The Geelong Glider Club was formed in June 1929 at a meeting held at the Belmont Common hangar of Percy Pratt. The club built a Zogling (Primary Glider) based on plans obtained from Germany and flew it off nearby hills at Lovely Banks and other places in the Geelong region. The checked rudder design (without logo and markings) is evident in a picture of a Geelong Glider Club Zogling flying at Tower Hill near Warrambool, Victoria, at Easter 1931 and this lends support to the conclusion that the rudder was part of the Club’s first glider. The logo and markings appear to be a more recent elaboration to the design. Exhibit is a historical link to the earliest gliding activities of the Geelong Glider Club.Fabric covered wooden framed primary glider rudder with metal levers decorated with silver and dark red checkered design. The item has a cat logo on one side and markings on the other of places where the Geelong Gliding Club flew in its early years.On port side – Cat logo. On starboard side – Geelong Glider Club; and place names including Geelong Aerodrome, Batesford, Ceres, Lovely Banks, Tower Hill, Koroit, Mount Moriac; and years, 1929-1933 australian gliding, glider, zogling, primary glider, rudder, geelong gliding club, lovely banks, tower hill. koroit

This aircraft, the first glider built by Schneiders after they immigrated to Australia, was test flown on 3 January 1953 by Dave Darbyshire and Owen Lewis. It is the only machine of its type. It is essentially a Grunau Baby 2B with a Perspex enclosed cockpit, wing airbrakes and a landing wheel. However, the wing design came from an existing Grunau 3 type that was being built in Germany. The glider has given extensive service for a number of owners – including the Gliding Club of Victoria, Sunraysia Gliding Club, Millicent Gliding Club, Max Bugler of Morwell and Garth Hudson of Brighton in Victoria. Prior to being donated to the Australian Gliding Museum in January 2001 the glider had logged over 2200 hours flying time from over 9000 flights. The glider is an improved Grunau Baby design that Edmund Schneider built after coming to Australia.Single seat glider of wood and fabric construction, with steel wing struts. Currently painted crème with yellow details. Underside of fuselage is painted orange.australian gliding, grunau, grunau baby, schneider, gliding club of victoria, sunraysia gliding club, millicent gliding club, darbyshire, lewis, bugler, hudson

The Vogt LO150 is a sailplane first produced in 1954. Designed in Germany by Alfred Vogt, the LO150 is of wood construction. It has a two piece wing of 15 metre (49 feet) span and a fuselage of monocoque design. The first of the type to be imported into Australia arrived in late 1955. In January 1956 this aircraft type was used to create a world speed record of just under 75 km/h for speed around a 300 km triangle and went on to win the Australian National Gliding Championships. The Museum’s LO150 (VH-GUC) – serial number EB71 was imported from Germany in 1971 by the late Frank Erdmann and an ownership syndicate formed. Following Erdmann it has had a number of owners. Much of its usage was at Bacchus Marsh and Horsham with excusions elsewhere for competition. This Vogt LO150 was last flown on 3 January 1988. Overall, since arriving in Australia, it has flown 315 hours from 273 launches, which is a commendable average performance of over an hour per flight. VH-GUC was donated to the Museum by Warren Mayfield in 2002. Substantial glue deterioration was discovered in one wing and, as a result, a decision has been made not to restore the glider to an airworthy condition. In due course the glider will be repainted and further prepared for display. This exhibit is an example of the Vogt LO150 semi-aerobatic competition sailplane.Single seat competition sailplane of wood construction.Builder's serial number EB71australian gliding, glider, sailplane, vogt, lo-150, erdmann, mayfield, geelong gliding club

