Celebrating 75 Years of Loyalty and Service
In 2027, the Officer Cadet School, Portsea (OCS) will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the graduation of the first two classes. The history of the OCS is well documented in Neville Lindsay’s book Loyalty and Service.
Several graduates have written books covering their experiences during and after OCS. Most tend to focus on post OCS activities. Several classes have their yearbooks, including updates, published on the website.
A proposal was submitted to the OCS Alumni Committee by the webmaster seeking approval to commission a book to be written on the life of a group of cadets spanning the life of the OCS – 1952 to 1985. The book will cover areas such as their reason for joining, their time at the OCS, life after graduation, and post service activities.
To ensure we capture the full story of Portsea over the years, the proposal sought to develop a book based on interviews with around forty (40) graduates. There should be a mix of years, countries and sexes. The book should include where possible a representative sample of cadets from all countries as well as staff.
The recommendation included the nomination of author Dave Morgan, a veteran of Vietnam, to compile the work. Dave has written four books and is currently compiling his fifth. The last two cover interviews with a range of service personnel from the late 60s to the present time. His profile and the books he has written can be viewed here – https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/dave-morgan/?srsltid=AfmBOopINBcI0IZOJkzq31QszHt2ipbDreaVz2mflGX5HTXhJ77JdW0B
Dave can commence work later this year and would complete the work at no cost to the Alumni. He would work to see proceeds of sales go to Legacy.
Action Required
Class Orderlies are asked to discuss this with classes and nominate one person from their class who they would recommend for interviews. The only requirements are that the person must be alive (a bit hard to interview otherwise) and must have graduated.
Overseas individuals can be included in the nominations as a special recommendation as we want to include a sample of this group.
We recognise that there may be more nominations than required as there were 67 classes. The committee will work with the classes to determine final nominations. A few ‘spares’ will be included.
We are also seeking nominations for staff who might be interviewed. This could include a range from Officer Instructors, Assistant Instructors, Administrative staff and civilian support staff.
If any of your class has a contact with families who supported OCS through Lions, Rotary or other community-based organisations, we would like to include a selection of them if possible.
Nominations should be submitted via class orderlies to webmaster@ocsportsea.org
Closing Date
All nominations should be provided by not later than 5.00pm, Friday, 29th August 2025.