Submarines

Association

Australia

28 June 2025

Crest

To SAA Members :

SAA Members As you may have seen, in recent times, through the great work of Tony Vine our National VP, the presentation of Bereavement Pins on behalf of the RAN to the families of our departed shipmates.
Information below, which is a cut and paste from the Navy Intranet site, explains the eligibility of the Bereavement Pins as well as outlining the use of and presentation of the Australian White Ensign.
Attached is also a copy of the SAA Policy on Reporting the Death of a Member.
Reporting the Death of a Member
Of course the SAA is always available to assist families should they want it during the difficult time of losing a loved one.

Chief of Navy Bereavement Pins eligibility
In 2018, the Chief of Navy extended the eligibility of those who can receive Navy Bereavement Pins, beyond the immediate family of those who died whilst rendering effective service, to include the immediate family of Navy Veterans.
Immediate family normally means widows and widowers, parents, siblings, and children of the deceased.
Extensions to this eligibility can be made for compassionate and compelling circumstances.
The contact email address for making application for the Navy Bereavement Pin
is: navy.bereavement@defence.gov.au

Use of the Australian White Ensign on a coffin
All RAN veterans who separated from the Navy, for reasons other than punitive, are entitled to apply to have the Australian White Ensign (AWE) used as a pall on their coffins, or at a Memorial Service held for them.
On each occasion when a request for the AWE is made, an individual approval process is undertaken.
The full name and date of birth of the deceased is sufficient to allow for their service record to be checked and their eligibility for the AWE to be confirmed. Approval is given by Director Navy Sensitive Issues Management in Navy Headquarters; the approval is conveyed to either the family's representative or the funeral director officiating the ceremony via the
Navy Bereavement Liaison Officer (NBLO).

Should a Funeral Director not be able to provide an AWE, the NBLO will direct them to liaise with their nearest Navy Establishment, to assist with the loan of an AWE for use during the funeral service. AWE used for the purpose of a coffin pall are not to be made available following the Service.

The contact email address for making application for the use of the AWE is:
navy.bereavement@defence.gov.au

Presentation of the AWE to Family Members
Established in 2019, Navy policy only permits presentation of a 'Cased AWE' to the family of a member of the Royal Australian Navy who was rendering effective service at the time of their death

Cheers

David Strangward, AM
SAA National President

SUBCON BOOKINGS NEWS :

SUBCON 2025 : Information now has its own page SUBCON 2025

SAD NEWS

The SAA is saddened to advise of the passing of the following :
CPOETSSM HUGH PETER REID R57982
HUGH Peter Reid

ABMTSM Ethan (Olly) Ollington
Ethan Ollington

Submariners Walk Heritage Trail Memorial Extension
Expression of Interest

Please see the email below from Dave Strangward,
National President,

SAA Members:
Below this message is an email from the Qld Branch and I believe it is of interest to all,
I fully support this action and could I ask that each state table the request to their members and provide a response indicating members interest to Brian Mateer

Please reply to Brian Mateer, President, SAA Queensland your expression of interest to have a memorial plaque on the wall.
Email address:- presidentsaaqld@gmail.com

David Strangward, AM
SAA National President

Dear Dave,

I am putting an application in for the extension of the subject memorial on behalf of the Management Committee,
SWHT Sub-Committee and the members of the SAA QLD INC through the DVA grants program "Saluting Their Service".

In the application there are specific criteria that are required including supporting documentation and needs.
I can pull this together.
However, for this venture to become a reality I need the states to give me an indication of the interest level of members who would like to have their names included by named plaques mounted on the wall extension for their families,
generations of submariners in the future and for the admiration and contemplation of the Australian public.

For this to be a success and a major memorial to the Submarine Service, cooperation and a commitment that the individual state associations will focus on this being a major attraction for the SAA National and Submarine Squadron communities.
Please send it to the state secretary’s for their input and return it to me. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Eric Brian Mateer
President
Submarines Association Australia - Qld Inc
Ph 0404 011 005

Submariners worldwide are a special breed, rarely understood by mere mortals and never understood by skimmers. Submariners of all nations understand this and show respect to each other, knowing the hardship and danger that each has faced to achieve membership to that elite club to which they belong.

The Association's aims and goals are:
•To keep alive the unique esprit de corps of the Submarine Service;
•To establish and maintain a charitable trust, being a welfare foundation;
•To assist one another as occasion may require and to encourage social activities;
•To liaise with kindred organisations, both nationally and internationally; and,
•To educate members about their entitlements and provide access to Department of Veterans' Affairs advocates

The Association maintains a close relationship with several overseas Submariners' Associations. Membership is open to all submariners, regardless of the Navy in which they served.

SAA National President Message

As the year comes to an end I would like to, on behalf of the National and State Committees, wish all SAA members and their families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
It has been a busy year for the SAA with a great SUBCON in QLD, our web site back up and running.
On the subject of SUBCON, NSW have stepped in to organise SUBCON 25 and there will be more news on the plans etc in the New Year.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the National Committee for all the work they have done this year, much of it behind the scenes.
Our Vice Pres Tony Vine has also worked hard to update our constitution which has needed a lot of work as it has been many years between updates.
Tony has also been able to track down members details and update the Eternal Patrol details as a number of submariners details were incorrect.

Also a big year in the Navy with both senior positions now being filled by submariners, with Mark Hammond as CN and Matt Buckley as DCN so we know the Navy id in good hands.
I was also honoured to be invited to Matt Ritchie’s promotion to CDRE, in early December he has come a long way since his time as a baby greenie in HMAS Onslow.
Of course the AUKUS project is gathering momentum and hopefully in the not too distant future we may have some USN submariners join the association as they move to the West.
Just a reminder that next year is an election year for the National Executive, so please have a think about stepping up and putting your name forward for a position if not for one of the National positions then maybe on your state committees as I see the same names year after year doing a great job in their respective states.

So in closing please keep safe and I look forward to catching up in 2025.