The “Northrop” is an American copy of the “Zogling” which was designed in Germany in the 1920s as a training glider. Apparently, the Northrop primary glider takes its name from a Marvin Northrop of Minneapolis who imported a Zogling from Germany and from that glider had plans drawn and published in a magazine called Modern Mechanics in 1930. The Australia Gliding Museum’s Northrop was built over the period of 1970 to 1974. The project was conceived by a pioneer of Australian gliding, Ken Davies, about 1969, as a hobby project and to experience afresh gliding flight of the early years. By that time, few primary gliders, which performed a fundamental role for gliding clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, remained in Australia. Ken began construction and was helped to finish the project by two old time Gliding Club of Victoria members, Dave Darbyshire and Rudi Feil. The glider was test flown on 8 March 1975 at Benalla. The glider was stored at the Gliding Club of Victoria and flown on special occasions in the 1980s. Later it was damaged at the 1996 vintage glider rally at Ararat as a result of a heavy landing. Storage was then provided for the glider by the Victorian Motorless Flight Group at Bacchus Marsh until it was returned to Dave Darbyshire for restoration in 1998. Fully restored, the glider was donated by Iris Davies and Dave Darbyshire to the Australian Gliding Museum in April 2001. This exhibit is the type of machine that formed the basis of the sport of gliding from 1929 to about 1945. The glider consists of an open (uncovered) wooden framed fuselage (painted blue) with a brown vinyl covered seat, fabric covered wooden framed wings of constant chord (painted silver) with provision for attachment of semi-circular cane wing skids, and fabric covered wooden framed tailplane, elevators and rudder (painted silver). When assembled the airframe is wire braced.australian gliding, glider, northrop, zogling, davies, darbyshire, feil, gliding club of victoria, victorian motorless flight group

This ES Ka6 sailplane (VH-GRW, serial number 55) was built under licence from Alexander Schleicher in 1962 by Edmund Schneider Limited. It was one of 12 Ka6s, with minor variations from the Schleicher product, built by Schneiders in Australia. It was test flown at Parafield Aerodrome, Adelaide, on 8th September 1962. By way of background, the Schleicher KA 6 series of sailplanes were designed by Rudolf Kaiser in Germany. They were quite successful in the Standard Class in the late 1950s and 1960s. Over 1400 were produced. The first owner of VH-GRW was the Victorian Motorless Flight Group which, at the time, was based at Berwick Airfield on the outskirts of Melbourne. On 22 April 1972, the ownership passed to a syndicate of members from the VMFG. It again changed ownership in July 1974. The new owners were another syndicate based at Campbelltown in New South Wales. The glider went to a Tasmania syndicate in June 1976 and finally to the Soaring Club of Tasmania. In total VH-GRW recorded 3369 hours air time from 4952 launches. It was used very little after 1996. This exhibit is an example of the Scheicher Ka6 sailplane type that were built by Edmund Schneider in Australia.Plywood, spruce and fabric covered high wing single seat sailplane. The airframe has been restored to the point of repainting. Currently the fuselage, rudder and the wings aft of the main spar are coated with pink dope. The tailplane retains the white gloss finish of the glider prior to the restoration work. The cockpit to be refitted (with instruments etc). Serial number 55. The manufacture details are displayed on a metal plate fixed to the main bulkhead. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schneider, schleicher, ka6, rhonsegler, victorian motorless flight group, soaring club of tasmania

The Phoebus is a fibreglass composite sailplane that was designed by H. Nagele, R. Linder and R. Eppler in the early 1960s for competition flying. It is a derivative from the Akaflieg Stuttart Phonix which was the first sailplane to be built of fibreglass. The first Phoebus, a Standard Class design with a 15 metre wingspan, flew in 1964. The Phoebus C is the open class version of the type that was introduced in 1967. It has a 17 metre wing span, retractable wheel and tail brake parachute. Several hundred Phoebus sailplanes (all versions) were made by the manufacturer Bolkow at Ottobrun in Germany before production ended in 1970. The Museum’s Phoebus C, serial number 866, was built in 1969. It was donated to the Museum by Ian Cohn in 2008. Early fibreglass design that was manufactured in numbers. The Phoebus is a modern looking single seat glass fibre sailplane with a ‘T’ tailplane. It is finished in white with light red detailing including thin red stripe on wings and some red striping on fuselage sides from nose to underneath wings.Serial number 866 on plate affixed inside cockpit – registration VH-GSW which has been painted on the sides of the fuselage rear of the wings. A Freistaat Bayern crest has been applied to each side of the vertical stabilizer. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, bolkow, phoebus, cohn, nagele, linder, eppler

Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896) from Berlin, Germany, is widely credited as being the first person to make repeated successful gliding flights. He was known for adopting a thorough scientific approach founded on observations of the flight of birds in relation to the problem of inventing a man carrying heavier than air machine that would fly. He developed and tested bird-like gliders controlled by weight shift by the pilot (a similar method to modern hang gliders). The pilot held on to the glider with his forearms resting in hoops mounted on the main structural beam connecting the wings. The weight shift was achieved by the pilot swinging his trunk and legs. In contrast, the pilot of a modern hang glider is suspended below the glider and, with the use of an A-frame, allows the whole body to be moved around to achieve control. The Lilienthal design apparently had a tendency to pitch down and a tailplane was added to mitigate this problem. Lilienthal flew from hills in the Rhinow region and from a conical hill he built near Berlin. He made over 2000 flights. Importantly, for others seeking to progress manned flight at the time and also for the historical record, reports of Lilienthal’s flights (some with photographs) were published and Lilienthal detailed his experiences and corresponded with other flight pioneers. Lilienthal’s work became well known and influenced Orville and Wilbur Wright in their initial experiments with gliders in 1899 (although in their quest to design and fly an aeroplane they relied on new data created by wind tunnel testing). The replica built by Bruce Hearn is of the 1893 Lilienthal glider. It is very similar to the “Normal-Segalapparat” (Normal Glider) for which patent protection was later granted a few years later. The Lilienthal replica glider is an important addition to the AGM collection as it represents the beginning of successful gliding flight. Hang glider made of wood with wire bracing – yet to be covered with authentic cotton fabric. The glider has a small plate with identification details including name of builder (Bruce Hearn) glider, hang glider, lilienthal, hearn, replica

The Scheibe Bergfalke II is a high performance (for its day) and relatively inexpensive two seat sailplane designed by Egon Scheibe. It appeared in 1953 as a derivative of the Scheibe Mu13 Bergfalke and incorporated design changes to resolve and simplify structural issues that affected the Mu13. The Bergfalke II-55 followed in 1955. About 300 of the Bergfalke II and II-55 types were built in Germany and Sweden. This aircraft of the Bergfalke II-55 type was built by Scheibe in 1961 (work number 339). After a long life at Fliegergruppe Leimen e.V. logging 6754 flights and 1588 hours in the air, the glider was imported into Australia from Germany in June 2004. The glider was registered as VH-GKZ in January 2005 by Thomas Dattler of Millumbindy and flown only a small number of occasions (probably at Byron Soaring Centre). The Mangalore Gliding Club appears to have taken an interest in the glider in 2006 and completed routine Form 2 inspections in 2006 and 2009. The amount of usage during this period is unclear as the logbook records held are incomplete. In January 2012 the glider was purchased by the Southern Riverina Gliding Club and flown at Tocumwal until it was damaged in 2013 due to being blown over while at rest on the airfield. The 10 year survey was due in March 2013 and a decision was made by the club to donate the glider to the Australian Gliding Museum instead of completing the necessary repairs for returning it to an airworthy condition. It is estimated that the glider was flown about 300 times and perhaps logged about 140 hours in the air in Australia. If restored this exhibit will be representative of the Scheibe Bergfalke II-55 sailplane type (a rarity in Australia).Tandem two seat sailplane of a wood and tubular steel construction covered with plywood and fabric. It has a fully enclosed cockpit under perspex (which is missing from this airframe). The wings which join the fuselage at shoulder height are swept forward such that the aircraft can be flown solo from the front seat and be properly balanced. The aircraft is in a damaged condition. Registration "GKZ" on sides of fuselage glider, sailplane, australian gliding, scheibe, bergfalke, byron soaring centre, mangalore gliding club, dattler, southern riverina gliding club, tocumwal

