Peter Adamis 18 July 2014. It is with great sadness to hear of the untimely death of Nick Norris. I first heard of his death whilst driving home from lunch with some ex Army cobbers. During my drive along St Georges Road, I turned on the radio and heard the announcement that a chap from Perth named Nick Norris had passed away. My thoughts immediately went to the only Nick Norris that I knew of and that was my ex Commanding Officer of 11 Independent Company The Royal West Australian Regiment. A Copy of the complete article may be downloaded by clicking on: FLIGHT MALAYSIA AIR MH17 AND NICK NORRIS LOVED BY HIS TROOPS
Secondly my secondary thoughts went to my old mate Barrie Daniel now residing in Tasmania and reminded myself to ring him when I got home. Barrie was one of my soldiers and a good friend throughout the past 30 odd years. Barrie and I had both served under Nic Norris in West Australia. Sure enough, as soon as I got home Barrie was on the phone to me confirming that it was Nick Norris our former Commanding Officer.
The first time that I met with Nick Norris was in December 1981 when I had journeyed to my new unit during a reconnaissance trip to ascertain what the unit was bout and to obtain my bearings. After being introduced to the number of Regular Army Cadre staff of which I was part of, I was interviewed by Nick Norris. Nick was a no nonsense man, who did not suffer fools gladly and had a professional approach to his military status and that of his responsibilities to the soldiers under his command.
Although Nick Norris was a Reserve Army Officer, he was extremely supportive and loyal to his Regular army Cadre staff who formed the nucleus of his military advisers. It was our responsibility to ensure that the Commanding officer was provided with the best advice possible and ensured that the administrative, logistics and tactical aspects of the unit were carried out in a professional manner. Nick Norris was no fool as he had experience with Regular army staff in the past and had a good grasp of tactics and how to run a military organisation operate like clockwork. He knew every soldier by name and often knew of their personal lives making him informed at all times about the lives of the soldiers under his command.
He knew his military history backwards and was extremely proud to have been given the responsibility of leading the unit throughout his tenure. He was aware of the huge responsibility placed upon his shoulders as the unit was famous during WW1 and WW2 where the was involved during the battles for Greece and Crete. Soldiers came to admire him for his knowledge, tenacity and commitment to the unit and soldiers alike and one could say that they would follow him anywhere. In fact long after I had been reposted back to the Eastern States, the name of Nick Norris kept cropping up over the years and of his rise to Lieutenant Colonel.
Nick was a great family man, a good lodge member and of those responsible for introducing me in to the lodge via the now defunct Mount Hawthorne lodge in West Australia. Nick will certainly be missed and those who have met and known him will also be thinking of him this day. Condolences to his family and may his journey into the next world be a peaceful one.
The Voice from the Pavement – Peter Adamis is a Journalist/Commentator and writer. He is a retired Australian military serviceman and an Industry organisational & Occupational (OHS) & Training Consultant whose interests are within the parameters of domestic and international political spectrum. He is an avid blogger and contributes to domestic and international community news media outlets as well as to local and Ethnic News. He holds a Bachelor of Adult Learning & Development (Monash), Grad Dip Occupational Health & Safety, (Monash), Dip. Training & Assessment, Dip Public Administration, and Dip Frontline Management. Contact via Email: [email protected] or via Mobile: 0409965538