gray plasticnon-fictionThe history of the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company. This reprinted version contains a map of the dispositions of Spotting Stations August 1943, additional MID awards listed and some additions to the nominal roll. The New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company was formed in Port Moresby in late January 1942 and was granted “Separate Independent Establishment” status in October 1943. The company’s “founding father” was Major Don Small, who had witnessed Japanese air raids on Rabaul and realised that having lacked an effective early-warning system around New Britain meant that the defenders were taken by surprise. At the time, gaps had also appeared in the coast-watching communications network because the territory administration ordered the withdrawal of civilian wireless operators when Japan entered the war. The first influx of men into the company consisted largely of volunteers from the 39th Infantry Battalion, which was stationed at Port Moresby. Initial training was rudimentary, hasty, and was sometimes even carried out on en route to a new station. The first party of company personnel, or “spotters”, left Port Moresby as early as 1 February 1942, bound for the strategically important Samarai area, at the tip of Papua. In the first month of the company’s existence 16 spotter stations were established on the coast of Papua and in the mountains around Port Moresby. At the end of 1942 there were 61 operational stations being run by 180 men. The company’s high-water mark was in late 1944, by which time over 150 stations had been set up in Papua and New Guinea behind enemy lines. On 3 February 1942 the company issued its first air warning in Papua, when spotters at Tufi saw Japanese aircraft about to attack Port Moresby for the first time. The following month the company was responsible for the first Japanese killed in action in Papua by Australian ground forces, when spotters from Gona engaged the crew of a downed Japanese bomber. And in July 1942 the station at Buna signalled Port Moresby with news of the Japanese landings in Papua, marking the beginning of the Kokoda campaign. The dangers involved in the company’s work had also been made clear by this time. In July 1942 a party of spotters attempting to set up a station at Misima Island, off Milne Bay, was intercepted by a Japanese destroyer, resulting in the company’s first operational losses. Anticipating the direction of the campaign as a whole, the company’s focus moved north and north-west over the three years of its existence. In May 1942 a network was set up in the Wau area in association with the activities of Kanga Force. As part of the Wau network, spotter Ross Kirkwood audaciously constructed an observation post overlooking the Japanese airstrip at Salamaua. Kirkwood’s position was photographed by Damian Parer on the understanding that the pictures would not be published. They nevertheless appeared in a Sydney newspaper. The day after the publication of the photographs the observation post was attacked by the Japanese and Kirkwood was lucky to escape. In June 1944 the company’s headquarters were moved to Nadzab. By that time, spotter stations existed behind Japanese lines, as far north as Hollandia, and the company began to train Americans to perform similar work in the Philippines. In early 1945 the company moved to Balcombe, Victoria, where its members were posted to other units of the Australian Corps of Signals.world war ii, special operations, new guinea, new guinea air warning wireless company

