Marist Brothers Darlinghurst Old Boys Union

Blue & Blue - September 2008
Welcome to the latest edition of your B & B.

From the executive:

WW2 HONOUR BOARD:

The biggest Darlo event in recent memory went off earlier this month with the unveiling of two Honour Boards, recognizing those Darlo old boys who served in WW2. These were dedicated and will be permanently displayed at Marist College Canberra in Pearce, ACT. The dedication occurred at a specially convened assembly of the senior school which was also attended by many VIPs. These VIPs were headed by Mrs Ronda Boyd, sister of old boy Norm Timbrell who, along with her son, Michael Boyd was responsible for the research leading to the discovery of 1133 old boys who served in WW2. To put this in context, the national average of join-up of eligible men was around 50% - at Darlo from the year of 1939, 26 of 27 in one class joined up.

Martin Boyd, Ronda’s son paid tribute to the old boys who served in WW2 and described the research he and his mother undertook in order to complete the project. He also recognized the presence at the unveiling of the following Darlo old boys who appear on the Honour Boards:

Wilfred Berne and wife, Peg;
Kevin Cremen and his children;
Allan Willoughby and his niece, Brenda; and
Len Wood and his wife, Trish.

Additionally, the following widows of old boys on the boards attended:

Brenice O’Sullivan, widow of Laurie and relatives;
Ruth Doran, widow of John;
Phyllis Hely, widow of Les; and
Alice Timbrell, widow of Norm.

Others to attend included Warren Thomas, Mark Sinclair, Larry Hensby, Br Charles Aquilina, Mark Trainor and Ray Akhurst (all representing the OBU).

Headmaster, Richard Sidorko, is very supportive of his College’s connection with Darlo and gave Ronda every encouragement. The honour boards will be installed in a prominent place at Marist College. Pop in when next in Canberra and explore the College, which incidentally has about 1600 students and 200 staff!

The OBU was able to provide $2,000 towards the cost of manufacturing the Boards, thanks to your generosity in donating additional funds along with your annual subs.

Blue & Blue – Sep 2008 (cont)

From the executive (cont):

ANNUAL MASS & DINNER:

This year’s Mass will be held at St Pat’s, Church Hill at 5.30pm on Thursday, 6 Nov. It will be followed by dinner at The Rugby Club, in Rugby Place off George St, quite near Circular Quay. Dinner will be 6.30 for 7.30pm.
Fill out the attached form and get it to Larry NOW. Cost is an all inclusive $60.
As always, Marist Brothers, old boy priests and religious are our honoured guests BUT please fill out the form and send it to Larry so we know you are coming.
Class reunions are welcomed, especially the classes of ’48 and ’58. Let Warren know if you want tables reserved; phone 0411442478 or wasu14@yahoo.com.au.

From the members:

James Brassil AM (’46) writes from Frankston in Victoria telling us he is still not retired. Last year he was appointed to the Ministerial Advisory Council of Senior Victorians. He sees the irony of a Darlo boy helping the Mexicans out!
Another who loves his continuing work in the commercial aviation industry is Ron Yates (’40). He is a contributing member of The International Federation of Airworthiness UK, The Flight Safety Foundation, Washington DC and The Royal Aeronautical Society. Well done Ron.
Prof Desmond O’Connor from WA, asks if any of the following Marist Brothers are around from his days in the ‘40s: Brs Victor Bernard, Julian, Daniel and Flavius. Let us know through the feedback form.
Bill Kirwin (’47) says he is not getting around much this year due to ill-health but has been hearing a lot from Don Simpson and Mark Trainor.
Regular correspondent, Rob Quinn (’64) tells us it’s time to downsize his home after the offspring have departed. He hopes to stay on the south coast, perhaps at Kiama.
Grayson Geary (’61) notes the passing of classmate John Hamilton after a long battle with lung disease. Old boys at the funeral included Bob Dick, Neil Griffin, John and Chris Grygiel, Dennis Potts and Garry Cahill.
Fr Ron Harden will again say Mass for us this year. He has been retired from regular Parish duties for a few years now and has returned to the home he was born in at Bexley. Ron can’t attend the Dinners anymore but welcomes a chat after Mass with old boys.

That’s it for now – keep the news coming in. Hope to see many of you at the dinner.

Warren Thomas