Redlands Returned and Services League (RSL) members and the women’s auxiliary have done their bit to ensure Australian Defence Force personnel deployed overseas do not feel left out this Christmas.
The ladies of the women’s auxiliary packed a huge 157 care packages for troops currently serving overseas which are already on their way to the troops to arrive in time for Christmas.
The 2kg boxes which have to be shipped six weeks in advance in order to travel from Redlands, to Enoggera Barracks and on to Sydney before finally making their way to the troops in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, include such items as Tim Tams, chocolates and other non- perishables that the troops find hard to get when serving overseas.
The majority of the items in the packages are donated by the wider Redlands community with the women’s auxiliary and the RSL sharing the load of the cost of bought items.
This year even included magazines and hand made clothing to help keep the troops warm according to auxiliary treasurer Linda Harcourt.
“We knitted some helmet caps this year which the troops wear under there helmets because it gets so cold over there at this time of the year,” she said.
“We have been sending the packages for four or five years now, twice a year.
“It’s just our way of letting the troops know that they haven’t been forgotten about.”