The Ka 2, a tandem two seat training sailplane of 15 metre wing span, was designed by Rudolf Kaiser for Schleicher in 1953. It was a versatile craft due to its good cross country soaring capability. With the Ka 2B, the design was improved in 1955 by lengthening the wing span to 16 metres and increasing the dihedral and tip washout. The fuselage was lengthened slightly as well. Schleicher built 42 Ka2s from 1953 to 1955 and 75 Ka 2Bs from 1955 to 1957. In addition Schleicher supplied kits for construction of the sailplane by independent builders. The Australian Gliding Museum’s example is the single Ka 2b built in Australia from plans and is designated as GFA-HB-47. The club concerned was the Illawarra Soaring Club of Sydney. The glider registered as VH-GHO and first flew in October 1960. However, within a short time it was badly damaged and needed major repairs which took over a year to complete. After lengthy service at Illawarra Soaring Club it was transferred to the Stirling Gliding Club in Western Australia in August 1976. Again it suffered damage in a landing accident in 1978. The damaged glider was put into storage at Northam where it remained for approximately 11 years. It was acquired by Mike Valentine in 1989 and brought back to flying condition at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. The last entry in the log book is dated January 1997 at which time it had accumulated 1170 hours from 2446 flights. The last owner prior to transfer to the Australian Gliding Museum was John Ashford of the Geelong Gliding Club. The Museum's Ka 2B sailplane is a potentially airworthy example of this German 1950s sailplane type. It is a rarity in Australia as the only Ka 2b appearing on the Australian register.Tandem two seat sailplane of wood and fabric construction finished in cream and red colour schemeRegistration VH-GHO (with "HO" letters painted on the fin / rudder) Serial number - GFA HB 47 australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schleicher, kaiser, ka 2, illawarra soaring club, stirling gliding club, valentine, ashford

The FS-24 Phonix is the first sailplane design to be built using a moulded fiberglass sandwich technique. It was designed by Hermann Nagele and Richard Eppler leading a group setup for the purpose at Stuttgart Technical University in the early 1950s. Initial construction was undertaken at workshops of Wolf Hirth and the first prototype was completed at the Bolkow Aircraft Company where Nagele and another member of the group, Rudi Lindner, had gained employment. It flew on 27 November 1957. Two further prototypes were built incorporating a T-tail and other refinements. Eight in all were built before production was stopped in 1961. A number of gliding records were broken in Phonix sailplanes in Germany in 1962-1963. It was found to have a best glide ratio of 40:1. The Museum’s example, No. 403 was originally a prototype built on 25 May 1960 [Registration D-8354]. It was converted at Bolkow to a Phonix T in 1963 and sold to a private owner in Switzerland [Registration HB-746] and later then to gliding club Segelfluggruppe Solothurn in 1965. The glider returned to Germany in 1971 (Meersburg) and re-registered as D-0738. It moved to a new owner in Allershausen in 1976, and again to Lindhoft in 1982. In 1983 the glider was sold to owners at Hasselt, Belgium and given registration OO-ZQD. In 1989 a further change of ownership occurred and the glider went to Leusden in the Netherlands where it was registered as PH-949. In 2006 the Phonix No.403 was imported into Australia by John Ashford of the Geelong Gliding Club. On 30 January 2007, it was registered as VH-GRP. However, as at January 2016 it has not been flown in Australia. In the course of its flying history the glider was damaged several times and repaired. At one stage a larger rudder was fitted and later on this modification was reversed. With the original conversion to a Phonix T and subsequent repairs and changes to equipment the weight of the airframe increased from 182 kg to approximately 220 kg. Nevertheless, the wing loading is a modest 20kg/square metre. As at January 2016, minor repairs and airworthiness certification are required to return the glider to flying condition. This exhibit is highly significant as it is one of only eight of this pioneering sailplane design. It is the only one in Australia. Glassfibre single seat sailplane, finished white with blue stripes on fin and rudder.Australian registration GRP on rudder; Serial Number 403 and Vintage glider club of Netherlands plaque in cockpitaustralian gliding, sailplane, glider, fs-24, phonix, nagele, eppler, lindner, stuttgart technical university, bolkov aircraft company, segelfluggruppe solothurn, ashford, geelong gliding club.

