From the Back of a Truck

by John Emmett (NX23533)

The versatility and individual skills of the Cavalrymen enabled our Regiment to operate effectively in such diverse areas as the western desert and coastal strip of North Africa, the mountainous terrain of Syria, the jungles of New Guinea, and the flood plains of the Daly River in the Northern Territory.

It was after we had been in the NT for about a year that a further call on our versatility and skills was to be made.  It became increasingly clear that a Japanese seaborne invasion of Australia was becoming increasingly remote.  Fighting persisted in other Pacific areas, and the press reports indicated that the Japanese forces were being driven back.

In order that our keeness and self esteem should not suffer, the Brigade engaged in a number of activities of a non military character.  These included athletic meetings, swimming carnivals etc.  Not the least of these activities was the Cavalry Regiment's Concert Party.

It all began in a humble sort of way, with no real thought of the problems associated with such a venture.  However, at an early stage, we were lucky enough to secure the interest of "Wink" Kennedy , a man with considerable organising ability.  He eventually became our Producer/Director.  By his efforts and encouragement, he raised our sights from our attempt at a sort of public singalong to the creation of a creditable concert party, with stage and furniture, lighting, costumes, instruments, and makeup.  He assessed our potential, and sold the idea to Colonel Abbott .  Then with the CO's backing, he proceeded to develop his concert party.  Jack Corney from the "Workshops" was co-opted for things electrical, and the back of a three ton truck became our stage.  A towering structure was built to frame the proscenium (arch).  wings stretched out on either side of it, to dress the stage.  Behind the scenes a tent was made available for makeup and costume changes, of which there were many.  The stage was properly lit, and we even had a microphone, which worked most of the time.

On the opening night, we were all terrified at the thought of appearing before our audience who on that occasion were our own mates of the Regiment.  It was like performing before family.  Big Jim Harrington however was not awed by the event, so he opened the programme with a song.  How relieved we were to hear the spontaneous applause of the crowd.  He returned after singing and said "They were easy".  It was all we needed.  He was dressed as a "gingery" looking south sea islander.  He played the guitar and sang songs appropriate to the setting, thus setting the mood for the rest of the show, which proceeded with style.  There were quite a few musical numbers.  Tommy Galvin captured the sympathy of the crowd when he sang "We'll Meet Again".  He was in AIF service dress uniform saying farewell to his girl.  This was something we all knew about.

John "McGregor" Boyd 's flair for comedy surprised everyone.  Dressed as a Scot, with a paintbrush for a sporran, he brought the house down with his "Sergeant Jock McPhee"....and who can forget Freddie Wilkins , "Carmen Miranda" number to the accompanyment of Gordon Livingstone 's guitar!

Bluey Coombes did some speciality dancing, dressed in Mexican or South American costume.

The Northern Territory must have the greatest concentration of insects per square foot of anywhere in the world.  Most of the pests were attracted by our stage lighting.  I sang a few songs, and had the greatest difficulty sieving out the worst of the beetles and moths when I was singing.  We wrote our own sketches, which we performed between musical numbers.  The latter were the backbone of the programme, but the sketches became so successful, they began to assume a dominant role in that, and future shows elsewhere.  One such sketch was the "South Sea Island" one, with "Junior" Matheson" playing the "great white hunter".  this developed into one of our major musical numbers, with songs and comedy.  The sketch had a number of "girls", including John Boyd , Bryson Boyle , Eddie Quirk , and Fred Wilkins .  John Boyd was by far the least desireable "girl", as he had blacked out some of his teeth and wore a rope wig.  He had his going price of 2/6 printed in lipstick just below his rather limp looking bra, which had been crossed out, though even his revised price of 1/4 seemed a little exorbitant!

We had a never-ending array of talent for the sketches, most of the singers and dancers finding parts in them.  Bernie Laws , Gus Graham , Ernie Brehaut ,

A D (Dudley) Williamson , Bluey Coombes, names, names, some hard to recall after such a long period, but all were required to take part in the songs and sketches.  Perhaps the  most ambitious sketch was in rhyme, written by "Wink" Kennedy.  It went for about half an hour and was called the "Picture of the Girl I Dissed".  However, I seem to remember it was presented at one of our later shows.

After the first show, Colonel Abbott took the stage.  He congratulated the cast and all who had helped make the show a success.  We had a great feeling of having achieved something. 

Later we took the show to other places, including the hospital, but we never again captured the excitement of our first night from the back of a truck.

Editors Note...John Emmett writes that he "sang a few songs", modestly declining to mention that he had a fine baritone voice, well known throughout the Regiment, that lent more than a touch of class to the overall proceedings.