The Last Post

[Richmondfan#1]

I'm very dissapointed to hear this news. I have not been on the internet for a few days and to come back and read this is very sad.

May OFS rest in peace. Great football fans like OFS are great people and on the inside, even though most of us do not know him, I'm sure we are mourning.

Thanks for the great message OSF's friend.

It was also very nice of him to mention bigfooty before his death.

 

[GoEagles]

I was saddened to hear the news of OFS's passing, but while we pay our respects to him, I think now is a good time to also celebrate this great game we love to support, and how much it means to us.

[This message has been edited by GoEagles (edited 17 November 2000).]

 

[Hawkforce.]

May a football be in your hands for all your time in heaven...

 

[Fred]

Allow me with my first official post to endorse all of the above.

 

[Groucho]

Bye ol' fella. Hope it's white shorts away and black at home up there.

 

[OFS's friend]

I must say I am delighted by the response to my letter to your bigfoooty website. I did not expect such a large number of posts regarding OFS. I am not a sportsminded person myself but I did appreciate that OFS did love his sports very much. He also could tell many stories and one which I think is worth passing on is this one from him when he was at Dunkirk. He had been on the beach for four days waiting his turn to get onto a boat of any kind, had not eaten for three days and had seen many friends killed or wounded on those bloody sand dunes. He finally got the call to go and waded/crawled/swam out to a small boat about 10 feet long and manned by a French oarsman. When he reached it he found two British soldiers with terrible wounds and an Australian also with blood coming from everywhere. As OFS (only slightly hurt with shrapnel scratches and bruises from falling down a cliff) climbed into the boat he caused it to almost capsize, and water poured in. Eventually after two tries he clambered aboard. And the first thing the Aussie said to him was, "You stupid, clumsy bugger, now you've wet all me tobacco."

If anyone would like to read a couple more yarns about OFS please say yes and I will send them one at a time. OFS would have appreciated it.

OFS's friend

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Feel free OFS's friend.

OFS has served to remind most of us what is really important. Most of us can only imagine the incredible life that this remarkable man lived.

Look forward to your next installment.

------------------
mens sana in corpore sano - a sound mind in a sound body

 

[*miss_magpie*]

i didnt know ofs, nor did i read the postings by him
but from the post from u (ofs's friend) i am sure that he was a great man, and a true supporter of the game.
rest in peace, your memory lives on in this board

 

[Mags]

Now Im Really Really Sorry For Being One Of Those C Words that got Bell Guy kicked outta the footy at the G at the swans pies game!

 

[Grendel]

Mags mate, its called a learning experience. Weve all had them, and hearing about OFS times in the war, hopefully will make all of us just that little bit better a person for it.

Again thanks OFS friend, its a very nice thing your doing and I think that everyone here appreaciates it.

 

[OFS's friend]

OFS loved telling this story and I probably heard it from him about 50 times in the time I knew him but I never stopped enjoying it.

After OFS escaped from Dunkirk he finished up in a hospital outside London recovering from his minor wounds and a bit of shell-shock. An Irish soldier named Declan was in the next bed and OFS asked what his problem was and where he had fought etc. Declan told him the following story: "We were running a rear guard action and we were under fire from a German machine gun about 12 miles from Dunkirk but a few of us managed to get around to the left flank where the gunners could not see us. At a given command we leaped out of our hiding place, I pulled the pin from a hand grenade with my teeth, tossed it at the machine gun position and we charged forward with our rifles and bayonets. The explosion killed the two German gunners but I finished up in here with a lump of metal in my stomach." OFS was incredulous. "Do you mean to tell me that you were hit with shrapnel from your own hand grenade?" he asked. Declan replied, "Oh gosh and begorrah mate, I am not that stupid. No not shrapnel, I swallowed the pin." And Declan wondered why OFS fell off the bed laughing so much.

OFS's friend

 

[Bluey]

OFS's Friend - Thanks for this. Stories like these are the lifeblood of a culture. Keep posting them, and we'll keep reading them. My own Grandmother passed away about four years ago, and we managed to get a few of her stories down on paper. They are a source of great joy for all eight of her grandchildren, and will be for the eight great-grandchildren (with a few more to come I am sure).

 

[OFS's friend]

Thank you Bluey for your encouragement to me in sending a few more of OFS's stories. I hope I can keep them going for a while. My own memory is fading a little but every now and then I remember some of OFS's better yarns. I am not sure if all of them were true but he told them so well that I have taught myself to believe in him. Australians are famous in most countries for their sense of humor, being able to laugh at themselves and have a laugh at sometimes less fortunate people who fall foul of circumstances. OFS never ever meant any harm to anyone who was the subject of his laughter and quite often he was the subject himself but he received as much as he gave.

