Alan Paul Horton – Biography
Alan and Jo 1993
Alan was born on 11 February 1951 in North Sydney.
He started work at Rumseys Seeds at the age of 14, where his brother Peter later joined him.
Herbert John Rumsey, seedsman, horticulturist and genealogist, was born in England, arriving in Sydney with his parents and sister in 1872. By 1895 Rumsey had started a nursery and seed business on his father’s Barbers Creek (Tallong) near Marulan. Henry was survived by two sons and three daughters, when he died at Dundas on 1 February 1956. Rumseys Seeds Ltd was sold to Arthur Yates & Co. Pty Ltd in 1966 but his sons and grandsons continued as nursery and seedsmen at Galston and Dural, NSW.
Alan later joined Fielders Bakery which was located in Paramatta. If you click on the image below you can view an early Fielders TV advertisement.
In 1969 Alan met Joanne (Jo) Coleman and the couple were married on 24 January 1972 in Brisbane Qld, renewing their vows in 1988.
As part of Robert Menzies’ 1964 introduction of Conscripted National Service, Alan’s number came up in 1970, and he started his military service on 26 January 1972, a somewhat ironic date, given it was Australia Day. The couple’s 1972 wedding had to be expedited due to Alan’s conscription date - a married soldier received a Marriage Allowance in those days, and Alan and Jo were dirt poor, so by necessity they brought their wedding day forward. Exciting times!
Military service provided much more than wearing a uniform and learning the skills of soldering. National Service gave Alan a taste, an entrée as it were. He enjoyed the conformity, routine, learning, achieving, and something which fires the emotion ‘camaraderie’ – a sense of belonging - colleagues, mates, being valued. He was hooked.
With the election of a Labor government in December of 1972 offering every ‘natio’ one thousand dollars to re-engage in the regular Army, and with Jo on board, Alan willingly took the plunge. And while the $1,000 didn’t eventuate until 1978 (6 years of government weasel words) it came in handy with the couple’s growing family and a home in need of considerable renovation.
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals motto was ‘Certa Cito’, translating as ‘Swift and Sure’.
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals insignia and motto
Alan felt privileged to have served. Strangely, an aptitude in interpreting morse code – the dits and dars - enabled Alan’s selection by the Corps. While there were occasional scrapes with authority along the way, the job offered so much – challenges, opportunity, self-confidence, personal growth, leadership skills, travel, and so much more.
In addition, as a sport minded fella, the opportunities to represent further enhanced Alan’s profile, leading to accelerated promotion and unexpected opportunities. The door had opened, and it was full throttle a career in the making - a demanding career on the go, with time away for ongoing education, trade and promotion courses, field exercises, physical training, sports, and much more.
It came at a price, the expectation to ‘be one of the boys’ meant family was not always the number one priority. The eight or nine postings intrastate, interstate and overseas also presented many challenges in terms of Jo’s career as a public servant, and for the couple’s two boys who had to learn to cope with disrupted schooling and lives punctuated by upheaval. Most important as the boys grew was developing a stable and nurturing environment which they both needed. Jo provided that much needed family stability and consistent support, a fact often stressed by Alan, and a role that he’s proud to say Jo took on in spades.
The memories remain, mates and colleagues, those lifelong relationships which come about from shared experiences. There were difficulties, many of Alan’s peers having returned from Vietnam damaged, their experiences requiring at the very least a sympathetic understanding as to their trauma. With alcohol being a common bond, it contributed further to depression and the emotional toll it took on them.
However, the positives overshadowed the occasional setbacks. There were so many opportunities afforded Alan - to have served on exchange with the British in the UK, including a stint in Cyprus attached to a Royal Signals Brigade group, followed by three years at the Australian Embassy in Washington, and finally five years at Defence Headquarters in Canberra.
The old Australian Embassy, Washington
In career terms Alan had come full circle.
After 26 years and one day of military service, Alan retired from the services on 27 January 1998.
Below are a few shots from Alan’s army years. Click on any shot and hover over it to see its caption. And you can use the right and left arrows to scroll through the gallery.
The family moved to 518 Lake Innes Drive, Wauchope that year, where Alan started part time work at Forests NSW.
Alan then joined Busways at Port Macquarie in 2008, from where he retired in 2020.
The family relocated to Woody Point in Queensland that year.
Alan and Jo have two sons, Shane born 5 April 1972 and James born 18 May 1974.
Shane married Brigette Hutchinson in 1993 and had three children together - Joseph, Timothy, and Emily before the couple went their separate ways in 2009. Shane’s current partner is Stephanie Eales.
Joseph married Katie Aldred in 2021, and the couple have two children, Mollie and Charlie. Emily’s partner is Cooper Schouten. Timothy married Megan Beard in 2022 and they have one daughter, Alba.
Jemima (left) and Olivia
Written by Alan Horton, edited and augmented by Rob Landsberry, last modified 6 December 2024