Aileen Rose Danielson (nee Bell)
Father Aboriginal Descendant of Juru (Bowen), Bindal (Townsville), and Wulgurukaba (Townsville, Magnetic Is) people.
Mother Descendant of Kanakas Blackbirded from Vanuatu, South Sea Island Heritage
Corporal
Royal Australian Air Force
Medals
Australian Defence Medal
I was born on 30 July 1958, the eldest of 5 children. My Aboriginal Father is from Cherbourg Mission in Queensland and a descendant of the Juru (Bowen), Bindal (Townsville) and Wulgurukaba (Townsville, Magnetic Is) peoples. My Mother is of South Sea Islander heritage, a descendant of the Kanakas blackbirded from Vanuatu. I grew up in Inala, a tough suburb of Brisbane, but ours was a good hard-working family. After graduating from high school with my Junior Certificate, I went to Business School to learn office skills including shorthand. My first job at sixteen was at Telecom Australia in Fortitude Valley.
I enlisted at 18 in the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force on 12 April 1977 and did my Recruit Training (‘Rookies’) at Laverton in Victoria. That course definitely made me a strong, independent woman. Our course was the very last WRAAF training course – halfway through, the WRAAF was disbanded, and we merged into the RAAF. Following ‘Rookies,’ I was sent to RAAF base Wagga Wagga to do my Clerk Supply Training Course III. After qualifying, I was posted to No 2 Aircraft Depot at RAAF Base Richmond in NSW. I thought living on base at Richmond was fantastic – it was the first time in my life I’d had my own room. The food was fantastic, too; we were treated pretty special when it came to food.
Highlights of my time at Richmond include being the Door Opener in the welcoming party when Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived at RAAF Base Richmond for their visit in 1983. Princess Diana was so beautiful! Another fond memory was being assigned to ‘meet and greet’ duties, working the crowds at the Richmond Air Shows. We had some awesome aircraft there. My favourites were the WW2 Spitfires and Mustangs, such a magnificent sound from their Rolls Royce engines.
On 11 April 1981, I married an ex-RAAF man and changed my name from Bell to Danielson. When I went to the Orderly room to apply for married quarters everything was going well until they discovered I had married a non-serving member. SHOCK HORROR! I found out that the rules for servicewomen were different; servicemen who married non-serving women got married quarters, but not me. I had to PLEAD my case with a letter to Canberra. The paperwork just to fight for equality in accommodation was a nightmare and took months. I eventually received married quarters, but at that time, it was not an automatic right.
In November 1982, I was promoted to Corporal, and in July the following year, I was posted as Corporal Unit Equipment Clerk Supply to 37 Squadron, a Hercules Transport Aircraft Unit. Flying Squadrons are a completely different Air Force. There were no female toilets at the Flight Line, so I had to walk a half hour or more to find a suitable bathroom, in all types of weather. I used to carry a little bell with me to ring before entering flight crew areas, in case of undress or swearing. However, they were total gentlemen, and I loved every minute of it.
I discharged from the RAAF on 24 May 1985 and became a Federal Public Servant with the Department of Employment, Education and Training. I keep my links with Defence through membership with several service organisations: Life Member of the RSL, RAAF Association Toowoomba, ex-WRAAF Toowoomba Group, 37SQN Association, Combined Service Women’s Group Toowoomba, and the Toowoomba RSL Ladies Morning Tea group. Joining the Air Force in 1977 was the best thing I had ever done. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. My Defence family has always been there for me, and I know they will always be my family.
