Paddy and Val Morgan

Paddy and Val Morgan are currently on a holiday, from Germany, associated with some business, like seeing the taxman and bank manager, stopped in to visit us, Napier in the Southern Cape of South Africa, on their way from Cape Town to Riversdale and then onwards to Gauteng and finally back to Germany.

They say they are enjoying Germany but miss their friend from South Africa.

They also send their love and best wishes to all that remember them.

Paddy earned his Navigators Wings with 25 PTC and attested in 1971

Herewith a photo of them.



Thanks for the visit folks - hope you had a lovely holiday and safe trip home.

RLI Birthday Party 2010

The RLI celebrated their 49th birthday in February 2010 and Neill Jackson has kindly made these photos available to ORAFs.


Front Cover of the Programme

Back Cover of the Programme

Neill Storey, RLIRA (UK), handing the Colours to Bill Wiggill, RLIRA (SA) Chairman.


Traditional toast to the Colours before unfurling.
From L to R: Bill Wiggill, Chairman RLI RA (SA), Neill Jackson & SkippyMitchell, Ensigns to The Colours,Lt Col Charlie Aust, last CO of RLI, Former RLI RSM Robin Tarr,
Lt Col Ron Reid-Daly, Rick Passaportis, Lt Gen Peter Walls, Kerrin Cocks, photographer.


Colours being marched in for Remembrance Service.


RSM Robin Tarr reads out the Roll of Honour of the RLI.


Lt Col Charlie Aust lays a wreath for those who died on active service with RLI.

Some memories from the celebration of the 49th Birthday of the RLI.



Assault Pioneer Troop, Support Commando. From L to R;
Ron Byng, Shane Stringer, Neill Jackson, Mick Jeffery, John Buckle


Band of Brothers. L to R;
George Dempster, RLIRA (SA), Martyn (Pudding) Hudson, RLIRA (UK),
Neill Storey, RLIRA (UK),Mike Rich, Rick Passaportis, Mick Walters, Neill Jackson,
Chris Ras, RLIRA (SA)


Neill Jackson and Juno Groenewald, sister of Joe du Plooy


Support Commando's Clive Dredge. Some characters never change!

Thanks to Neill Jackson for sharing this very memorable day with ORAFs.

Mike & Liz Faint in South Africa

Mike Faint, and partner, Liz visited South Africa, from the UK, in December 2009 and January 2010.

Liz kindly made these photos available to ORAFs of their visits various Air Force friends.

We start off Paarl (Mike can vouch for the red wine)

Johnny Ness (15 LAR) and Mike Faint (Direct Entry)

Next it was off to Port Elizabeth but decided to stop and visit Eddy and Trisha Norris in Napier


Mike - Trisha and Eddy Norris (Direct Entry)


Mike, Liz & Eddy Norris

Next they crossed the Orange River and found themselves in Benoni on the East Rand up in Gauteng and visited the "local watering hole" and found a couple of airmen there.


Steve Russell (24 LAR) - Mike and Rob Sweeting (28 LAR)

To conclude the show we have

Elaine & Rob Sweeting.

Thank you to Liz, who kept her promise of sending photos, it is appreciated.
The term LAR represents Local Area Recruit and is the Course Number that the person concerned attested into the Rhodesian Air Force.

RLI Museum in the UK

ORAFs recently distributed photos taken at the opening of the RLI in the UK.

Chris Myers kindly forwarded some of his private photos of the opening and they are included here to illustrate that this must be a rewarding museum to visit and I hope that it goes from strength to strength.

The museum is located at 93 Ashburnham Road, BEDFORD, MK40 1EA.









Thanks to Chris Myers for sharing his memories with ORAFs.

Thanks also to Neill Jackson for his assistance.

Gauteng ORAFs Social

A Bring 'n Braai was held at the Dickie Fritz M.O.T.H. Shellhole, in Edenvale, Johannesburg, on Saturday, January 31^st ,2010

L-R: Cyril Ziehl, B.J., B.J., Ryk de Kok, Ken Turner, Roland Charles,
Geoff Dartnall, Clive Dutton, Johnny Valentine, Hugh Mc Dulling, B.J., B.J., Rob Sweeting,

Sitting/kneeling. Bert May, Bruce Harrison, Jerry Tasker, Fynn Marcussen, Wally Ferreira, Frans Fyfer

B.J. = Brown Job.
Johnny Valentine is George Merrimans (A/Force) brother & was a B.J.
Wally Ferreira is a member of Dickie Fritz Shellhole, his son (Wayne) was on 7 and now living in Paarl
Footnote by ORAFs
Geoff Dartnall (with headgear was on holiday from Zimbabwe) we trust he is having a enjoyable holiday
ORAFs believes Fyn Marcussen was living in Durban so not certain if he was on holiday or now residing up in Johannesburg.
If anyone can help with the missing names please mail orafs11@gmail.com with the details.
The photo has many "Menders" present and one can only assume that the "Benders" must have been bending things elsewhere? Others might say there was a lot of "Power" here but no "Air"


Thanks to Roland Charles for sharing his memories with ORAFs.

Opening of the RLI Museum

Ken Reed Writes:-

Attached a couple of photo's taken at the opening of the RLI museum in Bedford, UK, held on Saturday 30 JAN 2010. There was a good turn out of 40 members and families. It is very small at the moment and is not strictly confined to 1RLI artifacts. The photo of the flag is the flag that was on the flagpole at Bn HQ which I removed the last day we were the 1RLI and became CDO.BN. 30 Sept 1980

Ken Reed

Part of the Display

Thanks to Ken Reed for sharing his memories with ORAFs.
Ken was the RSM of the RLI (Rhodesian Light Infantry)