non-fictionThe detailed history of the No.8 Independent Commando Company during World War II. Plastic protective cover over the book. The 2/8th Independent Company was formed at Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria, in July 1942 and travelled to Yandina, in Queensland, in September. While the other seven independent companies saw action in the islands off Australian and in New Guinea, the 2/8th spent most of the next two years based at Adelaide River, in the Northern Territory. While it was in the Territory, the independent companies underwent a series of reorganisations and the name of the 2/8th was changed from the 2/8th Independent Company to the 2/8th Cavalry (Commando) Squadron. This name was later simplified to just commando squadron. In July 1944, after years of waiting, the squadron left the Territory and sailed from Townsville to Lae, via Milne Bay. While at Lae, the squadron received an intake of 70 men from the 2/8th from the 2/3rd, 2/5th and 2/6th Cavalry (Commando) Squadrons, many of whom were veterans of the earlier New Guinea campaigns. Their experience was no doubt a useful reserve that would have been called upon during the 2/8th’s subsequent campaign in Bougainville. Others though, were able to implement some of their commando training when a small group from the 2/8th they made a secret landing on New Britain. Towards the end of the 1944 the 5th Division was preparing to make a landing at Jacquinot Bay in New Britain. Part of these preparations included landing a small group of officers from the division at Jacquinot Bay to make a secret reconnaissance of the potential landing site. As Jacquinot Bay was still in Japanese controlled territory, ‘C’ Troop from the 2/8th provided the protection for the reconnaissance party by establishing a position on the beach and by patrolling the surrounding country. Everything went well and the 5th Division later landed at Jacquinot Bay in November. The squadron too was on the move, and in October it sailed to Torokina, the main Australian base on Bougainville, where it joined the II Australian Corps. The campaign on Bougainville was dived into three areas, the Central, Northern and Southern Sectors. The 2/8th served in the latter two areas. The 2/8th made the first move of the Australian campaign in the Northern Sector, by patrolling from Torokina to Kuraio Mission and Amun once a week. The squadron did this from the second week of November unit the second week of December. The 2/8th was then transferred to the Southern Sector. The main battle for Bougainville was fought in the Southern Sector, as the 3rd Division advanced towards Buin – the main Japanese base on the island. As the division’s infantry brigades advanced along the coast, the 2/8th’s task was to protect their flank by conducting forward reconnaissance patrols, harassing the Japanese with raids and ambushes and conducting a form of guerrilla warfare. The squadron had a long campaign. For nine months, from the end of December until August 1945, the troopers were in action the whole time. After securing the Jaba River, they moved inland, first to Sovele Mission, then the villages of Opai, Nihero and Morokaimoro. They had reached Kilipaijino by the end of the war. Each village taken became a patrol base. Patrols were usually limited to two sections, although up to six sections could be operating at a time. Patrols generally lasted four to six days, but nine-day patrols were not unknown. The squadron collected and collated track information, terrain reports and located the enemy. Once patrols had gathered information, they were free to make a ‘strike’ against the Japanese by setting an ambush or taking a prisoner. These raids were very effective, as they forced the Japanese to deploy troops to their rear areas, removing men from the front created by the infantry. Following Japan’s surrender and the end of the war, the ranks of the squadron thinned quickly as men were discharged or were transferred to other units. For those who were left, the squadron returned to Australia at the end of December. In mid January 1946, at Liverpool, the 2/8th Commando Squadron was disbanded.

The photos in this album show the carefree, adventurous spirit of the young men soon to be ANZACS Many young men from the market garden, dairy, poultry and fruit farms as well local businesses enlisted c 1914 at the beginning of WWI. The older men, women and children then had to manage the farms while they worried about the dangers facing their beloved family members. A record of some of the experiences of men from Moorabbin Shire who enlisted c1914 and were sent to Egypt at the beginning of WW1 1914-19A thick cardboard album of 24 pages with inserts for 2 small black and white photographs per page . Scenes from Egypt c 1914 - 1918 showing Australian soldiers, naval vessels, horses, carts, pyramids, houses, buildings, camels, local inhabitants and countryside. Inscriptions on the back of some of the photographs mention Arthur (Ebsary), Clarrie (Burgess), Reg (Marriott), and a horse named Nell.Front cover KODAK Inside back cover KODAK LTD. / SERIES D / ALBUM Some photographs have inscriptions on the backww1 1914-1918, photographs, australian light horse battalion, egypt, 1st australian infantry force, war horses, kodak ltd, wwi, moorabbin, burgess, marriott

This souvenir was bought by an Australian soldier from a local craftworker while stationed in Egypt during WW1 1914- 1918 and brought or sent to his family in Moorabbin Shire c 1916.An example of the souvenirs bought from local craftworkers in Egypt by Australian soldiers and sent to their families in Moorabbin Shire c1916 A hand embroidered silk square souvenir of Egypt c 1914-1918 WW1 Hand embroideryworld war 1 1914-19, 1staustralian infantry force, gallipoli, early settlers, market gardeners, dairy farmers, anzac, australian soldiers,

The date of the photograph is unknown however it can be suggested it was probably during world war one, 1914-18, as one member in the group is in solider's uniform. The photographs are showing the Cheltenham Methodists Youth Group.These two small photos depicting a group photo of the Cheltenham Methodists Youth Group. The first photo shows the group sitting on the grass having a picnic. The second photograph depicts five members standing and two people sitting in front of them to the right of the photograph.back of photographs : C Whiteheadcheltenham, cheltenham methodists youth group, youth group, 1914-18, moorabbin shire, market gardeners, world war 1 1914 - 1918, soldiers, australian infantry force,

