The Annual RAEME Get Together.
It is often said “From little things, big things grow,” and this is certainly the case with an idea a couple of retired RAEME people, Stan (Squeaky) New and Bob Carlos had in 2017 based on a similar RAEME gathering in Townsville. From this, the first ever ‘SE Qld RAEME Get Together’ was held in late February 2018 at Somerset Dam, near Kilcoy Qld. The first event boasted 16 “Spanners” some solo, most with partners for a total of 30 people. With limited sites available to us in a central location, Greg Riley couldn’t get a site nearby, and was situated away from the main group, at Bob Carlos’ suggestion, this become known as the Sgt’s Mess Annex, the name stuck and is now an ingrained part of Get Together legend. Unfortunately, ‘Squeaky’ New was unable to attend the event and Dave Roberts stepped up to help. While the weather was unkind with constant drizzle and mud underfoot, thanks to good company and a fair bit of Esprit De Corp, the Get Together was an enormous success, and plans were made to hold another again next year.
The group photo at the ‘Get Together’ 2023,