The Ka 8 was designed by Rudolf Kaiser in 1957 and built by Alexander Schleicher. It has been described as the single seat version of the Ka 7 Rhonadler. The Ka 8 proved popular with clubs in its role as a sailplane for early solo flying. Over 1100 were produced. The Museum’s example is a Ka 8B which is the second variant of the design, distinguishable by a larger blown Plexiglas canopy and improved ailerons. The particular glider was built by the RAAF Williamtown Gliding Club from kit supplied by Edmund Schneider Ltd of South Australia as agent for Alexander Schleicher. It was test flown on 8 July 1967. For a period from August 1994 it was owned by a syndicate at the Bendigo Gliding Club. The last entry in the log book is dated January 1995 at which time the glider had accumulated 1148 hours from 2303 flights. From 1967 to 1994, the glider was flown at numerous places including Williamtown, Bellata, Warkworth, Dubbo, Waikerie, Quirindi, Tamworth, Redding, Narromine, Leeton and Keepit. During 1994 and 1995 it was flown a small number of times at Bendigo. A notable flight recorded in the logbook is dated 31 October 1971 when W. Kenny reached 11,000 feet in height during a flight of 5 hours 10 minutes. The last owner prior to the transfer of the glider to the Australian Gliding Museum in 2015 was John Ashford of the Geelong Gliding Club. The glider carries Serial Number 8478-SH and appears to have been registered firstly as VH-GPA and secondly as VH-GMA. The last registration (VH-GMA) was cancelled in 2011.This Kaiser Ka8B sailplane, when fully restored, will be an airworthy example of a popular 1960s German club sailplane type. It is a rarity in Australia as only 4 of the type have been registered and flown here.Single seat sailplane made with a steel tube framed fuselage and wooden wings. A glass plastic moulding has been used to form the top of the fuselage forward of the cockpit. The structure is fabric covered.The glider serial number 8478-SH and the registration VH-GMA.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schleicher, kaiser, ka 8, schneider, raaf williamtown gliding club, bendigo gliding club, geelong gliding club, ashford

The Golden Eagle is an original design by Geoff Richardson. Geoff commenced gliding in the early days of the sport circa 1933 in Melbourne, flying at Coode Island and Mt Frazer. In 1934, he began construction of a secondary type glider but scrapped it upon realizing that a better design was needed. He conducted further research and came up with a sailplane of similar size and general arrangement to the Grunau Baby but with a “Gull” wing using a Gottingen 535 wing section (the same as for the Grunau Baby). Geoff did all the technical calculations himself and even made up and tested a Casein glue for the construction. Geoff competed construction of his new sailplane (which he called the “Golden Eagle”) in 1937 and it was test flown at Laverton at the western edge of Melbourne in September 1937. On the same day, at Laverton, the Gliding Club of Victoria flew its new Grunau Baby 2 sailplane which it had imported as a finished machine from Edmund Schneider in Germany. The Golden Eagle was found to fly well, having a similar performance to the Grunau Baby. In the 1950s, the Golden Eagle was modified by rebuilding the front of the fuselage to enclose the cockpit with a Perspex canopy. A landing wheel was incorporated behind the skid. Spoilers were added to the wings and a trim tab to the elevators. The Golden Eagle has been flown with the VMFG (Victorian Motorless Flight Group) for most of its long life. When donated to the Australian Gliding Museum in 2016 by Alan Patching it was probably the oldest, continuously airworthy glider in the world. Having regard to the historical significance of the Golden Eagle, the Museum has decided to not to fly it anymore to avoid risk of loss or damage. The exhibit is of great significance for Australian gliding history – the Golden Eagle is a flyable 1930s aircraft in excellent condition that was designed and built by an Australian gliding pioneer. Single seat wood and fabric sailplane finished with white wings, tailplane and rudder and yellow fuselage Registration letters “FC” on fuselage nose port side, Australian flag, Vintage Gliders Australia and VMFG decals on rudder, “Golden Eagle” lettering in red on each side of the fuselage below the canopy, Aboriginal flag decal on port side of fuselage below the canopy. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, golden eagle, richardson, patching, vmfg, victorian motorless flight group