1916 William Henry Thomas of Keys Road , South Brighton (now Moorabbin ) in WW 1 1914 -1918 1st AIF uniform. William was born in 1894 , Christened at the Wesleyan Church. (Methodist), Wickham Road, South Brighton and attended Moorabbin State School. . Private Thomas was a market gardener in Moorabbin prior to his enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force on 19 July 1915. Both his parents wrote separate letters giving their consent for their son to serve overseas due to " the pressing request of my son William Henry, also the urgent need of recruits do give my consent that he shall go to the front." September 29th 1915 he left Australia with the 5th Reinforcements of the 24th Battalion for Egypt. March 1916 he was hospitalised with Mumps and shortly after left Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force for France where he transferred to the 6th Australian Machine Gun Company.. Whilst on leave in England he received medical attention before returning to France and 13 November 1918 he spent a week in the care of the 7rh Field Ambulance suffering with influenza . Private Thomas returned to Australia on the hospital transport Castalia 13 April 1919 and his enlistment was terminated 26 September 1919Private William Henry Thomas and his family are examples of the patriotism exhibited by the market gardeners, and indeed throughout Australia, during the World War 1 1914-1918. Photograph is black and white. William Henry Thomas is standing straight and tall in the centre of the photograph, looking directly at the photographer while holding a weapon in his right hand. He is in his military uniform (WW1) .Front of Mount : Ainor Studio Auburn Back of Mount : William Henry Thomas / 1st World War 1916 / Keys Rd., Moorabbin / Born 1894 / Christened at Wesleyan ( Methodist ) Church / Wickham Rd., / South Brighton / now Uniting Church unsigned undatedwilliam henry thomas, 1916, 1894, first ww, world war one, uniform, wickham road, south brighton, moorabbin, world war 1 1914- 1918, thomas street,early settlers, pioneers, market gardeners, australian infantry force, soldiers, key's cup, victorian war memorials, cheltenham, mckinnon,, keys road moorabbin, ss castalia, british expeditionary force ww1 1914- 1918, 24th battalion 1st aif, 6th australian machine gun company 1st aif, influenza epidemic 1919, alexandria egypt, methodist church,

5 x Various photos of the Cheltenham Methodist Youth Group.c 1914 - 1918 Location unknown. (Note soldier's uniform in some photos) 1 x photograph celebrating the Anniversary of Conductor Mr Huntly in 1947 6 x Black and White photographs 5 x . Various photos of the Cheltenham Methodist Youth Group.c1914-18 1x photo Anniversary Conductor Mr Huntly 19477 left : 1947 Anniversary / Conductor Mr Huntly cheltenham methodist youth group, 1914, 1918, world war 1 1914 - 1918, cheltenham, moorabbin, methodist church, social clubs, youth groups, australian infantry force, concerts, musical conductors, market gardeners, early settlers, moorabbin shire

A Gaiter or Puttee covers the lower leg and boot lacing and are a type of protective clothing for the ankles and legs below the knee.. These long woollen wrap around Gaiters were issued 1943 to a serving Australian Soldier in World War 2 1939-45 This pair of Australian Army Gaiters were issued in 1943 to one of the many young men from City of Moorabbin who volunteered to serve during WW2 1939-45 WW2 extra long wool wraps /gaiters / puttees Australian Army issue 1943 MADE IN AUSTRALIA / N466 D D / REGIMENTAL NO. ......./ NAME ... C.M / 1943australian army, world war 2 1939-45; gaiters, puttees, woollen goods, protective gear, uniforms, australian infantry forces, moorabbin, bentleigh , cheltenham

NZ ONWARD ( Reverse side shows list of names) presented to R. Jones by RSA club and later donated to RSL.plaque, ww2, army

