The following notification has been passed on by the Secretary of the Brisbane Branch of 31Bn Association, Tony Wadeson on Sunday 9 Dec 2018.

Dear Members, it is with great sadness I advise of the passing of our dear comrade & friend,  – Doug. Moffett.  It is believed Doug passed away yesterday (Saturday). Little is known of the circumstances at this stage, but I’ll keep you informed when further details come to hand.

Doug was extremely  proud that he had the Honour to serve, & eventually Command the 31st Bn. He was a staunch member of the Association, always tried to be involved with all of the Association undertakings. He was very active, approaching his mid ninety’s but during the past month has had numerous Hospital visits, but according to him, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. His death has been a great shock, completely unexpected.

At Doug’s request his service was a private family based service with eulogies led by his two sisters and two of his nieces. The emphasis was a celebration of his long and fulfilling life in both his civilian and military capacities. His sisters were aware of  his love of the Association and its members and of his keen ongoing interest in the Unit which he had led as CO back in the early 70s.

A limited number of  Brisbane branch Association members were invited to attend the small service which was held at the Garden Chapel of the Albany Creek Memorial Park at 10.30am on Monday 17th December 2018.  At the conclusion of the service a final salute was provided by Association members as the curtains closed over Doug’s coffin.

—o0o—

Members were shocked to hear of the passing in Sept 2017 of Maj Rod Golding RFD ADM (Rtd). Rod died suddenly of a heart attack while on holidays in South Australia.

Rod became OC of 31st Indep Rifle Coy from 1980 – 1981. It was a particularly difficult period for the 31st. The Unit had been reorganized to an Independent Rifle Coy in 1976, a victim of the Miller committee report. Under Rod’s leadership an increased emphasis training and on recruitment was starting to pay off as numbers slowly increased. This was eventually to see the unit restored to Battalion size in 1986.

Rod was a very enthusiastic member of the 31st Battalion association. in August 2017, just a few months before his passing he was one of the members who travelled to Townsville for the annual Commemorative Church Service and a dedication Service at Lavarack Barracks.

In a speech given at the August 2017 Commemorative Service, Brigadier Steve Graw said “Rod Golding gave me what turned out to be one of the two best pieces of advice I ever received”. He said “There are three things that a commander needs to do”, he said: “Make sure that the soldiers are fed properly, that they are paid correctly and that their training is relevant, interesting and challenging. Do that and they will forgive you just about anything else”. (The other best piece of advice was “bad news does not get any better with age” – delivered on three separate occasions by three separate Generals on the same pre-command course — so they must have meant it).

Rod’s funeral service was held on Tuesday 3 Oct 2017 at the Uniting Church, Albany Creek Rd., Albany Creek.