Finding the Yowie

[Ruby Lang]

Some interesting trivia...I always wondered where the suits came from...

Finding the yowie

I SPOKE to retired Brig. George Mansford last week. George, whose army nickname is `Warry', lives just south of Cairns. The nickname is a badge of honour and is bestowed on only the best soldiers by their peers. George was given the job of starting the Battle School in the jungle near Tully in 1979 and while he was there his team created the Yowie suit now popular with snipers the world over. He said he started a sniping course there because this particular branch of warfare had not been pursued at the training level in Australia since before the Korean War. He said the instructors designed the suit after stealing some ideas from a World War I photograph. They used camouflage netting, dyed blankets and whatever else was at hand and which cost nothing, to make the suits. "They improvised. That's something the Australian Army is good at," he said with a loud laugh. When the brass came up from Canberra to see what was going on they got a hell of a fright when a sniper in one of the freshly minted Yowie suits jumped up, literally a couple of feet in front of them, 'scoped sniper rifle at the ready. He'd been lying there on the rainforest floor in front of them for ages and they hadn't spotted him.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ar ... north.html

Ruby

[Shazzoir]

Hey Ruby, welcome back!

I've never heard them referred to as Yowie suits, to be honest, but have seen my Army friend in her Ghillie suit, and they are certainly excellent at breaking up your outline while hiding.

[Ruby Lang]

Hi Shazz,

Thanks - I'm a bit of a luddite and was having password issues as I hadn't logged in for sooooo long. I've been tied up with a whole lot of other things and have neglected the hairy man haven, AYR.

Love the pic! Thought it was funny it was 'invented' near another great Fortean location - Tully, Qld, where some of Australia's first 'crop circles' materialised. Mike managed to visit and chat to one of the witnesses a couple of years ago, who unfortunately died just recently.

Cheers,

Ruby