Swift and Sure

As I sit in my study in 2024, in the autumn, if not the winter, of my life, I often reflect on how it all happened.I was born in the coal-mining town of Greta but avoided the pits when my parents moved to Sydney. I started school in Glebe, which, at the time, was a very working-class suburb. The high school I attended finished at the end of the third year, and I imagined working as a clerk.Then life changed when my parents were granted a Housing Commission house in North Ryde, and I transferred to Holy Cross College. I repeated the first year to take academic studies and the following year joined the school cadet unit. I became a drummer in the band and so began a military career that lasted for the best part of 50 years.I was lucky enough to gain entry to RMC, Duntroon, and became part of the engineering class. At the last minute, I changed my preference for corps allocation to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, a decision I never regretted. And so began a career that saw me posted overseas, appointed Director of the Corps, and later, Director-General Joint Communications - Electronics Branch, the senior communications officer in the Australian Defence Force. I was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Defence Force Academy and retired from the Regular Army in 1992.Soon after retiring from the Army, I was appointed Colonel Commandant Royal Australian Corps of Signals and, later, Representative Colonel Commandant. How did this all happen?