Soon after he arrived back in England he was at a base which came under heavy attack from the German air force. There were many cars, trucks and other vehicles parked around the base and OFS was genuinely afraid for his safety with all the strafing and bombing going on. One truck had a machine gun mounted on its roof and OFS made a dash to hide under it. He was there for about 12 minutes while bullets hit and missed all round the vehicle. After 12 minutes of this he decided he would be better off if he could drive it into some form of cover in some nearby trees so he got out from under, jumped in and drove it into a small clump of bushes from where it would have been almost invisible from the air. Unknown to OFS his every move was being watched through binoculars by two high-ranking British officers. Soon after this event, he was called into headquarters and was told that he would be awarded a medal for his exemplary attention to duty in that he got under a broken-down armed truck, spent 12 minutes under heavy fire while repairing the motor from underneath and then drove the vehicle to safety. It took OFS many hours to convince the officers that he knew nothing about fixing motors, and was in fact hiding like a terrified skunk under the truck. He did not get the medal and he always claimed that he never deserved it anyway. But the officers did appreciate the fact that he saved the truck from almost certain destruction and they bought him a beer or two afterwards.

OFS's friend

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

Bluey

These stories are brilliant - can I repeat my call for a History Board so that all this stuff can be collected and read in one convenient location ?

cheers

 

[OFS's friend]

During his time in and around Dunkirk OFS had seen many homes, vehicles and trains destroyed both by aerial bombing, artillery, sabotage and accident. On his return to England he became the subject of possible re-deployment into less military-oriented duties but he wanted to go out and join his mates again on the battlefield. He was being given a test to judge his amount of (or lack of amount of) quick-thinking in an emergency. The tester asked him, "What would you do if you became aware of two trains five miles apart heading for each other and a head-on collision and they could not be warned of each other's presence?" OFS replied, "I would telephone my brother and tell him to get here as quick as possible." "Why in hell would you do that?" asked the tester. "Because he has never seen two trains crash before." The tester dismissed OFS and he was returned to his unit much to the happiness of OFS.

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

OFS spent some time in London recovering, then went home to Australia for full recovery and assessment. He volunteered for a jungle training unit as he loved the bush and it gave him a sense of freedom. He was however then sent to New Guinea and took part in several actions. When he was wounded he probably should have died. The way he told it is like this: He was hit in the shoulder, chest and hip, and in so much pain he could hardly stand up. He found himself alone in the jungle and rolling down a steep slope, finally landing at the bottom of a muddy ditch. When he recovered his senses he found he was only a yard away from a badly wounded Japanese soldier. They stared at each other terrified for a few moments then the Jap made a move to defend himself. He grabbed his bayonet and thrust it at OFS but luckily for OFS the Jap was so weakened by his own wounds that the point of the blade hardly even penetrated OFS's uniform. OFS now also panicked a bit as he was unarmed but he saw the Jap's pistol lying in the mud. He grabbed it and at point-blank range pulled the trigger. Nothing happened, there was too much mud in the gun and it was totally useless. They both stared at each other in disbelief and after about a minute the Jap said something in his own language and laughed. OFS saw the funny side of it and had a giggle too. The next few minutes found them both yabbering away to each other and laughing as if they understood each other completely. OFS offered the Jap his last cigarette but he shook his head, did not smoke. The Jap took a biscuit from his pocket and gave half to OFS and they both saluted each other and had a quick bite each. Then the Jap took out from his inside pocket three black-and-white photographs. One apparently was of his wife and two children and the others photos of what was possibly his beautiful flower garden back home in Japan. He showed them to OFS, kissed all photos, pressed them to his heart, shed a tear which slid down his cheek, he then took a deep breath and closed his eyes forever. OFS lay in that New Guinea mud and asked himself why this type of thing has to happen in our so-called civilised era of mankind. He was found about two hours later by his mates and sent home to Australia, never to fire a shot in anger again. He never did know the name or anything about the Jap who should have killed him with that bayonet thrust but he always wondered what happened to his family after the war. OSF died never knowing.

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

When OFS was leaving New Guinea by plane he was placed aboard an old bomber which was apparently unserviceable for bombing missions and was being used as a troop evacuation plane. About twenty stretcher cases were along the inside length of the plane on the floor. The pilot taxied to the starting point of the tarmac and just before he was to gun the engines to start take-off someone pulled a wrong lever and the bomb-bay doors slowly opened downwards. OFS sat watching helplessly as about six of his mates slowly slid out of the plane and rolled over onto the tarmac below. The bombardier called into his microphone the first thing that came into his mind - "Bums Away". Fortunately none of the mates were seriously hurt when they landed on the runway.

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

After New Guinea, OFS was sent to Wilson's Promotory to do special jungle training. One exercise involved him going out alone and being hunted by four pursuers. OFS was good at his job and soon lost his hunters. They had 24 hours to catch him and he took off at mid-day with the intention of returning at the same time the next day. Unknown to him the four hunters decided to just let him go, pretend to search for him as it was a very hot summer, and would try to find him next day. OFS was going well but when it had just become dark he stumbled at a cliff face and began to fall. He grabbed frantically at a tree root and it barely held. He could hear the waves crashing on the rocks a few hundred feet below and he could not move up or down. He hung on for dear life for about seven hours until the dawn light finally was about to break. He could not hold on any longer and resigned himself to his fate and finally let go, thinking he would get killed in the fall. He fell three feet to an outjutting ledge and when the hunters found him he was calmly sitting eating lunch with a hot cup of tea he had just made. He had to be lifted out though with ropes and pulleys, but at least he had the last laugh on his hunters as they did not find him within the appointed time.

