I seem to recall that a Mobi died after being in a coma for a while in 1973, possible from the 1972 accident mention before. Service was held at his home town.

_________________
Bruce Downes
Ex-AMTL / LSETP3
2nd Muppet Intake
Jan 73 to Jan 94
Nirimba, Duchess, Kuttabul, Stalwart, Leeuwin, Stirling, Vampire, Stirling, Waratah, Adelaide, Platypus, Adelaide, Sydney, Platypus, Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne

Then there was the Tiffy that was killed on board HMAS Kimbla when she was going through the Port Phillip Heads.

No idea of Name. It happened when I was at FMP(W) in 1974/75.
I believe that he was killed when hit by a 44 Gall Drum and washed over the side during some ruffas, body never recovered

_________________
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

The Tiffy lost overboard from HMAS Kimbla was in fact Rodney Kim Jackson (Jan 1967 Intake). He was swept overboard by the 3rd of 3 freak waves, no drums involved, that washed over Kimbla whilst she was navigating the channel between the Rip and the open sea from Melbourne and yes he was never found. The day was the 31st August 1979. A day that will be etched in my memory for ever.

_________________
Kevin Assenheim
R42733
Ex-WOMTP
15th MOBI Intake
Jul 63 to Jul 85
Nirimba, Vendetta, Stuart, Melbourne, Platypus, Parramatta, Navy Office, Derwent, Kimbla, Navy Office

Seejay,

Reg Brunton was riding a motorbike when he had the accident.

The JR changeover was John Green. He was either an ERA or a greenie. There was also Lenny Fitzpatrick in a car accident just after our Passing Out Parade.

_________________
Bill Crowley
R43090
Ex-CPOATA
19th MOBI Intake
July 65 to Jul 85 and Full Time Reserve Aug 86
to Aug 93.
Nirimba, Albatross, Melbourne, Kuttabul and 851, 816 and 723 Squadrons

Thanks Bill, thinking back I think John was a greenie. I hadn't heard about Lennie Fitzpatrick at all.

_________________

Chris O'Keefe
R43136
Ex WO Chippy
19th MOBI Intake
July 65 to July 85
HMAS Nirimba X 4 -Penguin-Sydney-Queenborough - Creswell - Moreton - Stalwart - Platypus - Coonawarra Reconstruction Team 76 - Platypus - Hobart - Cerberus - FHQ - Coonawarra.

Anyone can be ordinary. Shipwrights choose to be extraordinary!

From what I was told over the reunion weekend the poor guys name was A. Spencer. From what I can recall of the conversation he was killed when working on the clothes washing machine on Vampire. The ship rolled or he tripped and fell into live 440V. Apparently the electrocution literally cooked his heart.

I was also told that his burial was the last one conducted at sea off an RAN ship.

Steve

_________________
Steve Wilson
S116012
WOMTP5
4th Muppet Intake
January 1974-January 1997
Perth, Tobruk, Launceston, Bendigo, Sydney, Melbourne. Nirimba, Penguin, Navy Office, MHQ, Naval Support Command, Somalia.

Thanks Steve, I could not recall his name. yet we shared the same cabin in Bligh division at Nirimba. That is old age memory for you.

_________________
Ron Preddy (spud),
S114945
Ex POMTP3
July 73, 3rd Muppet, 35th Nirimba
1973 to 1985,
Nirimba, Melbourne, Albatross (MT compound), Kuttabul (FMP), Derwent, Leeuwin (Broken leg/boats W/Shop), Derwent, Torrens and Darwin Naval Base (main machine shop).

That's my Ford FPV Cobra GT

Kev,
From the July 69 intake(27th) we lost C.D.Williams and Peter Revell to motor accidents, Bruce Lohmeyer to a heart attack at Albatross. The dim memory thinks there may have been several others as well.
Tiffie Norm Worrall (24th?) died from a car prang in the Blue Mountains.

_________________
Peter Beard
R106062
Ex-WOMTH4
27th MOBI Intake
6Jul69-16Jul97
Nirimba,Sydney III, Stuart, Coonawarra, Cerberus, Stalwart, Cerberus
(Recruit School), Waratah , Sydney IV, FIMA Kuttabul, Penguin, FIMA Perth
and Stirling (Facilities).

I was on Stuart when that young greenie was killed on the Vamps. We were on our way to the US for the Bi centenary in 1976.

The story that we heard on Stuart was that he was working on the hydro extractor in the laundry. He had done all the right things in that he checked the panel on the machine, went to the fuse board and pulled the fuses. Put a tally on the fuse board and then went to work on the machine.
He did one thing wrong forgot to recheck the power to the machine. The tally plate on the machine or the fuse board were marked wrongly. The story went that he died with the fuses in his pocket.

He was buried at sea and it was a very moving ceremony done with full honours.

Stuart was positioned off the Starboard Quarter of Vamps about 100 yards away. The ships stopped and the honours duly paid. The sea was really quite calm.


We were probably half way between Honolulu and San Diego.

Now I know his name, RIP

_________________
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

Kev,
There was Paul Wedge 20th intake. Was an ORDCO at the time, 1969 HMAS CERBERUS after recovering from a MV he was pushed against a wall and the back of his head crumbled like eggshell.

Stew Merrilees

_________________
Stew Merrilees
CPOWTR
R43222, F43222, A43222 PMKeys 8036110
Jan 66 Mobi still doing Rocky time.
NIRIMBA, CERBERUS, WATSON, ALBATROSS, KUTTABUL, CPSO Sydney, MORETON, Carriers SYDNEY & MELBOURNE, ANZAC Battle Class, DDGs PERTH & BRISBANE, VENDETTA Daring Class, LSH TOBRUK & FFG Melbourne. In addition as a Rocky CAIRNS, CRESWELL, Russell Offices, MHQ, Amphibious FEG, PSO Brisbane, NHQ SQLD, Reinforcement Co. Randwick, HQ 1Div and DJFHQ Enoggera.