In 1955 the Polish Community in Chile wanted to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the ending of the 2nd World War but, since it was not a happy occasion, as Poland had been betrayed and placed in the Soviet sphere of influence, they chose to create a Pennant with a plea for the Patron Icon of Eastern Poland - Our Lady of the Sharp/Morning Gate (Matka Boska Ostrobramska/Zaranna) in Vilnius (Wilno) - to give them a new Miracle on the Vistula, in reference to an epic battle which took place on 15th August 1922 on the banks of the Vistula (Wisla) River in which the Polish troops defeated the Soviet Army and turned back the march of Communism to the West. This particular Pennant was purchased by Stanislawa Zamecznik (nee Zakrzewska), while living in Chile after deportation from her birth place in Sianozatki near Bychov (Bychow) to Schweningen in Germany from which they emigrated to South America as Displaced Persons. It was brought to Australia when the Zakrzewski Family emigrated from Chile in 1956, first to Port Augusta and then subsequently to Sydney.It is significant in that it tells the story of the aspirations of the Polish Diaspora displaced from it's Homeland in the Kresy Region and scattered throughout the World, including the Americas and Australia.Pennant of red cloth with screen printing in white, mustard yellow and black hung on copper wire with gold cord Front: Polish inscription "KROLOWO POLSKI / BLAGAMY CIE O NOWY / CUD NAD WISLA / SANTIAGO DE CHILE / 15.VIII.1955" Back: Spanish inscription "LA CASA DE BANDERIN AHUMADA 61"polish pennant polski proporczyk orzel eagle matka boska ostrobramska zaranna our lady of vilnus santiago chile cud nad wisla miracle on the vistula

Postcard, WW1, B&W image of the grave of German airman, Baron von Richthofen, shot down in the Somme area. He was buried at Bertangles by members of the Australian Flying Corps. The grave is mounded with earth with flowers on top. At the head of the grave is one propeller stuck in the ground. Richthofen's body was moved a couple of times before his final resting place in Germany.postcard, postcard, ww1, baron von richthofen, grave, somme, bertangles

Postcard, WW1, B&W image of the interior ruins of the church at Steenwerck after a German offensive. Collapsed roof timbers in front of a damged end of the church. Copy AZ 10 Published by J.M.Hamilton & Coy. Sydney Australiapostcard, postcard, ww1, france, steenwerck, ruins, church

Postcard, WW1, B&W image of the remains of a German large bore gun. Barrel facing the camera.Two soldiers standing on left of barrel and two on the right. Another soldier leaning over the barrel and another standing on structure at the rear. Copy A2postcard, postcard, ww1, france, german gun, australians

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.340.non-fictionIn March 1918, with the fear of a one-million-man American army landing in France, the Germans attacked. In response, Australian soldiers were involved in a number of engagements, culminating in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the saving of Amiens, and Paris, from German occupation. Then came General John Monash's first victory as the Commanding Officer of the newly formed Australian Corps at Hamel. This victory, and the tactics it tested, became crucial to the Allied victory after 8 August, the 'black day of the German Army'. On this day the major Allied counteroffensive began, with the AIF in the vanguard of the attack. The Australians, with the Canadians to the south and the British across the Somme to the north, drove the Germans back, first along the line of the Somme and then across the river to Mont St Quentin, Péronne and on to the formidable Hindenburg Line, before the last Australian infantry action at Montbrehain in early October. Fast-paced and tense, the story of The Last 100 Days is animated by the voices of Australian soldiers as they endured the war's closing stages with humour and stoicism; and as they fought a series of battles in which they played a pivotal role in securing Allied victory. Collapse summary world war 1914- 1918 - campaigns - western front, western front - australian participation - 1918

Index, bibliography, ill (col), p.172.non-fictionOn 7 June 1917, the British Second Army launched its attack on Messines Ridge, detonating 19 giant mines beneath the German front-line positions. By the end of the day, one of the strongest positions on the Western Front had fallen, a place of such importance that the Germans had pledged to hold it at any cost. It was the greatest British victory in three years of war. The first two years of the First World War had represented an almost unending catalogue of disaster for the Australians. Messines was not only their first real victory, it was also the first test in senior command for Major General John Monash who commanded the newly formed 3rd Division and would later be hailed as Australia's greatest soldier. Messines was a baptism of fire for the 3rd Division which came into the line alongside the battle-scarred 4th Australian Division, badly mauled at Bullecourt just six weeks earlier in one of the worst defeats of the war. The fighting at Messines would descend into unimaginable savagery, a lethal and sometimes hand-to-hand affair of bayonets, clubs, bombs and incessant machine-gun fire, described by one Australian as '72 hours of Hell'. After their string of bloody defeats over 1915 and 1916, Messines would be the ultimate test for the Australians. Collapse summary world war 1914-1918- campaigns - western front, battles of messines - australian participation - 1917

