March 2012 - Naval, Military and Air Force Club of South Australia

CLUB EVENTS
30 year Members Lunch
Wednesday 18th April 2012
The Naval, Military and Air Force Club of
South Australia is holding its annual 30 Years
Membership Luncheon to celebrate Members
loyalty to their Club.
An invitation will be sent to members with at
least 30 years continuous membership as at
1st April 2012. We are aware there are many
Members of the Club who may have had 30
years of Membership but not necessarily
continuous. These Members will not have
received this invitation. If you are aware of one
of these Members, please extend this invitation
to them so they can also join the festivities.
The lunch will be held in the Club Dining Room
with pre-luncheon drinks served from noon.
A two course luncheon will be offered followed
by coffee. Partners are encouraged to attend.
Time: 12:00 for 12:30
Dress: Jacket & Tie
Cost: $50.00, to be invoiced with drinks
Bookings Close: Wednesday 11th April 2012
Guest Speaker Dinner –
Ms Charlotte Descamps
Saturday 21st April 2012
“Life on the Battlefields 94 years later”
A qualified battlefield guide, Ms Charlotte
Descamps was born in Poperinge, Belgium and
started up the B&B Varlet Farm specialised for
guests having an interest in the Great War. Ms
Descamps worked as a battlefield guide for the
New Zealand Embassy on Anzac Day between
2004 and 2009 and having carried out research
work for the Passchendaele Memorial Museum
1917 at the National Archives in Kew lectured at
the Western Front Association seminar in Canada
in 2011.
Varlet Farm is situated in the centre of the
battlefields of Third Ypres, part of the Salient.
Eventually 5 major battles were to be fought in
the Salient. Today, there are hardly any visible
signs of the Great War, other than the many
cemeteries and memorials, to explain to what
extend the Salient was destroyed. Yet, year after
year, evidence of that conflict is being found.
Ordnance is part of daily life for those working
in the soil: farmers, contractors, constructors,
everyone is aware of the fact that they will come
across live ammunition. An average of over 200
tons of ammunition is still being collected every
year. High explosive shells, shrapnel shells,
trench mortars, hand- and rifle grenades, toxic
ammunition : it is all part of the iron harvest in
the Salient
Working in the soil reveals more of the history
of this area : helmets, rifles, rum jars, badges,
buckles, silent pickets etc., which are still
being found are revealing more information.
Occasionally ammunition dumps or a tunnel are
being discovered as well. Research in archives
gives information on dugouts which are still
down deep in Flanders Fields today.
Ms Descamps will be in Australia in April to
perform a number of lectures on the East Coast
and has kindly agreed to this dinner at the Naval,
Military & Air Force Club of South Australia
following a series of lectures on the Great War
in the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand.
Time: 19:00 for 19:30
Dress: Jacket & Tie
Cost: $65.00, to be invoiced with drinks
Bookings Close: Wednesday 4th April 2012
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COLOURS MARCH 2012