An assortment of ephemera in a plastic bag. (I) A handwritten list of concert items relating to W.W.I. (II) A Christmas gift card sent to the Pethard family. (III) Pte. W.H. Pethard A.I.F. Name tag. (IV) Lucerne post card with an unknown family message. (V) 2 empty envelopes. One has been sent from the front to Miss Lydia Pethard and has a censor stamp on it. (VI) A small cream sports meeting programme for the 2nd Aust. Inf. Brigade dated 11-6-17. (VII) A small map of Bendigo for attendees of the Independent Order of Rackabites Annual Conference held in Bendigo on March 13th to 16th, 1916. (VIII) An airgraph letter sent to Mrs. L. Chancellor from Wilf. Leech, RAAF Base, London 1944 thanking her for a hamper she sent him - through the ACF -the Australian Comforts Fund . (IX) An empty book titled 'Golden Square Methodist Girls Guild.' (X) A small brown 'Cole's Pocket Spelling Guide.'lydia chancellor, collection, ephemera, world war 1, entertainment, concert, music, australian infantry force, lucurne, post card, correspondence, communication, australian infantry brigade sports programme, independent order of rackebites, map, bendigo, airgraph, hamper, world war ii, australian comforts fund, spelling guide, education

Private Horne was originally buried in Terendak Cemetery, Malaysia in 1966 and Re-intered at Sydney War Cemetery, Rockwood NSW on the 3rd June 2016.1st battalion rar, private neville wayne horne, terendak cemetery - malaysia, royal australian infantry corps, operation crimp, binh duong province

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

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, maps, p.295.The story of 'Lark Force', the 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion and support units, which defended Rabaul in 1942, with most of the Force becoming prisoners of the Japanese. world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – new guinea, world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.307.non-fictionThe biography of Ralph Honner, soldier and statesmanaustralian army - 39th infantry battalion, world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – new guinea

Bibliography, maps, p.275.non-fictionThis book is primarily a history of armoured cars, to a lesser extent it is the story of motor artillery, or motorized infantry, of armoured trains and of the tank.mechanization - military, tanks - military science

ill (b/w, col), p.49.non-fictionA descriptive and pictorial history of the Sturmgeschutz III in action (STUG) anti tank and infantry support vehiclearmoured warfare - germany - history, sturmgeschutz iii

index, notes, ill, maps. p.600.non-fictionTen extended biographies of young men who exemplified Australia's gifted lost generation of World War I. They involve a range of backgrounds and experiences, all states and classes, and come from a variety of military units, not just the infantry.world war 1914-1918 - biography, australia - armed forces - biography

Notes, maps, p.325.non-fictionIn one of the boldest gambles in modern military history, just three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of 5 million people and, in three bloody days of combat, ended the Iraqi war. Thunder Run is the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad - one of the most decisive battles in American combat history - by the Spartan Brigade, the Second Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanizediraq war 2003, iraq war - us involvement

Index, ill, p.256.non-fictionThis title examines the role of armoured vehicles, from the 1900's, the coming of age of self-propelled artillery and amphibious infantry assult vehicles in WWII, through to modern peacekeeping armoured personnel carriers. It features a range of wheeled and tracked vehicles, including AFVs from the two World Wars. Includes description and history of each vehicle, with a specification panel detailing information such as the official name, date, country of origin, crew, weight, dimensions, armament, armour thickness, powerplant, speed and range. It is a complete reference guide to over 100 years of military vehicle engineering and warfare.armoured vehicles - history, tanks - military science

The Late Major Murdoch Nish Mackay was born in Bendigo and went to the Gravel Hill State School. He won many scholarships and honors during his studies to become a lawyer. He married Miss Margot Gordon Watson in 1915 and sailed to the front a week later. He was killed during the 1914 - 1918 War.military, world war 1, bendigo soldiers, the late major murdoch nish mackay, 6th infantry brigade, mr & mrs george mackay, gravel hill state school, st andrew’s college, waverley prize, ormond college, hastie exhibition, sir john madden, jessie leggatt, melbourne university, d company 22nd battalion, mr c e w bean, miss margot gordon watson, mr t g watson

