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Father of the MWDH honoured
By Paul Lineham
Volume 49, No. 13, July 26, 2007 |
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| HONOUR GUARD: RAAF Base Amberley MWDH’s salute the late SQNLDR Bill Perrett (ret’d) at his funeral service. |
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More than 80 present and former Air Force Military Working Dog Handlers (MWDHs) were among the 150 mourners who paid their respects to the late SQNLDR Bill Perrett (ret’d).
He died recently after a long illness at age 81.
Members of the current MWDH basic course, the RAAF Base Amberley dog section and 14 MWDs formed the honour guard.
SQNLDR Perrett is regarded as the ‘father’ of the modern MWDH mustering. He established it in 1958 in Tottenham, Victoria, and his energy and dedication in laying a solid foundation for the mustering was evidenced by the large turnout at his funeral.
SGT Grant Teeboon from RAAFSFS said the idea to introduce dogs came to SQNLDR Perrett while he was still an airman. While he was rostered on security piquet duty, he realised how much easier the task would be if dogs were included. He sought and gained approval to perform this task as a secondary duty and sourced dogs from the local pounds.
“Initially, they were let loose in hangars and tied to aircraft to act as deterrents and early warning,” SGT Teeboon said. “The only drawback to this system was the ever present clean-up operation necessary every morning after the dogs were removed.
“When asked to solve this problem, SQNLDR Perrett said the only way this could be avoided was to pair up a dog with a handler and have them actively patrolling the bases.”
In 1978, SQNLDR Perrett donated to the MWDH mustering the Bill Perrett annual trophy for best dog and handler team. |
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