February 2024 newsletter
Advocates at Sub Branch
Introducing Wayne McMillan and Wayne Taylor who have taken up Compensation Advocate positions within the Albury RSL Sub Branch. Wayne McMillan is qualified ATDP compensation Level One and Wayne Taylor is qualified ATDP compensation Level 4.
Currently our compensation opening hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am till 2pm, with the first appointment being 10.30am. Should you need assistance with your compensation claims or appeals, please call the Albury RSL Sub Branch on: 02 6021 1341 or Wayne Taylor on 0494 087 854 between 10 am and 2 pm Tuesday and Thursday.
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Meetings are held 3rd Sunday of the month at 11 am
Next General Meeting 18th Feb
AGM 17 March followed by general meeting
October Newsletter available here
Veterans Health Week
9th Oct to 13th Oct
YOGA
Monday the 9th of October and Friday the 13th
The yoga session at ORANA 153 Melbourne Road Wodonga.
SOCIAL BOWLS MORNING
Thursday the 12th of October 2023
Commercial Club Albury bowling greens.
ANZAC House 527 Wilson Street Albury from midday.
A presentation on mental health followed by a healthy lunch
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Vietnam Veterans Day
18th August 2023
A memorial service was held in the memorial garden at ANZAC House
The service started at 10am and was followed by morning tea.
There was very good attendance with numbers boosted by the veterans from ‘C’ company 2 RAR who held their reunion in Albury over the weekend.
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SOLDIER ON
Due to the withdrawal of funding from DVA and other sources the Soldier On office Closed on 30th June. For more information on this situation please contact Soldier On head office on 1300 620 380.
In the near future we hope to have a welfare/pensions person starting work at the sub branch.
Coffee catch ups will continue in both Albury and Wodonga under the sponsorship of the respective RSL Sub Branches
Coffee Catch Ups
Albury coffee catch ups are held on the Tuesday before the 3rd Sunday of each month
The next Albury catch up will be on Tuesday 14th November
At the Albury RSL Sub Branch 527 Wilson St. Albury 10.30 am to 12.00 pm
WODONGA at the Bean Station Elgin Boulevarde 10.00 am to 11.30 am
For more information contact Brett on 0401032063.
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Soldier On Article regarding our New Treasurer Here
June 2023 newsletter available here
Meetings held 3rd Sunday of the month at 11 am
General Meeting 19th November
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March Annual General Meeting
At the recent AGM the NSW RSL state president Ray James OAM was our guest speaker and gave us a run down on the changes and future directions of RSL NSW.
The only change to the executive committee from the previous committee was Jan Francis, who stood down from Treasurer after 13 years, with Brett Newman elected as the new treasurer. There is still a vacancy on the committee for an assistant treasurer and another vice president.
After the elections that were conducted by the returning officer Alan Hutchings the state president presented certificates of appreciation for their many years of support to the Albury RSL Sub Branch and the NSW RSL to Pauline McLeod, Jan Francis, Graham Docksey and Noel Francis.
After the presentations Ray’s Wife Pauline James OAM, RSL State Coordinator of RSL Auxiliaries, gave a talk about the RSL NSW Auxiliary formally the RSL NSW Womens Auxiliary. The name change allows both men and women to become members of the RSL Auxiliary. More information regarding the RSL Auxiliary can be found on the RSL NSW website.
Pauline then presented Graham with a Certificate and a Thank You For Your Service Quilt which is now on display in the front office of ANZAC House.
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The 50th Anniversary of the Withdrawal of Australian Combat Forces from Vietnam.
Albury
Saturday the 11th of February 2023.
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A Brief Background to the Vietnam War.
Between 1962 and 1975, 523 Australians died during their service in Vietnam.
Australia announced to send military instructors to Vietnam on the 23rd of May 1962. The first Australian troops committed to Vietnam arrived in Saigon on the 3rd of August 1962. This group of 30 advisers were collectively known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV). As the war escalated, so too did the pressure for an increased Australian commitment. This commitment grew to involve the Navy, Army, and Air Force as well as civilian support such as medical/surgical aid teams, war correspondents and officially sponsored entertainers. By the time of the final withdrawal of the Australian Embassy Guard on the 1st of July 1973, approximately 60,000 Australian men and over 500 Australian women had served in the Vietnam War. Of these, 523 died, and 3,131 were wounded. The Department of Veterans Affairs reviewed and subsequently extended the date range for Vietnam from 1972 (when Australian combat forces were withdrawn) to 1975 (when the war ended with the North Vietnamese capturing Saigon). After the withdrawal of the 1st Australian Task Force from Phuoc Tuy Province in 1972 a few members of the Australian Army Training Team remained until 1973 and there was also a small army guard detachment in the Australian embassy until the very end. QANTAS crews flew some 600 flights into and out of Vietnam during the war.
Australia’s participation in the war was formally declared at an end when the then Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck issued a proclamation on the 11th of January 1973. The only combat troops remaining in Vietnam were a platoon guarding the Australian embassy in Saigon (this was withdrawn in June 1973).
11am Commemorative Service.
The service will be supported by the Army Band, Australian Federation Guard Precision Drill Display Team, RSL Chaplain, piper, singer, and bugler.
Skippy Squadron was formed in 2002 by the volunteer Qantas aircrew and ground staff who operated and supported military charter flights in the prescribed area of operations during the Vietnam war, maintaining the commitment established by their predecessors during the Second World War. Members are eligible for the award of the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 with Clasp Vietnam, and the Vietnam Logistics & Support Medal. Eligibility was confirmed by Government Gazette on 23 April 2001.
Skippy Squadron organiser, Alan Kitchen, has made an extensive study of Qantas charter flights to Vietnam from June 1965 to February 1972 and has established that at least 300 flights in/out of Saigon were chartered to the RAAF to carry troops to Vietnam. According to National Australian Archives Inward Customs Register in June 1965, B707-138B VH-EBI operated four flights from Saigon.
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Veterans’ Health Week
20 October 2022
A very successful day was held on Thursday starting with a ‘Bowls gr8 for Brains’ activity at the Commercial Club bowling greens. About 40 people were at the bowls with numbers being boosted by a large contingent of serving personnel from the Bandiana barracks.
At the end of the bowls activity everybody went to ANZAC House where they were joined by the RSL ‘Link’ day club for lunch. Before lunch Gary Treeve gave a very informative talk on healthy eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
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Newsletter in PDF format
October Newsletter 2020
June Newsletter 2021
February Newsletter 2022
October Newsletter 2022
Vietnam Veteran’s Day 2022
At 10am on 18th August a memorial service was held in the garden memorial at the rear of ANZAC House.
As it was a Thursday the day club was invited and came to the service. In total there were about 40 people in attendance including 10 Vietnam veterans.
Nigel Horne as the MC did his normal excellent job and kept things running smoothly.
Our RSL Chaplain Alan Kelb led the prayers and dedicated the new Vietnam plaque that has been installed near the other plaques in the garden.
Gary Treeve a Vietnam veteran and the sub branch activities officer gave the address.
The sub branch secretary Mark Lunnon then read the names of those servicemen from the Albury area who lost their lives during the conflict.
After the reading of the names Noel and Gary unveiled the new plaque which was them blessed and dedicated by Alan Kleb. Noel then laid a wreath in memory of all those who paid the supreme price and all those still suffering the effects of the war.
Roger Buck played the lament which was then followed by the ode, last post, reveille and national anthem.
Harry Hacking played the music for the end of the service on his speaker system
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