What started as a visit to Australia for Anzac Day 2010 by several NMBVA UK members, culminated as a happy reunion of ex-208'ers, family and friends a couple of weeks and several thousand miles later - despite the best efforts of nature (Iceland's well-publicised volcanic ash clouds causing major flight cancellations in the UK). Terry Winsor, Eric 'Taff' Thompson and John 'JK' Knowles (RAMC) had chatted on the 208 website Message Board about the trip from UK and a subsequent tour of Australia's eastern states, so Martin 'Scouse' Ratia decided to time his annual resupply trip from Vietnam to coincide, and further discussion led to the Gold Coast's Currumbin RSL being chosen as the venue because everyone would be in Queensland early May and Ian 'Ocker' Greaves (Capalaba) and Colin 'Doc' Judd (Robina) could also attend.
Despite various false starts, a courageous last-ditch effort by Terry and Taff and their spouses to head for Heathrow and 'form a queue' saw them arrive in Adelaide just in time for the Anzac parade and subsequent fellowship. JK and Babs arrived a day later, and the tour was underway. A couple of weeks and several thousand miles later they were all at the Currumbin RSL for lunch and afternoon drinks - with special mention to Doc for making it despite having radiation therapy earlier that same morning (he'd actually rescheduled the therapy so it would be finished in time for him to attend!).
Scouse also requested a special mention for him and Linh taking no less than four buses to reach the RSL from the top end of the Gold Coast, but he conceded that was small beer compared to the efforts of the UK contingent and Doc!!!
So Terry and Fran, Taff and Sylv, JK and Babs were joined by Scouse and Linh, Ocker and Camilla, Doc and Doreen - plus previously unannounced arrivals of fellow Queenslanders Paul Crick-Lyon and John 'JD' Darling and Del.
Drinks and greetings were the order of the day, and the group had to be shepherded to the lunch table by RSL staff an hour or so later because they were still firmly entrenched in the bar area and the kitchen was about to close! Group photos were taken at the cenotaph and next to the Currumbin River after lunch, before everyone went back to the bar for more fellowship and 'war stories' until dusk.
As Ocker pointed out afterwards, it was a real "208 family gathering"!
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