As we look at our time at Portsea, there are many little ‘bits n pieces’ that don’t relate to any particular class or may be of interest due to a link to OCS. We will provide these here.
Short Stories
So, you applied for this Officer Cadet School opportunity and finally received this letter (or something similar). What were your thoughts? Ian Gill has captured his feelings in this recent email.
This document has a series of short stories that cover a wide range of topics. Have a read and smile.
Recruiting over the years, Joining Instructions and the Dress Aide Memoir were all part of the story. Here are some of the original documents. Click on the pictures to read the individual document.
The Class of June 1965 reflected on their time at OCS. Have a read and compare with your time – you might see some similarities.
Some graduates spent time in interesting postings such as the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Governor-General. Here is Bruce Cameron’s recollection.
David Catterall (Dec 65) recalls through a short story The Luck and Fortunes of War – A Logistician’s Perspective telling how the ‘fortunes of luck’ go to make up war experiences. David takes us back to Fire Support Bases during the battles of Coral and Balmoral between 13 and 28 May, 1968 with the experiences of a National Serviceman – a machine gunner from 11 Platoon, D Company, 3RAR.
Garry Swan provided an enlightening speech for the June 1963 Class 60th Anniversary dinner. Read it here.
Videos
One DS couldn’t let his class go and so did a post graduation review for their reunion. This is worth a view.