after her husband had surgery there he lost all interest in sex. A hospital spokesman replied: “Mr. Maynard was admitted for cataract surgery. All we did was correct his eyesight.”

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Calendar of Events

15 Oct. Collectors Shoot at the Shelbourne Quarry Range. Contact Matt 0408 594 594 for confirmation.

2 Nov. November Committee Meeting – to be held at the home of Vic Lane

14 Nov. November A.G.M. – Quarry Hill Community Hall, Hamlet Street at 7.30pm. Theme: Documents

26 Nov. Bill Evans Memorial Shoot at the Shelbourne Quarry Range. Come along and take part & yours may be the next name inscribed on the Shield.

12 Dec. Xmas Barbeque. Put it in your diary now, before the silly season starts filling it up! All food supplied by the Club. Come along and enjoy a great social night.

Show photos below: Sean Patten & Dennis Trickey Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Victoria

IMPORTANT UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS – 14 Nov. A.G.M. – 26 Nov. Bill Evans Memorial Shoot

& 12 Dec. GCCA Xmas Barbecue