daughter, stepped up to the plate as 2nd/4thSquadron representative, taking over from RalphCoyne 2nd/4th in 2009. Cheryl reported that the Blackfamily had a long-standing connection with theCommando Association going back many years,particularly for the Anzac Day lunches, annual dinnersand other events. The Commando Association couldalways guarantee there would be a table full of theBlack family. It was last year, 2019, that their table wonthe cast model of the WW2 soldier in the Anzac Raffle,and a bottle of ‘plonk’. Cheryl went on to say that afterthe war Charles was part of the well-known “PaintingCompany”. It is referred to in George Lambert’s book,“From Tidal River to Tarakan”. It describes thecomradeship of the 2nd/4th lads who painted aboutthree houses a year for their members, who werestruggling. Can you imagine that today? It wasgenerally known that the lads shared quite a few ales atthe end of the day. Charlie was renowned for drinkingFanta, however the unwritten rule was that no onetouched a bottle till the work had finished for the day.Charlie coached his son Colin’s junior football teamat the Murrumbeena Football Club, in the under agegroup, and contributed to the club in many differentways. He was made a life member of the club in 1974.He worked for the same building firm, DuraConstructions, for 34 years and was a highly esteemedmember of their staff. Charlie worked on major projectsthroughout Victoria, and had a very strong work ethic.He rarely, if ever, took a day off. When he retired fromthe company at the age of 62, the firm gave Charlesand Lorraine a trip to Bangkok, Singapore and HongKong, as a mark of their appreciation for all that he haddone. This trip ignited in them the travel bug, and fromthere they travelled to England and to many parts ofEurope. They also travelled to Asia, New Zealand andmany parts of Australia.Charles passed away on Saturday, the 26th ofOctober 2019, just 3 months shy of his 97th birthday.Charlie was a man of very few words. He was a devotedhusband, and was very proud of his sons Paul andColin, his daughter-in-law Karen, and grandsonAndrew. He was also very loyal to his friends, and neverspoke ill of anyone. Charlie might have been a quietman, but he achieved much throughout his life. Hecould well be the epitome of the quiet achiever andhad many proud achievements. He was a life memberof the Victorian Football Association Reserve Grade; hereceived a Certificate of Appreciation for recognition ofoutstanding service to the Australian Football LeagueUmpires Association, was a Life Member ofMurrumbeena Football Club and was one of the firstAFL Interchange Stewards and remained so for 23years. He was an Honorary Life Member of the 2nd/4thCommando Squadron, and a Life Member of theAustralian Commando Association of Victoria forservice during WW2. Many Association members willremember Charles as a quiet man who always had atwinkle in his eye and a smile for everyone.‘Lest we forget.’Commando 4 Life12 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 1 I 2020
COMMANDOS FOR LIFECOMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 1 I 2020 13