Nearly 1 million Australians served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Merchant Navy from 1939 to 1945.
About half saw active service in war zones, including Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the South-West Pacific Area. The rest staffed coastal defences, headquarters, supply depots, bases, training schools and other military establishments around Australia.
At first, women mainly served in the Australian Army Nursing Service and Voluntary Aid Detachments to support nurses. Then from mid-1941, women began serving in non-medical roles in all 3 of the armed services, mostly performing military duties within Australia. Women also served in the Air Force and Naval nursing services.
The wide areas of service and many different types of units (Australian and foreign) in which Australians served are reflected in DVA's Nominal Roll.
Governing the military
Over the course of this 6-year war, Australia was governed by 5 prime ministers and many more Commonwealth ministers.
Prime ministers
- Robert Menzies, United Australia Party, from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941
- Arthur Fadden, County Party, from 28 August to 7 October 1941
- John Curtin, Australian Labor Party, from 7 October 1941 to 5 July 1945 (died in office)
- Frank Forde, Australian Labor Party, from 6 July 1945 to 13 July 1945
- Ben Chifley, Australian Labor Party, from 13 July 1945 to 19 December 1949
Defence ministers
- Robert Menzies, Minister for Defence Organisation, from 1939 to 1941
- John Curtin, Minister for Defence, from 1941 to 1945
Ministers for the Navy
- Frederick Stewart from 1939 to 1940
- Archie Cameron in 1940
- Billy Hughes from 1940 to 1941
- Norman Makin from 1941 to 1949
Ministers for the Army
- Geoffrey Street from 1939 to 1940
- Philip McBride in 1940
- Percy Spender from 1940 to 1941
- Frank Forde from 1941 to 1946
Ministers for Air
- James Fairbairn from 1939 to 1940
- Arthur Fadden in 1940
- John McEwen from 1940 to 1941
- Arthur Drakeford from 1941 to 1949
Defence administration
When the Defence Act 1903 (Cth) was passed and then a second Defence Act was passed in 1904, it created a structure to organise Australia's armed forces. When the war began in 1939, the armed forces were managed by 2 entities that had been created in 1905:
- Naval Board, administering the Royal Australian Navy, including the post of Naval Commandant
- Military Board, administering the Australian Military Forces (Army), including the post of Inspector-General of the Military Forces.
Both boards were under the control of the Defence minister.
General Thomas Blamey, commander of the Australian Military Forces, took over the Military Board's functions in 1942.
