RAA LIAISON LETTER 2025 – 2026 EDITION CANNONBALL SUPPLEMENT 123 Awards and Notable Achievements • Awarded the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1885 for Colonial Services • Received Crimea war Medal with clasp and Turkish war Medal • Published "A Primer for Garrison Artillery” in 1877 • Prepared five contingents for the war in South Africa Extract from Obituary Since his retirement he interested himself greatly in philanthropic work devoting particular attention to helping the blind. Studied Braille writing and copied more than 200 volumes, very nearly a record. He was Chairman of the Gordon Institute President of the Committee of the Old Sailors and Soldiers Home, Drysdale and a member of the Committee of the Queen Victoria Hospital, Fairfield. He had a daughter, Mrs EH Irwin, and three sons, two of whom served in the Great War. He was accorded a Military Funeral at Brighton Cemetery and Pall Bearers included such distinguished persons as HJ Chauvel. This officer is the "Major MF DOWNES RA" to whom the model gun was presented at WOOLWICH in 1876. Addendum In a letter I received from Major General John Whitelaw dated 2 April 1998 which included the advice I had already received a few days earlier from Colonel Reeves himself. He strongly supported the recovery of the Downes Gun for Regimental Property and provided an example of another important piece of Gunner history that every effort should be made to return it to the Gunners. I will let MAJGEN John Whitelaw explain in his own words Letter Extract Clearly you cannot go to any unit and say “Its’ mine! However knowing its background it mat be reasonable to try and establish in a quite way if the gun / model is still with us, or if anyone knows about it. If you can get a handle on it, I would suggest approaching the matter of recovery very carefully. I also mentioned that there is (or was) a beautiful shield at Victoria Barracks Melbourne which rightfully is an article which should be in Gunner hands. Circular sterling silver on a wooden back board it was for competition in the Victorian Artillery. It would be hard to convince the present mess to give it up, but a little research may establish rightful ownership, and in any case the Regiment should have custody of any item such as a trophy which is no longer competed for. End of Extract Note: I whole heartedly support General Whitelaw’s view that if a significant trophy is no longer competed for it should be returned to the custody of the Regimental Committee and listed on Regimental if not already listed. PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY Gunners in the Jungle – A history of the 2/15th Australian Field Regiment AUTHOR: WHITELOCKE, CLIFF (RESEARCHED BY GEORGE O’BRIEN); 1ST EDITION; PUBLICATION DATE: 1983; COVER: HARD COVER WITH DUST JACKET; 199 PAGES. ISBN: 0959212302; he 2/15th Field Regiment was raised at Rosebery Racecourse, Sydney, on 12 November 1940. The Regiment had two batteries, the 29th and 30th Field Batteries, and by 22 November the Regiment was at full strength. The Regiment began training at Ingleburn with 18pounder guns, the type used during the First World War, and many of which, as noted comically in the Regiment’s history, were “older than the gunners”. On 29 July the Regiment left Sydney, on board the troop ship Katoomba, for overseas service. The Katoomba was part of a convoy taking the 27th Brigade to Malaya. The vessel arrived in Singapore on 15 August. With growing unease about Japan and while the rest of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF) had been sent to the Middle East, the 8th Division was sent Malaya, Singapore, and the islands to Australia’s north. The 2/15th went into T
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