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Reg HARPER (51A) – 70th Birthday Contributed by: George MILLIE (49B) Reg’s birthday falls
on 11th November but this year, being his 70th, the
event was celebrated the following day, Saturday 12th November, in
the company of the Harper family and a large number of their long-time
friends. Forward planning had been in hand for most of the previous twelve
months and the event, with great difficulty kept completely secret from Reg, took the form of an informal lunch at Pullenvale,
some twenty-five minutes drive north-west of Brisbane CBD, at the new home of
Reg and Vera’s daughter, Lisa. Those
attending had been requested to be at the venue by about mid-day, about
half-an-hour before the arrival of Reg and Vera. Reg was under the impression that he was attending a
simple family get-together and lunch without pomp and ceremony. Marion
and I, in the company of Jeanette and Robin Lamont, drove down from Toowoomba
some 135km to the west of
Daughter Mandy, daughter-in-law Lisa, and
friend Lisa
(left) Reg’s
sister with her partner, Mandy, Lisa and Lisa By
The piper doing his warm-up routine Suddenly
appearing, silhouetted in the doorway, stood the Birthday Boy. Quite
obviously in a state of utter bewilderment he paused on the doorstep, performed
a low bow, followed by another, and hesitantly walked in to the sound of
clapping and cheers. Mid-way
through a sumptuous feast I received the signal to “do the business” and left
my seat to take up a position where I could be seen and hopefully heard by
all. There being such a multitude of folk who didn’t know me from a bar of
soap I felt obliged to warn them that FEOFA would be mentioned, the meaning
of the acronym, and that the membership was composed entirely of a small
group of old soldiers who took every opportunity to do nasty things to each
other. The Speech, written and delivered by George
Millie (49B): Reg, yesterday you
reached a significant point along life’s path, the journey oft fraught with
difficulty as you fought an uphill battle and overcame all manner of
obstacles. Yesterday you reached the summit marked by
the milestone emblazoned “only 30 more to the centenary”. Without serious
blemish upon your character you have completed your allotted span. Fear not
dear boy, it is now downhill all the way. Today we celebrate your promotion to
Septuagenarian Class III, joining illustrious company - Dusty and me, each
enjoying an unspecified extension to our birth certificate. It would be churlish of FEOFA not to mark this
important occasion with an appropriate gift; a token of the high esteem in
which we hold our mate; a simple gesture of our appreciation of your
friendship. Sadly, the simple gesture which I most
favour is unacceptable in mixed company, so Plan ‘B’ it is. This raises the question: “What can one
possibly give a man who has everything … including my tool kit?” The criteria for such a gift must of
necessity be very exacting. Whatever form it takes, it must be unique; of
minimum monitory value, yet possess such great intrinsic worth its
acquisition would be beyond the means of even the richest in the land; and
definitely not made in There is only one way to satisfy these
demands – to make it oneself. Without the advice and guidance of the
planning committee, Gerry; the invaluable assistance of our resident artist
Jeanette; the skills I learned at Arborfield, and the minor but necessary
outsourcing, this yet unseen masterpiece would be a considerably lesser
object. Dusty, will you please enact the
presentation? Presentation of the Plaque, conducted by Roy
Dusty Ashman (42C): Dusty
rose from his seat and joined me. “A/T
Harper! Front and centre!” came the command from Dusty to bring Reg to where we were standing, and reading from the
engraved plate he announced: “Presented by FEOFA to Apprentice Tradesman Reg Harper, formerly of AAS Arborfield, on the occasion
of his 70th birthday,
The Toast, proposed by Gerry Greg Peck (53B): Gerry
now joined us and had to wait until order was restored – the assembly being
in the uncontrollable and spontaneous throes of rendering “Happy Birthday” – and
then he delivered a very moving tribute to Reg
before proposing a toast. Ladies and gentlemen, we are all here today
to celebrate the 70th Birthday of our cherished friend Reg Harper. It has fallen to me to say a few words and
propose a toast. In light of Reg having been born a
Welshman, perhaps a rarebit would have been more appropriate but never mind. You would have noticed Reg
being preceded by the bagpipes as he made entry, which was done because it
would have been silly to try blowing a leek. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say that being
a friend of Reg Harper has brought me a great deal
of pleasure and I wouldn't have missed out on that for the world. If ever any
of us need to seek an example of what a real man and loyal mate looks like,
we need look no further than this wonderful man! Fellow guests, one and all,
I give you Reggie Harper, God bless him. Click on this link to read: A
great day with the lads of FEOFA by Greg Peck. Editorial comment: I can
certainly attest to the fact that Reg was
definitely clapped in, but at the end of a very long day I am unable to
confirm whether he was clapped out! The artist, Jeanette Lamont:
Reg’s response: My dear friends, it is not often that I am lost for words,
but yesterday was one of those days. On my 7th birthday we were visited by Herr
Hitler’s Luftwaffe, and although it was fun to us kids it was a bit of a
worry to our parents. My 17th birthday was spent scrubbing the floor
in the Officers’ Mess at Arborfield. My 27th was learning to use my new artificial
leg. When I was 37 I was flat broke with a lot of mouths to
feed. So folks, the number 7 was never
my lucky one; yesterday you helped change all that. It seems that I have a lot of good friends but you are
very special comrades in the finest sense. Your ladies are very lovely too! Thank you all. 22550070 A/T Harper R, and proud of it. Published: November 2005
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