RAAF base Butterworth (RAAF Record No.10)

[@pushparaniramasamy8006]

My father was in with the RAAF in 1960 as truck driver n also as chef in mess..Ramasamy ( Sammy )he used drive the bus from Penang to Butterworth ..he's no more now passed away 4yrs ago ..he's well known to the Aussies as fondly called Sammy Davies Junior and a great singer too..at Snows Club..

[@gerberdude]

Brilliant, Dad was stationed here around this time and we went to the RAAF school in Penang. So long ago but great memories.

[@oneboonkeng1008]

Thank you for sharing this video for, it helped to bring back fond memories of dear old Butterworth and Penang. Firstly, thank you to Australia n England for the presence of their Troops and Air Force, I was able to enjoy " Freedom " The Air Base and Barracks occupied by the Servicemen from both countries were favorite spots for us during " Odd Jobs Week " The Servicemen were kind and approachable. Not only they gave us simple jobs but also, bars of chocolates ! Daily, bus loads of Servicemen would passed by my house in the mornings and in the evenings, for many were staying in Penang. Thank you guys, for keeping us safe and we're, forever grateful to each and every one of you, who served and were stationed in Butterworth.

[@captmulch1]

My Dad is the first person jumping into the water from the back of the boat in the water survival training part.

[@ronfisher4965]

Lots of memories come flooding back. 1957,Goose neck flares for the runway, my job (RAF) was to lay cables for electric lights.Aussie airfield construction crew used to drive over them with abandon, requiring rewire. Aussie beer was (I think ) swan lager. Yuck!. RAF drank Tiger beer. Swap a few bottles of tiger (3 swan = 1 tiger) and Aussies drove round cables. I had a great time with the Aussies, migrated in 1961 and am still alive.

[@rosskilpatrick934]

My Dad was in 77 Squadron 1960-62 at Butterworth and in Penang. I was there as well as Mum and my Sister and we both went to the RAAF School. I remember the Sabres screaming over our home at Tanjong Bungah and the huge RAF VJets.

[@hasrinhakita4881]

Always awe'struck plane spotting& hearing these fighter planes takeoff& roar in the butterworth base & This is.....R Double A. F radio!young kid livin Tanjung Bngah hillsides in Penang in the 80s with few lobster burned redtan aussies kid as a friends..RAAF radio!! memories still jingle in mind

[@davidnelson7786]

We lived at Butterworth from 79 to end of 81. The best memories of the people and the cultures that thrived in this beautiful Country.

[@ronchoong3774]

I was born in Butterworth, growing up in the Bagan Luar area which is about 3km from RAAF air base in Mata Kuching. It was quite amazing that I could hear and see jet fighters soaring into the sky since I was small but that did not got me flying till I was 21, flying Penang/KL/Moscow to London. No Air Asia then.That was a great journey, enjoyed it and the about 30 hours flight did not fatigue me a tiny bit. At the moment anything over 6 hours is unbearable. I was educated at Assumption Primary School and Saint Xavier Institution for my secondary. It was the time having to take a ferry ride to attend SXI in Penang that I sort of notice all these RAAF service men on the ferry as well. There were also busload of Australian servicemen kids on the ferry travelling to their school in the island. It was quite irony that I got a job at the RAAF Yacht Club as a kitchen hand and my career was germinated. I enjoyed cooking and did my apprenticeship with the newly open Rasa Sayang Resort before my first flight to London to further my career and finally migrated to Australia.

[@jerrymccrae7202]

I just hope this note gets to somone with the Military Service in Australia. Enjoyed the vidio thanks so much for being a wonderful ally in war and peace. I salute you sincerely! Jerry mccres des moines Iowa USA.

[@victorianbunyip2215]

Thanks mate. Maybe one day our Government will thank us too. Alas our Country still had a Vietnam hangover and would not let the Australian populace know that we were fighting another communist insurgency in Asia.

[@jerrymccrae7202]

@@victorianbunyip2215 thats so sad! I truly wish you guys would get the honarably RECOGNITION you deserve. For what its worth i salute you and your mates sincerely! If ya ever get to Iowa the steak dinners on me!

[@nataliecarter4493]

Fantastic, Dad was flying 72-74, my brother and I also went to RAAF school in Penang.

[@iainstewart7780]

Thanks for posting that, We were there, and my dad in shot (Flt Lt and "mo, 2 Sqdn) at 9.18 on RHS of picture. Great memories and don't those Aussie sabres look a delight to land, all "greasers" that i could see.