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

After Dunkirk, OFS was sent back to Australia and was working behind a desk when a friend of his named William, a jungle warfare expert who had trained at a secret base at Wilson's Promontory, was called to India to do specialised training by the Gurkhas. William was one of twenty officers from Britain, Australia, Canada and the USA. Their first exercise was to be tested by the Gurkhas to check the officers' jungle training and survival skills. This involved the twenty officers leaving the base camp at 7.00 a.m. and trying to hide in the jungle around the camp. The Gurkhas would start searching for them at 10.00 a.m. and a loud siren would sound at 4.00 p.m. indicating the end of the day's "play" and all those not found would give themselves up and be declared the winner(s). William got away quickly, double-backed several times, went though watercourses to cover his tracks, swung through trees like Tarzan several times to cover more tracks, then eventually settled into a nicely camouflaged area in front of a large wide tree from where he had a perfect view of the camp. He laid down on his stomach and watched through binoculars as the Gurkhas were doing their search. Just before mid-day three Gurkhas appeared about 30 feet in front of him. William thought he had been found but the three looked towards his spot, chatted away for a minute or two, looked again, shook their heads then walked away, disappearing away to his left. At 4.00 p.m. the siren sounded and a very smug William was thrilled to bits as he had seen most of the other hunted officers get found by their pursuers. As he stood up he fell over because his bootlaces had been untied and re-tied to the roots of the tree behind him! The three Gurkhas were sitting behind the tree silently playing cards, and on the soles of William's boots written in chalk were the words "Found at noon".

OFS's friend

 

[Grendel]

What fantastic storys he must have been able to tell. Sounds as though he was quite the lad in his day too!

Cheers OFS's friend.

 

[Guest]

Keep them coming OFS's friend. I look forward to reading this thread whenever I log on.

I can see a book coming out of this.

 

[mud n blood]

I love it ! Haven't had such sore guts from laughing in years !

My grandfather only told me a few stories of his time in PNG before he died, but they weren't exactly "humorous" like these ones. His were more a number of ugly occurrences and terrible things he saw while in PNG battling the japs.

I don't think he had a good time time of it .....

But keep them coming.

------------------
Anyway, that's what I reckon ........

mud n blood

 

[OFS's friend]

The Indian Gurkhas were famous as being the best jungle fighters and the best sword/knife fighters in the world. One Gurkha was crawling though the jungle when he suddenly came face to face with a Japanese soldier. The Japanese raised his rifle and fired at point-blank range. The Gurkha called, "Ha, you missed." Then he took out his razor-sharp sword and swung it at his Japanese opponent. The Japanese then called out, "Ha, you missed too." The Gurkha then said, "You think so? Try shaking your head."

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

Not all of my stories concerning OFS are war-related.

OFS and I were good friends from early school days (1930s) although he was three years older than me. My family moved into his street when I was about 9 or 10, and OFS took me under his wing to protect me (I was the smallest kid in the street at that time, but I gradually overtook most of them) and OFS made sure I was always okay. We lived a couple of houses apart but did everything together, kicked paper footballs, played cricket in our backyards with a paling off the fence for a bat, swam in the Merri Creek, terrorised some of the gatekeepers at VFL grounds and stayed out late at night (to 10 p.m.). OFS's across-the-street neighbor was a Mrs McGinty, a grumpy woman of about late 30s age. She was from a wealthy family but her husband had left her and she had a real chip on her shoulder towards everyone, especially kids. She obviously thought she was a class above every other family in the street and nobody particularly liked her. As a result, we kids often played practical jokes on her and of course our parents always backed us up when she accused us of getting at her, but she could never prove any of us actually did the deeds. OFS loved to annoy her. On one occasion he entered her outside dunny in the darkened hours of the morning and screwed the door shut from the inside, then squeezed out under the door. Mrs McGinty always went to the loo at 7.30 in the morning and could be seen from the front garden of OFS's home. He sat out there to watch her go out the next morning and she panicked when she could not open the door. She had to run into the house next door (still wearing her nightie and dressing gown) and ask to use their dunny, a very embarrassing thing to do in those days. The neighbor's husband and son eventually had to demolish half of her dunny to fix the door problem, this took a few days and she was not happy, Jan!

OFS's friend

 

[OFS's friend]

To mud n blood

Thank you for that note, it brought me back to reality. OFS certainly could tell other stories of the horrors of war and on certain occasions he would talk about them, not the glory of the war, but the gore. Many of his good mates died alongside him and many were horribly injured but survived. But the one that affected him most was near Dunkirk when a little French boy who had been born without arms stood on a land mine and lost both legs. Although in severe pain for many days, the little boy apparently showed immense courage and an intense sense of humor before he died. OFS tried to keep in touch with the boy's family but lost all contact about a month after he left Dunkirk. Some of his mates followed up for him some years later but the whole village had disappeared by that time and no one from the area had any real information about what happened to them, but one did seem to think that they were all killed in an "unexploded" bomb blast a few weeks after the evacuation had been completed.