Trafalgar Thorpdale RSL secretary, Paul Altamore , a former warrant officer in the Australian Army, was farewelled from the Australian Defence Force on 27 March 2026, with a Regimental Dinner held at Kokoda Barracks in Canunga, Queensland.
Although warrant officers are members of the Sergeants Mess, the dinner, which included a number of officers and other ranks, was conducted in the Kokoda Barracks Officers Mess.
This was the culmination of 46 years’ service in the Australian Army.
Paul enlisted in June 1980, and following service with the Royal Australian Corps of Infantry, transferred to the Australian Intelligence Corps.
During his Regular Army Service between June 1980 and July 2017, Warrant Officer Class One Altamore served in Land Command, Theatre and Strategic postings throughout Australia.
He also saw operational and active service in the South West Pacific, East Timor and the Middle East.
On discharge from the regular army, Paul transferred to the reserves where he was posted as an instructor at the Defence School of Intelligence in Kokoda Barracks, serving in this capacity, supporting instructional and training activities, from late 2017 up until March 2026.
Paul joined Trafalgar Thorpdale RSL Sub-branch in May 2019.
He was appointed its treasurer in 2021, serving in that role until 2023, before becoming the sub-branch’s secretary in 2024 and 2025.
At the sub-branch’s recent annual general meeting last month and subsequent committee meeting to elect office bearers, Paul was re-elected as its secretary for another 12 months
Unfortunately no photos are available of Paul at the Regimental Dinner, as it is custom for attendees to leave their phones (and, therefore, their cameras) out of the way in case a phone rang during the Loyal Toast, or whilst the dining president is making his speeches, etc.