[@tonydoggett7627]

And they got a medal for a stay at Butterworth.

[@tonylewis1337]

I was on detachment there in 1967 from 19 Signal Rgt., RAF Changi. Three of us went to help install a German xbar system in the base telephone exchange. We were there for a few months and during it Harold Wilson devalued the British pound sterling which resulted in riots (the Malay govt. had said only paper money was legal tender) in the area and on Penang and we were confined to base. But overall we had a good time there. But it was unusual having steak on the breakfast menu in the cookhouse.

[@michael5265]

Thank you AWM for some great memories from my childhood

[@TheCraigant]

have fond memory's of that place when i was a kid

[@johnston7744]

yeah i was there late 1958/9 farther was air force.

[@talapiamerah7972]

Thank you very much for australian air force served in malaya for fighting communists

[@victorianbunyip2215]

According to our Government we did nothing and were never there

[@rozitabinti3753]

@@victorianbunyip2215 what the hell is wrong with them?

[@kennethhew]

@@victorianbunyip2215 but why? it's the biggest foreign air base in Malaysia, bigger than any british or american airbase in the peninsular, and serves as a permanent reminder of the help and sacrifices of Australians during the war. Any Malaysian old enough to remember history would not hesitate to say Australia were probably the ones that helped Malaysia the most, more than the British or the Americans during the insurgency times. Australians ought to be proud of this

[@victorianbunyip2215]

@@kennethhew After Vietnam the last thing the Australian Government wanted to say to the population is that we were involved in another Asian conflict. So they classed it as the same as being on an Australian base with no danger.

[@kennethhew]

@@victorianbunyip2215 I can understand Vietnam since it was a prickly issue even from day one, but the Malayan wars emerged victorious albeit with tremendous loss of lives and should at the very least be acknowledged. One needs only visit the Lest We Forget War Memorial in Kundasang where they honour all the Australian troops that died during the dreaded "Death March" in North Borneo, to really the appreciate the sacrifices of Australians for which Malaysia is deeply grateful for. This is why Malaysia reserves the biggest foreign airbase to the RAAF, the only permanent foreign military presence in the country

[@Horatio411]

My dad was there with the RAAF

[@sandramenkens1965]

My father was there between mid 76 - end of 78, our family lived on the island of Penang

[@victorianbunyip2215]

Maybe one day we will be recognised for what we did

[@noelcarter]

Excellent video, shot no later than 1960, because at 05.09, it shows the ferry, used to transport RAAF types to and from Butterworth, until the practice was dropped, and we used the regular ferry service. Oh, those toilets!

[@victorianbunyip2215]

Fell asleep on it and did about 6 trips then 6 days CB.

[@Mijuru74]

I have been served in this RMAF Base for 8 years circa 90's and the RAAF is still there with their P3 Orion Aircraft and 3 RAR Coy.. what a nostalgic scene because at this time Malaya still in Insurgency fighting the Terrorist Communist Party of Malaya.

[@mohdimranyadi3998]

This is valuable history

[@t.thanarajulunaidu8571]

I used to see them cycling into the ferry with yellow RAAF bicycles.

[@MrLifeIsAwesomeForUs]

thx for the serve! come again plz

[@rovcanada1]

My word! 8:18 That's the 1st school I went to in Penang in 1975 as a RAAF brat.

[@jaimes350]

before watching this video i wasn't aware we built our own jets, even if the original design wasn't our's, what happen'd? why aren't we doing that now? why are we spending hundreds of millions of dollars renting planes from over seas instead of developing our own and employing Australians in the field?

[@austfirst4140]

Liberal's

[@tajulariffin1979]

Thanks a lot to RAAF because were defending Malaysia airspace after independence on that time.

[@blueycarlton]

The Mirage replaced the Avon Sabre as our front line fighter. Apart from the tyres, it was completly built here. Now, like everything else, we don't make anything. Having free trade agreements is fine but with countries of a similar standing, Western Europe, North America etc. Our manufacturing has raced off shore because of cheap labour and higher profit margins.

[@johnfisher747]

The Greens

[@rayologhlen5430]

Was born in Tai Ping hospital 1962

[@gregbolitho9775]

Geez, I wanted to be a Herc driver so bad, when I was an Airforce cadet, Ballarat. Still real ticked off, they took my tonsils and gave me asthma in exchange! Still think it was a rotten trade eh!

[@miniwagen9273]

Superb historical video. Only hope some BAD RACIST POLITICIANS WON'T SPOIL THE BOND.