Note from the WHSA Patron:

“On behalf of The Waler Horse Society of Australia Inc., I extend our deep condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family on the passing of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh.

“Prince Philip had shown a close interest in our success in establishing a breed of the iconic Australian Waler horse in Australia and he has corresponded with us over this.”

“On a personal note, my wife. Judy, and I met Prince Philip at a reception in Rawalpindi, Pakistan when he was representing the Queen by attending the Pakistan Republic Day celebration in 1965, prior to the Indo-Pakistan War of September 1965. We found him most charming and interested why an Australian Army Officer and his Australian wife, working at the British High Commission, were in Pakistan at that time.”

Capt Barrie M Newman RFD, ED

Patron

The Committee is pleased to announce that Captain Barrie M Newman RFD, ED, (Retd) has accepted its invitation to the position of Patron of the WHSA.

Barrie Newman’s involvement with the WHSA commenced in 2003 when, as Deputy Chairman of the Reserve Forces Day Council (SA), he first met Grantley and Velda Chaplin at the Launch of the 2004 Reserve Forces Day activities held at the Police Horse Barracks in Sydney. The theme for 2004 was to recognize the role the Australian Light Horse Brigade in the Battle of Beersheba and the Chaplin’s were there representing the WHSA. At that meeting Barrie suggested to Grantley that one way of promoting the recognition of the Waler Horse was to strike and issue a commemorative coin featuring the Waler and highlighting its importance and service to Australia in three wars. This offer was enthusiastically accepted and Barrie subsequently undertook the design and production of the medallion and researched the wartime histories relating to the Waler, which he then incorporated into the story-card used to house the medallion. The medallions are a unique memento and have been widely recognized for their design and finish. Barrie has continued to actively promote the Waler Horse over the years since then and has regularly kept in touch with the Chaplin’s.

Barrie’s involvement with horses goes back to his teenage years when he used to go kangaroo shooting on horseback in Western Australia with neighbours at his parents’ property in the South-West of Western Australia and later, when, as a United Nations Military Observer in Kashmir, he was asked to help exercise and train Indian Army horses from the Animal Transport Unit attached to the HQs where he was stationed for a few months.

He did his National Service Training in Western Australia in 1954 and during his 2 years follow-up service in the Citizens Military Forces he qualified as an Army parachutist, Army pilot and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Artillery in 1956. He has served as a CMF officer in Western Australia, New South Wales and in South Australia.

In November 1964, when he was Overseas and Travel Manager of The Bank of Adelaide in Sydney, Barrie was posted as a Military Observer to the United Nations Military Observer Group – India and Pakistan (Kashmir). The Bank gave him 12 months leave of absence to undertake this assignment. In Kashmir, he served on both sides of the Cease Fire Line and, as Operations Officer during the Indo-Pak War in September 1965, he accompanied the Chief Military Observer, LT GEN Robert Nimmo, to Delhi in peace negotiations with the UN Secretary, U Thant and Prime Minister Shastri.

In 1968 Barrie went to Vietnam as a CMF Observer where he served with 12 Field Regiment in operations in Bien Hoa Province. He was appointed Secretary of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia (SA Branch) in 1988 and in 1994 was made a Life Member of the VVAA for his services to the Association and to Vietnam Veterans. Barrie compiled, contributed, edited and published, in 2001, his book, “Vietnam Remembered- Notes by South Australian CMF Observers”.

In civilian life Barrie has been a banker, financier and marketing consultant. He is currently the Executive Director and owner of The Adelaide Mint. He is also Past President and Secretary of the Numismatic Society of South Australia and is on the Board of Camp Gallipoli Foundation Inc.

Barrie’s wife, Judy, accompanied him when he went to Kashmir and she worked with the British High Commission in Pakistan until the Indo-Pak War, then as a stenographer on the United Nations Headquarters in Srinagar until they returned to Australia. She has travelled extensively with Barrie during their married life, including spending 15 months living in Germany when Barrie worked for a large German international firm. They have been married for 51 years and have two married sons, Simon, a lawyer in Adelaide and Adam, a commodities trader, who has only recently returned with his family to live in Adelaide after a 3 years stint working in Germany.

In very recent times, Barrie has been instrumental in securing a unique and exclusive role for our Walers and WHSA members in the Camp Gallipoli project that is to take place around the Centenary of Anzac events in 2015.

Barrie has received numerous awards and decorations during his ongoing active career and the WHSA is delighted to have him as Patron where he will continue to be a passionate and knowledgeable advocate of the Australian Waler horse.