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At 97, Danny’s still a dab hand
Volume 50, No. 17, September 20, 2007 |
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| DAY TO REMEMBER: Danny Bowden with, from left, WO CIS Jeff Argoon, COP CIS Donald Russell and LEUT Danny Syrett. |
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Times have certainly changed in the RAN. Just ask 97-year-old Danny Bowden who returned to Garden Island for a VIP tour recently.
Mr Bowden joined the RAN in 1925 and became a Telegraphist Air Gunner (TAG).
He was serving in that role aboard HMAS Perth in the Mediterranean in April 1941 when his plane was shot down while returning from a dawn patrol. He was picked up, floating on a raft, by a British destroyer.
He was serving on HMAS Swan which was on its way to the Philippines when news came through of the end of the war in the Pacific.
After World War II, he served as an instructor at the communications school at HMAS Cerberus.
When Allan “Shorty” Moffatt asked Mr Bowden if he could do a profile of him for the RAN Communications Branch Association, of which he is honorary secretary, his interest was piqued.
“I could only believe that many should know of his story, so I wrote to the Navy and within 48 hours I received a phone call from Navy Office,” Mr Moffatt said.
The tour of Garden Island on July 7 resulted from that.
Mr Bowden, of Bateau Bay on the NSW Central Coast, and Mr Moffatt, of Toongabbie in Sydney, were given a tour of the base and then HMAS Ballarat where they were met by OOW LEUT Danny Syrett, and, from HMAS Perth, WO CIS Jeff Argoon and CPO CIS Donald Russell.
“Their knowledge of the current Anzac Class destroyers was second to none, and it was no trouble to take the time to explain the changes that have taken place since Danny left the Navy,” Mr Moffatt said.
“Danny was really astounded when on the bridge, especially where the helmsman sits.”
For their part, Mr Moffatt and the crew marvelled at Mr Bowden’s agility.
“He didn’t miss a beat going up and down ladders, through hatchways and he was so overjoyed with what the Royal Australian Navy had given him. It is a day we will both always remember.” |
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