Content on Australians at War stories

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"One thing more—Goodbye"

Flying Officer Athol Snook was a survivor. In 1942, he spent 47 days at sea in a lifeboat sailing from Java to Australia with 11 comrades to escape from the Japanese. Then, on a fateful night in New…

'Bombs' welcomed by troops in jungle

It's not often that the troops want to thank the airmen who are dropping bombs on them but this certainly happened in New Guinea during World War II. It helped that the 'bombs' were actually parcels…

A "nice easy shoot" in Korea

Having lied about his age to join the Army in 1942, Dick Turner was serving in New Guinea when the truth was discovered. He was only 16 and had told the recruiting officer he was two years older than…

A "rat" with a nice turn of phrase

Sapper George Vincent Sarto Rudge was one of the Rats of Tobruk. He was also a poet with an eye for detail who spent much of his spare time recording in his diaries the events in which he was…

A beer bottle barrage and stealing into Timor

During World War Two I spent much of my flying career in the Royal Australian Air Force as a wireless operator-gunner in Catalina flying boats, from mid-1941 to 1943, mostly covering the South…

A day Harry Dale will never forget

The day the Japanese bombed Darwin is one that Harry Dale will never forget. He was on a ship in the harbour when the planes began their raid on Thursday, 19 February 1942, and was lucky to survive.

A doctor's view of Gallipoli landings

Major Vivien Benjafield of the Australian Army Medical Corps became something of a legend in his own lifetime. He served throughout World War I as a surgeon and administrator in Gallipoli, on…

A flight to remember

Tony Tubbenhauer proved to be a versatile pilot during World War II. He learned to fly on Tiger Moths in Australia, then moved on to Ansons and during the war flew 17 different types of aircraft.

A Lark on the wing

Fl Lt Charles Lark applied to join the RAAF in December 1939 but it was more than a year later when he was finally signed up. While waiting, he received lessons in trigonometry, arithmetic, algebra,…

A letter of warning from Vietnam

This is to inform you that as of........................ 196 , a certain mudhound water-soaked and slightly crazy individual known as......................... is leaving our little City of…

A mother grieves for death of VC winner

Corporal John Hurst Edmondson, who was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the Siege of Tobruk. He was the first Australian to be awarded a VC in…

A mother pleads with son to lead a good life

Religion played an important part in the lives of many families whose sons enlisted to serve in World War I. Many a young soldier went off with the pleas of mothers and fathers to lead pure lives…

A night stroll in Korea

Corporal Frederick William (Bill) Williams, who served in the Korean War, was one of five men with that surname among a section of 10 men.

A prisoner of the Turks

When George Handsley signed up to join the Light Horse Regiment in Toowoomba in August 1915 he had visions of fighting the great fight against the enemy hordes. What he didn't realise was that he was…

A soldier and a poet

Frank Lundie was born in Port Adelaide on 21 August 1899, although he didn't think that the authorities needed to know that.

A visit to Hitler's study

Neal Carter was stationed in Germany with RAAF 451 Squadron, British Occupation Forces in November 1945.

A war correspondent in Indo-China

I was fortunate that I'd had more than 16 years experience as a journalist in Australia, Britain and Papua New Guinea before becoming an ABC News correspondent in south east Asia in December 1967. I…

ABC correspondent broadcasts stories of bravery

There were many tales of valour from the fighting in New Guinea during World War II. Typical was the story of 22-year-old Ken Sanderson.

Aborigine survives family massacre but dies in war

An Aborigine who was the sole survivor of a brutal attack in which his entire family was massacred in 1880, was brought up by a white family in country New South Wales and later fought for Australia…

Adaptable Jeep on the right lines

Jeeps were real work horses in World War II and they turned up in the most unusual places.

After all that—the beer was warm

Most servicemen like a drink and airmen are no exception so when a group of young RAAF personnel were waiting at the Sandgate Embarkation Depot in 1944 to board the USS Sea Ray due to sail for…

Aircrew survived 11-day desert trek to safety

Mick Ey could regard himself as extremely lucky while flying in the Middle East as a wireless operator/air gunner with 454 Squadron. After all, it's not many people who can say they were involved in…

Airmen survived 47 days at sea during escape from Japanese

One of the most incredible escapes made during World War II involved 12 airmen who sailed in an open boat from Java [now Indonesia] to Australia to escape the Japanese, a journey that took 47 days.

Alan Garden gave up law to go to war

Alan Garden abandoned his law degree at Melbourne University to sign up for World War I. He joined with his mates, Bill Woodfull (who later captained the Australian cricket team), and Bill Leggatt (…

An extraordinary war for HMS Kanimbla

The Australian passenger ship MV Kanimbla had an extraordinary war. She was converted into an armed merchant carrier in September 1939 and seconded to the Royal Navy. Apart from capturing 22 enemy…

April 25th was a day to remember

Laurie Whitham had reason to remember 25 April 1915. He was there at Gallipoli and was 'lucky' enough to get a wound that was serious enough to take him out of the firing line without being life…

Arafat visit a highlight of peacekeeping role in Sinai

When Yasser Arafat made his first visit to the Sinai since his expulsion from the area in the 1960s, Sgt David Hartshorn was on duty with the Australian contingent of the Multinational Force and…

Australian engineer served in Gulf War

In 1989-90, Lieutenant Anthony McWatters of the Australian Army was on a training post with the British Army in Germany when he went on active service on operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in…

Australian horsemen at home in the Kelly Gang

The Kelly Gang was one of the most unusual Allied fighting units during World War II. Made up from an assortment of 70 or so men mainly from C Squadron, 6th Division Cavalry, they rode on captured…

Australian the victim of "friendly fire"

When Private Guy Watkins was wounded in Vietnam, the local paper in Tasmania reported he had been shot by a Viet Cong. But in a letter to his father written some days after the incident, it turns out…

Australian troops return to Gallipoli

A great deal has been written about the fighting at Gallipoli but little is known about the second time Australian troops were sent to the Peninsula.

AWAS operated secret wireless station at Lesmurdie

Following the Japanese bombings of Northern Australia in 1942, an extensive communication network was urgently needed in Western Australia.

Bandsman defied execution to keep diary

Alan Murnane, who joined the Army as a bandsman in 1940, kept a diary throughout the war. After travelling in Australia with the band, he was posted towards the end of 1941 to Ambon in the Dutch East…

Banjo Paterson's Tobruk Test poem

This is the second of two poems written by H.B. Paterson, son of Banjo Paterson, for his friend Victor Wright, during service in Tobruk.

Barrow boy who made it to the top

Private David Simcock, popularly known as 'Pink Top' the Perth fruit merchant, climbed to the top of the Cheops pyramid in 1915 for a now-famous photograph of the 11th Battalion from Western…

Being "a fair trier" earned Percy Nuttall an MC

Like many other young Australians, Percy Nuttall signed up with the AIF in October 1914 without telling his parents. He finally got around to writing to his father from camp in Adelaide, to try and…

Being "manpowered" meant Jean could do a man's job

Jean Mascord was working at the Commonwealth Bank when World War II broke out. She was obviously a good worker because despite the fact that she was only 18, the Bank had her 'manpowered'.

Being a sniper is a dangerous job

Being a sniper is a lonely job. For a start you are hated by the enemy while your own troops also have a distaste for snipers.

Berry family did their share in World War II

The Berry family of West Tamar in Tasmania certainly did their fair share in World War II with five brothers and a sister all serving in the forces. They all survived, although not without a few…

Brother follows brother into battle at Gallipoli

Stewart Boyden knew his brother Rex had gone in to battle ahead of him during an attack on Hill 60 in Gallipoli.

Buried thousands of miles from home—But not forgotten

When a young Australian soldier was killed during fighting in France just two months before the end of World War I, he wasn't buried alongside his mates.

Ceylon an eye-opender for Australian soldiers

Lt Thomas Henry Martin of Harrietville, Victoria, sailed for Europe on the RMS Orontis with the 21st Battalion AIF at the end of March 1916, passing through Ceylon and on to Egypt, heading for France…

Chance meeting during war led to romance and marriage

When a young Australian Private, Peter Horan of the 15th Field Ambulance, met a young English WAAC while strolling by the sea at Boulogne, France, in 1917, he had no idea that they would be together…

Civilian Construction Corps paved the way for the forces

While many young men left Australia to fight overseas during World War II, one large group of men made a significant contribution to the war effort back home.

Coastwatchers played a vital role in the Pacific war

Coastwatchers in the Pacific played an important role in the Allied victory in World War II. They defied the odds and constant danger of being caught by the Japanese, to feed vital information to the…

Connie entertained the troops during World War II

Connie Hobbs was a young Australian actress working in London when World War II broke out. As a member of J.C. Williamson's theatre productions, she had gone to England to further her stage career.

Conscription and censorship inflame passions

Conflicts between the Commonwealth and State governments are nothing new. During World War I the subject of conscription almost split the nation, causing rifts within political parties and families.

Conscription was too late for Private Albert Blackmore

Private Albert Robert Blackmore almost survived World War I. He died on 2 November 1918 in an English hospital of pneumonia, after surviving two years of hell.

Cooking for the Rats of Tobruk

Keeping the troops fed is never easy but when you have to dodge falling bombs and machine gun raids by enemy fighter planes, not to mention overcoming the shortage of water and food, then it is…

Corporal Leggett an early casualty on the Western Front

William Thomas Leggett, who hailed from Goulburn in New South Wales, is thought to have been one of the first Australians killed in fighting on the Western front in World War I. He was certainly the…
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