In 1959 young RAAF officer Norm Ashworth was appointed an aide-de-camp (ADC), to then Governor General, Field Marshall, Sir William Slim in Canberra.
Sixty five years later the 91-year-old was invited to make a return visit to Canberra from Perth where he is now living, to meet the current Governor General Her Excellency the Honorable Sam Moyston.
Norm said it was a bit like going home and he was welcomed like family by the Governor General and her staff.
He was presented with a Governor General’s Coin as a memento of his visit and was able to chat to staff about the differences 60 years had made.
“Society in general, I think, has become more relaxed socially; there’s less formality, less bowing and scraping. Once upon a time, ladies would curtsy to the Governor-General,” Norm said.
At the time of Norm’s tour of duty as the Air Force ADC to Sir William he was introduced to a completely new and unfamiliar world of the leaders of society at the national level.
“It was one far removed from my own as a junior Air Force officer.
“There were three ADCs, one from each of the armed services. We were in effect personal assistants to the Governor-General, closely involved with the organisation of his ceremonial and social activities.
“Life as an ADC was somewhat demanding. We lived at Government House and were on call 24/7. We were, in effect, part of the family, dining at lunch and dinner with the Governor-General and his wife and included in most family activities. Every night was black tie unless there was a function and then it would be in uniform.”
Norm said that during his recent visit he’d been fascinated to see how both Government House itself and its daily routine had changed.
“Notwithstanding those changes, it all seemed so familiar. What had not changed was the essentials of the Governor General’s life and that of her staff. Indeed, I felt quite relaxed and at home. I was treated as one of the Government House fraternity; treated as an ‘insider’ rather than a normal visitor.”
For almost a year the young Norm worked 24 hours a day, slept at the house and escorted Governor Slim or Lady Slim to functions.
“If the Governor General was going to go and visit, say a military base or a commercial firm the ADC would go out beforehand to prepare a brief for him and the organisation being visited.
There were many functions, so for instance, if a new ambassador arrived, he would call the Governor General, who would invite him and his wife, to dinner.
The two key guests would be sat on opposite sides of the table with the ambassador next to the right hand of Lady Slim, the ambassador’s wife next to the Governor General, and the other guests spread down the table according to their rank, with the ADCs at the end.
While much of the ADCs role was formal, Norm said conversation around the Governor General was easy.
“If the governor general was talking to somebody like the Minister for Foreign Affairs our job was to be a personal assistant, is probably the best way to describe it.”
These were often a time for casual conversation.
“It’s interesting, I found that the more important the person was in the scale of things, the easier they were to deal with.
“They were not so concerned about their position. They knew that they were at the top. They could be quite free and easy in conversation, whereas some of the people down in the second tier who had perhaps reached the limit of their career, were far more conscious of their position.”
Norm said because the Governor General and his wife were English and moved in the higher echelon of society including royal circles, they expected the same sort of royal protocols to be followed in Australia.
“We lived in the house, we had rooms just upstairs and we had an office down below, near the front door. Every day one of the ADCs, would go to the governor’s bedroom first thing in the morning and brief him for the day.”
Being part of the family though didn’t extend to some of the confidential conversations.
“You learn to move away, when say the Governor General was talking to the Prime Minister in his office and you had to go in for some particular reason. You’d find the conversation would stop until you left.
“I can well recall one day, Bob Menzies was the Prime Minister and he called on the Governor General for something. He was about to depart and we were standing outside when his car pulled up while he was talking with the Governor General. I happened to be standing fairly close by and Bob was just talking to the Governor General and then he paused and looked at me. It was obvious that he had something confidential to say, so I just moved away. We weren’t privy to the secrets, the inner workings, we were much more concerned with the Governor-General’s ceremonial and social activities.”
Norm was single; in those days only single men were eligible to serve as ADCs.
“These days the ADCs don’t live in, they might have a partner, or be married. It’s almost a nine-to-five job except when functions are after hours. There’s far less formality now.
“A fair few things have changed, but the essentials are the same. When I went there, I felt at home. With the various members of the staff, we could chit-chat backwards and forwards as though we’d know each other for years and it felt that I was still working there.
“It was a great feeling really to be treated as part of the fraternity. As it were, the elder statesman coming back and being treated with great respect.”
The Canberra visit came about when Norm’s partner’s son Colin told the Governor General about Norm during a meeting and she invited the family to visit.