Index, bibliography, notes, ill (maps), p.816.In the Trenches of Hell On 19 July 1916, 7000 Australian soldiers - in the first major action of the AIF on the Western Front - attacked entrenched German positions at Fromelles in northern France. By the next day, there were over 5500 casualties, including nearly 2000 dead - a bloodbath that the Australian War Memorial describes as 'the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history. Just days later, three Australian Divisions attacked German positions at nearby Pozi�res, and over the next six weeks they suffered another 23,000 casualties. Of that bitter battle, the great Australian war correspondent Charles Bean would write, 'The field of Pozi�res is more consecrated by Australian fighting and more hallowed by Australian blood than any field which has ever existed . . .' Yet the sad truth is that, nearly a century on from those battles, Australians know only a fraction of what occurred. This book brings the battles back to life and puts the reader in the moment, illustrating both the heroism displayed and the insanity of the British plan. With his extraordinary vigour and commitment to research, Peter FitzSimons shows why this is a story about which all Australians can be proud. And angry.world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - western front, world war 1914-1918 - australian participation - fromelles and pozieres

Index, ill, maps, p.376.non-fictionSigi Siegreich and his family were expelled from their home when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. By the end of 1942, his parents and 167 members of his extended family had been exterminated in the death camps of Treblinka, Belzec and Auschwitz. Fifteen-year-old Sigi was first enslaved in the labour camp at Skarzysko-Kamienna and later at Czestochowa, where he met Hanka, a young girl and fellow prisoner who would eventually save his life. After the war ended, Sigi and Hanka married and began to rebuild their lives. Their daughter Evelyne was the first Jewish child born to Holocaust survivors in Katowice, Sigi's home town. Thanks to a chance meeting with a childhood friend in Munich, Sigi and his family eventually ended up in Melbourne, Australia, where he established a successful import business.holocaust survivors - australia - history, holocaust - poland - 1939-1945

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.288.non-fictionReaping the Whirlwind offers amazing insight into the events of World War II through the eyes of those who fought against the Allied forces in all theatres of the war. Readers will comb through many previously unpublished accounts of the war from German, Italian and Japanese soldiers, civilians and military leaders. The book covers every major arena of the war: Europe; the German invasion of Russia; Rommel's Afrika Korps; and the Pacific war between Japan and forces of the US, Australia and New Zealand. Reaping the Whirlwind uses the authentic voices of Germans and Japanese people caught up in the conflict and highlights the similar deprivations and dangers experienced by both victors and vanquished. world war 1939-1945 - participation - germany, world war 1939-1945 - participation - japan

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.374.non-fictionhis is the largely unknown story of another Anzac force, which fought not at Gallipoli, but in Greece, during World War II. Desperately outnumbered and fighting in deeply inhospitable conditions, these Anzacs found themselves engaging in a long retreat through Greece, under constant air attack. Most of the Anzac Corps was evacuated by the end of April 1941, but many men got only as far as Crete. Fighting a German paratroop invasion there in May, large numbers were taken captive and spent four long years as prisoners of the Nazis. The campaign in Greece turned out to have uncanny parallels to the original Gallipoli operation: both were inspired by Winston Churchill, both were badly planned by British military leaders, and both ended in defeat and evacuation. Just as Gallipoli provided military academies the world over with lessons in how not to conduct a complex feat of arms, Churchill's Greek adventure reinforced fundamental lessons in modern warfare - heavy tanks could not be stopped by men armed with rifles, and Stuka dive-bombers would not be deflected by promises of air support from London that were never honoured. In this revised edition, based on fresh archival research, and containing a collection of previously unpublished photos, the truth finally emerges as to how the Australian, Greek, and New Zealand Governments were misled over key decisions that would define the campaign. world war 1939-1945 - campaigns - greece, greek campaign - australian involvement

