What sad news indeed. I only knew Gordon very briefly at Nirimba, remembering his sense of humour. I mentioned to or rather asked him if he played cricket given that his name was Barrington. His reply is probably only fit for another forum on this site, however every time thereafter we crossed paths for whatever reason, we had a bit of a chuckle about it.
Will be missed for sure.
Condolences to his family

_________________
Graeme 'Smiley' Rhodes
R94714
Ex-CPOMTP(D)5
Jan'65 Leeuwin Intake (10th) - Jan'66 Nirimba Intake (20th)
Jan'65 to Mar '88
Leeuwin, Nirimba, Stalwart, Samarai, Lae, Penguin, Curlew, Buccaneer, Navy Office, Barbette, Cairns, RANTTU (based in Port Moresby), Stirling, Bunbury.

what an absolute shock to the system.
I remember Gordon from Nirimba when he first got the Torana.
Dark green if I remember and can remember his great smile and the instructors checking it out at the time. Barry Chafer saying that with the 6 cylinder engine he'd probably kill himself.
Didnt happen.

Condolences from the Sneddons to his family

_________________
Peter Sneddon
R95971
Ex CPOMTH4
18th JR Intake
23rd MOBI Intake
Jan 67 to July 91
Leeuwin, Nirimba, Sydney, Perth, FMP-W, Stuart, Penguin/Ships Divers course, Stuart, Lonsdale, Melbourne, Kuttabul, Cerberus, Stuart, Swan, Nirimba/ Q course, Cerberus, CPSO-M

Sad to hear of Gordon's passing. Way too young for this to happen.

My thoughts and prayers are with Gordon's family.

RIP

_________________
Trevor A Davies
R43007
Ex CPOETW3
18th Mobi Intake Jan 65
10th Jan 65 to Jan 77
Nirimba, Sydney, Vendetta, Melbourne, Waterhen, Cairns, Stalwart.

_________________
Brian Carney
R43371
Ex-WOMTP5
22nd Mobi Intake
Jan 67 - Jan 89
RANATE, Sydney, Swan, Creswell, Stalwart (FMU), Cerberus, Derwent, Nirimba, Parramatta, Nirimba, FHQ (FMMO).

For those that would like to attend, here are the funeral details for Gordon's Funeral Service.


Church Service on Monday 9 Dec 2013 at 9.30am

St John The Baptist,

45 Mount Street, Bonnyrigg Heights

Bonnyrigg NSW

Blessing and Goodbye will be done after the church service, then Simplicity funeral home will take Gordon to the Forest Lawn Crematorium, Leppington for private cremation.

Refreshments to follow outside the church.

Regards,

Lilli

_________________
Brian Carney
R43371
Ex-WOMTP5
22nd Mobi Intake
Jan 67 - Jan 89
RANATE, Sydney, Swan, Creswell, Stalwart (FMU), Cerberus, Derwent, Nirimba, Parramatta, Nirimba, FHQ (FMMO).

Thanks BC, and Lilli, I'll be there...

P.S. For those Googling it, or using their GPS for a location, so you won't get lost, I believe it's John The Baptist, not St. John The Baptist...

_________________

Rick Pengilly
WEBMASTER
Ex-CPOMTH3
R42630
13th MOBI Intake
July'62 to July'74
HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane

We now have better details about what caused Gordon's death.

Lilli has finally received the official report from authorities. Initial reports were sketchy and indicated that Gordon had been trapped or pinned, causing suffocation.

But the official report now states that Cardiac Arrest was the cause of death. That also explains why Gordon's body was in the odd position when it was found.

_________________
Brian Carney
R43371
Ex-WOMTP5
22nd Mobi Intake
Jan 67 - Jan 89
RANATE, Sydney, Swan, Creswell, Stalwart (FMU), Cerberus, Derwent, Nirimba, Parramatta, Nirimba, FHQ (FMMO).

Have just spoken to Lilli his wife. The official cause of death was a cardiac arrest. Very sad.

_________________
Kevin Rasmus
ex LCDR (P)
R43433 / O43433
22nd MOBI Intake
Jan 67 to July 87
Nirimba, Cerberus, Leewin, Albatross, Melbourne, VC 851, VS816, Waratah, RAAF East Sale, Point Cook, Pearce, Edinburgh, 292 and 11 sqns.

Very sad but the relief is that it was quick and he probably didn't know it happened.
Very distressing though for his family who found him. My thoughts are with them 'cause there was no goodbye.

_________________
Peter Sneddon
R95971
Ex CPOMTH4
18th JR Intake
23rd MOBI Intake
Jan 67 to July 91
Leeuwin, Nirimba, Sydney, Perth, FMP-W, Stuart, Penguin/Ships Divers course, Stuart, Lonsdale, Melbourne, Kuttabul, Cerberus, Stuart, Swan, Nirimba/ Q course, Cerberus, CPSO-M

....... I was privileged to attend Gordon's funeral this morning at John The Baptist Catholic Church at Bonnyrigg Heights...

....... I guess, like most of us, I'm not big on funeral services, but the 200-plus congregation sent Gordon off in reverence and style...

....... For the life of me, I can't figure why they'd need so many Chippies 'up there', particularly in taking one so young...

....... Gordon's gracious Mother, Gordon's Sister, his Widow, Lilli, his Son, Nigel, and many friends, neighbours and former RANATE
.......'Band of Brothers' held up very well, ensuring the occasion was a celebration of Gordon's life rather than a wake as such...

....... Gordon would have been chuffed that so many of his 22nd MOBI Intake came to farewell him, (that's Brian Carney in front...)

.......L-R: Allan 'Manxie' Cowell, Wayne 'Sooty' Black, Al Mooney, Brian Carney, Ken Brinkman, Tony Fletcher and Ray Mobbs.

....... The funeral arrangements were well looked after by Simplicity Funerals of Liverpool, who I found very helpful and friendly...

....... Why helpful and friendly you may ask..? Well, apart from doing a great job of Gordon's funeral arrangements, I discovered
.......yesterday, that the funeral home was in fact, formerly Liverpool Pizza Hut, where I was Liquor Lcencee/ Manager from
.......1976 to 1978..! When I popped in this morning, the young Funeral Director gave me a complete tour of the building, which
.......was particularly nostalgic and 'deja vu' for me... In fact Gordon once visited me there when I used to manage the place..!!!

_________________

Rick Pengilly
WEBMASTER
Ex-CPOMTH3
R42630
13th MOBI Intake
July'62 to July'74
HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane