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1st Regiment RAA BandDiamond Jubilee
The 1st Regiment RAA Band will celebrate it's Diamond Jubilee over the period 21 - 23 March 2014.
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Dear Gunners (Readers) -
WELCOME TO AIRBURST NO 9 - 2014,
The ANZAC Centenary Gun Project continues to roll along although I have been disappointed in the lack of support from the Gunner Community as a whole. Less than 10 donations have been received from Gunners; we are grateful to those individuals and hope that their example will spur on others. Please also pass on AIRBURST No 8 to as many of your contacts as possible.
The largest individual donor has been an infantry man! The infantry providing support to the artillery!
We have been briefing a slew of people on the project. These include the CDF, Angus Houston the Head of the ANZAC Centenary Committee, Tim Fischer ex-deputy PM and Vietnam Veteran, Peter Fitzsimmons author, journalist and ANZAC Committee Member, Head of Regiment and the Australian War Memorial Director and Deputy Director.
Three grant applications to Members of Parliament have been made and we hope that all three will be successful.
We have a long way to go and would appreciate advice on any contacts you may have in the broader business community, particularly among Defence industries, to allow us to attempt to attract their support.
You can track how we are going with fund raising on the website. Click Here to access.
This Airburst has a lot of information in it including news from other Associations. If you are a member of another asociation (which we all are) please let them know that we can provide information on their activities.
Subscription to Airburst is FREE. It is easy to subscribe. Simply click on the Subscribe to our Newsletter at the bottom on the column to the left.
Ubique,
Ian Ahearn
Deputy Chair
RAAHC
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| Did You Know?
Did You Know: In 'days of old' a fixed fortified structure with artillery pieces was referred to as a 'battery'; however, artillery in the field was grouped into 'troops' and 'companies'. In 1722 the companies were organised into a regiment which was named the Royal Regiment of Artillery and in the late 1850s the (Artillery) term 'company' was re-titled as 'battalion' and, in time, again re-titled as 'regiment'. Over the same period the 'troops' were re-designated as 'batteries'. |
Gunners Around the Nation
Newsletters from Other Associations RAA Association NSW Inc - Newsletter 'Gunfire' |
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RAAHC Board of Directors
Over the next 4 to 6 editions of Airburst we are going to have a more in-depth look at the Board of the RAAHC, the Directors and what it is they have been up to in their respective rolls.
Much of what they do is behind the scenes and can amount to a significant expenditure of volunteered time and effort with little to no recognition by those of us that benefit, in one form or another, from their dedication and involvement in the RAAHC.
Over time we will filter our way down through the ranks, so to say, and look at all the volunteers and their valuable contribution to the RAAHC.
First up is an overview of the Board of Directors and what it is they do as an organisation, from Major General (Retired) Tim Ford, AO. See next article.
I would like to thank each of the Directors, in advance, for their contributions to Airburst.
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What do the RAAHC Board Directors actually do?
The RAAHC constitution allows up to 15 directors on the Board of Directors. All Directors are volunteers. They receive no salary or allowances and they give their time freely and attend Board meetings and other activities for the RAAHC at their own expense. Their shared purpose is to promote the significance of Australia's Artillery, its history and heritage.
The RAAHC Board meets together about 5 times a year including an Annual General Meeting when it formally reports to its members. In between meetings, business is undertaken via email, phone calls and informal committee meetings and activities involving our volunteers and other groups and organisations with which we interact.
Each of the directors has specific areas of expertise and function. Four are elected to undertake the responsibilities of Chair, Vice Chair, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary. In addition all directors are members of at least one of our Committees, which at present comprise a Governance Committee, a Finance Committee, a Membership Committee, a History Committee, and a Collection Committee.
Currently our RAAHC Board comprises 10 members. All are Gunners except our treasurer who is an accountant with a love of military history. They reside in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne- three are serving officers (two Army Reserve) and the rest are retired from the service (but active in other fields). We are seeking to broaden the basis of the Board to include not only wider representation of gunner experience but also from interested communities, sectors and professions all around Australia - anyone who wants to assist us to promote the significance of Australia's Artillery, its history and heritage is welcome on the Board.
We are also looking for further volunteers to support those already working on the various activities that we are undertaking. This includes development of our RAAHC library and research centre, restoration projects being undertaken in Sydney and by other artillery groups around Australia, the Anzac Centenary 18Pdr Gun Project, development of our website and its historical and current information, production of the RAAHC Magazine "Cannonball" and our electronic Newsletter "Airburst", maintenance and development of Australia's Memorial Walk at North Fort, support to the temporary artillery display at Puckapunyal and to the proposed Combined Arms Museum at Puckapunyal. Volunteers can work from home or join various groups undertaking projects and ongoing tasks.
Do you want to be a RAAHC Director or a volunteer? Great, please give me a call.
Ubique
Tim Ford
0408 029 295
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1st Regiment RAA Band - Diamond Jubilee
The Band of the 1st Regiment, Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery (the Arty Band, as it has become affectionately known) will celebrate it's Diamond Jubilee over the period 21-23 March 2014.
A number of activities are planned to celebrate and embrace the service and achievements of the Arty Band over the last 60 years. It is greatly anticipated that this unique opportunity in the history of the Arty Band will bring together many of those who served within its ranks, strengthening and renewing old friendships.
Read more...
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50th Anniversary
110 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery will celebrate the 50 Anniversary of it's formation at Woodside in South Australian in 1965 with a reunion in Adelaide in May 2015.
For details on the reunion and preferred accommodation provider use links below:
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Webmaster Update
The website continues to grow in particular with regards the following:
a. The list of unit RSM's continues to grow as do the number of biographies available to view. Thank you to all those RSM's that have contributed to date.
b. The list of unit CO's has now been made available for general viewing and we are hoping those of you that held the appointment of Commanding Officer will forward a biography for publishing on the website.
c. The list of Colonel Commandants has also been made available for general viewing. We are currently in the process of identifying as many past Colonel Commandants as is possible for listing in their respective regions along with biographies being made available.
d. The Obituary resource continues to grow with a significant number of obituaries having been added over the past few months thanks mainly to the efforts of Peter Bruce.
e. Shortly the RAAHC will subscribe to a professional online Photo Gallery. The photo gallery is limitless as to the number of photos permitted to be held. Of the greatest importance, to me, is the ease with which you will be able to upload photos to a designated album. Rather than cut your photos/videos to a CD or USB then forwarding it to me for uploading, you will be able to upload direct from your own PC/laptop once a temporary password has been set up. Then an email will be sent to you with a link to the designated photo album a password and thereafter everything is basically automated with a drop and drag approach. There are a few restrictions such as a photo cannot be any greater in size than 50 mb per photo (I would like to see just one of these) and videos are restricted to a maximum of 10 minutes per video, that aside the photo gallery will become yet another valuable resource for looking back. There will be more to follow on this subject.
For your convenience we have now included in the left hand column of the newsletter at the bottom a quick and easy way for you to forward Airburst onto those you think may be interested in, a particular article or subscribing to Airburst. Simply click on the "Forward to a Friend" icon and the rest is easy to follow. Why not give it a try now!
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Australian Artillery Association
2014 National Gunner Dinner
The Australian Artillery Association has now confirmed their 2014 National Gunner Dinner will proceed as planned on the 23 August 2014 at the Event Centre in Caloundra, Queensland.
To date the number of Registered Attendees has exceeded 354 and they are hopeful of achieving an attendance rate of between 400 and 500.
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