Ill, p.244.non-fictionDon Charlwood was born in Melbourne in 1915. Accepted as a RAF navigator in 1940, he was posted to 103 Squadron at Elsham Wolds in the winter of 1942. There he crewed up with a pilot from Western Australia and a British crew to fly a Lancaster bomber. In No Moon Tonight he gives a profound insight into the inner lives of the men of Bomber Command and their hopes and fears in the face of mounting losses. He depicts the appalling human cost of the air war in an account which has been favorably compared to other enduring memoirs of the 1st World War, namely Sassoon's Memoirs of an Infantry Officer and Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. A memorable first hand account of the air war over Germany.world war 1939-1945 - aerial operations - britain, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - australia

Ill, p.326.non-fictionThe story of an RAAF Lancaster bomber crew shot down over France in 1944. On the evening of 24 February 1944, RAAF Lancaster bomber J for Jig took off from an airfield in Lincolnshire. On board was a crew of seven young men - five Australians, two Scots - whose mission was to bomb factories in Schweinfurt, Germany. But J for Jig never reached its target. It was shot down in the night skies over France. This book is about the seven lives on that aircraft - who they were, what they did, whom they loved, and whom they left behind. Some were to die that night, and others were to survive, withstanding incredible hardships and adventures as prisoners and evaders in a war that was far from over. Crew brilliantly recreates J for Jig's final mission but, more than that, in telling seven individuals' stories Mike Colman has captured the achievements, loss and the enduring legacy of the generation that fought in the Second World War.royal australian air force - aerial operations - europe, royal australian air force - biographies

Ill, maps, p.135.non-fictionA contemporary account of the German invasion of Crete and the involvement of Australian forces in it.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – greece, campaigns - crete - australia

Ill, maps, p.220.non-fictionDuring World War II Greek independence was once again threatened. In October 1940, seeking to make Italy the master of the eastern Mediterranean, Benito Mussolini's armies invaded Greece, only to find themselves beaten back by the Greeks. Unfortunately for Greece, this setback for his Italian ally made the German leader, Adolf Hitler, turn his attention to the possible danger to Germany's ambitions from the Greeks, particularly if they should seek support from Britain. In March 1941, British support became a reality when a military expedition called 'Lustre Force', which included Australian troops, was dispatched to Greece from Egypt. ...more than 60,000 British and Dominion servicemen and women ... fought in Greece between November 1940 and May 1941, among them some 17,000 Australians and 16,700 New Zealanders. What circumstances had brought these men and women from half a world away to the aid of the Greeks?world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – greece, world war 1939-1945 - pictorial works - australia

Ill, p.303.non-fictionAll over the world during World War II, thousands of young men who had never so much as been near an aeroplane left offices, farms and classrooms to learn to fly and fight in the greatest conflict the world has ever seen. They fought over deserts, cities and jungles, in-single-engine fighter aircraft, heavy bombers, transport planes and flying boats. How do they feel about their dramatic days in the air? What is it they remember, and what do they choose to forget? In these candid and moving stories, Michael Veitch, writer, broadcaster and aeroplane fanatic, uncovers some of the untold stories of World War II: Australian, British and even German. He captures the events that defined a generation of men before these stories are lost forever. world war 1939 – 1945 – aerial operations - australia, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Notes, index, bibliography, maps, p.463.non-fictionValiant for the truth charts Wilmots exceptional life as he reported key events of the twentieth century.world war 1939-1945 - journalists - biography, wilmot chester 1911-1954

ill, notes, p.234.non-fictionThe dark clouds returned and gathered about the boy. His eyes grew distant, and he began to tremble. He heard not only shells exploding, but the cries of dying men . . . He was stumbling over churned earth, looking into the face of an officer, bloodied red as the poppies, ripped apart in the Flanders mud . . . A small boy, an orphan of the First World War, wanders into the Australian airmen's mess in Germany, on Christmas Day in 1918. A strange boy, with an uncertain past and an extraordinary future, he became a mascot for the air squadron and was affectionately named 'Young Digger'. And in one of the most unusual incidents ever to emerge from the battlefields of Europe after the Great War, this solitary boy was smuggled back to Australia by air mechanic Tim Tovell, a man who cared for the boy so much that he was determined, however risky, to provide Young Digger with a new family and a new life in a new country, far from home.world war 1914-1918 - children - biography, henri tovelle