Index, ill, maps, p.224.non-fictionOn June 23 1943 Lieutenant Jack Champ of the 2nd/6th Australian Infantry Battalion was marched into one of the most famous prisoner-of-war camps in Germany. Known then as Oflag IVC, it is now better know as Colditz. By the end of the war there were nineteen Australians in Colditz, and this is the first book to look at life there specifically from their point of view. It was a very special camp. It was designed to retain under escape-proof conditions, a select group of Allied prisoners who had already escaped from other camps and who had been recaptured whilst still in occupied territory. Having seen action in the Western Desert and in Greece, Jack Champ had been captured by the Germans in 1941. He was, however, a reluctant prisoner and took part in two escapes from different POW camps, one of which was a mass break-out of sixty officers through a tunnel that had taken weeks to make. Although the guards frequently outnumbered prisoners, there were more escapes from Colditz than from any other prison of comparable size during both World Wars. In this vivid book Jack Champ and Colin Burgess explain what it was like to be a prisoner in Nazi Germany. It is a curious blend of brutality and humanity, of routines and dreams, and occasional and dramatic excitement as men tried to turn those dreams into the reality of freedom.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – germany, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - australia

Index, ill, maps, p.614.non-fictionTwo men came to personify generalship in the Second World War: Bernard Montgomery for the British and Erwin Rommel for the Germans. In the span of a few years, they fought a series of extraordinary duels across several theaters of war. Ever since, historians have assessed their leadership, personalities, and skill. Born four years apart, the two men followed a remarkably similar trajectory. Military historian Peter Caddick-Adams explores their lives, beginning with their provincial upbringing and the brutal trench fighting of World War I--where both nearly died. Obsessed with fitness and training, the future field marshals emerged with glowing records. They taught in staff colleges, wrote infantry textbooks, and fought each other as divisional commanders in 1940 before taking charge of their respective armies as the war raged on. This first comparative biography of these two soldiers explores how each was "made" by their war leaders, Churchill and Hitler, and how their strategies permeate down to today's armies.generals - germany - biography, generals - great britain - biography

Index, bib, maps, p.235.non-fictionAt the outset of 1918 Germany faced certain defeat as a result of Allied technical innovation in tanks and aircraft, and the American entry into the war. Victory could only be gained by the immediate application of overwhelming force in new tactical form; the 'fire-waltz' artillery barrage and the storm-trooper infantry attack. 1918 examines both the Germans' tactics and the Allies' preferred solution to fighting this war, the combination of artillery, tanks, infantry and aircraft, and argues that this reached a level of sophistication in command and control never before achieved. The war of attrition was far from over, but as more Americans arrived in France the ghastly cost became affordable. For the Germans, it became a question of whether they could negotiate an armistice before their armies were utterly destroyed.world war 1914-1918 - history, world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - france

Index, bib, ill, p.283.non-fictionAt the outset of 1918 Germany faced certain defeat as a result of Allied technical innovation in tanks and aircraft, and the American entry into the war. Victory could only be gained by the immediate application of overwhelming force in new tactical form; the 'fire-waltz' artillery barrage and the storm-trooper infantry attack. 1918 examines both the Germans' tactics and the Allies' preferred solution to fighting this war, the combination of artillery, tanks, infantry and aircraft, and argues that this reached a level of sophistication in command and control never before achieved. The war of attrition was far from over, but as more Americans arrived in France the ghastly cost became affordable. For the Germans, it became a question of whether they could negotiate an armistice before their armies were utterly destroyed.world war 1914-1918 - history, world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - france

Index, bib, ill, p.241.non-fictionIn 1968, in the western jungle of Vietnam near Laos, a Special Forces Company, under the command of an Australian Army Captain, supported by a Marine artillery detachment, occupied an old French fort, on a hill known as Ngok Tavak. The circumstances of the battle that ensued, and the subsequent retreat from Ngok Tavak, left in their wake issues that cried out for resolution for decades after the event. A number of American bodies were left where they had fallen during the battle, and another American, the nephew of Katharine Hepburn, went missing. After speaking extensively to the battle survivors and loved ones of the American warriors, and searching through accounts from official reports that included Vietnamese documents, eyewitness statements and war diaries, Bruce Davies has pieced together the evidence that will bring resolution to the questions that still haunt many of those connected to the battle. A story that needed to be told for the veterans who survived and for those who did not, for their families and for the sake of history. Lieutenant Colonel Brian Cooper (Retd), Australian Infantry, South Vietnam 1971-72vietnam - history 1945-1975, vietnam - special forces

Collage in a black Frame of patches, matchbooks, money, Photograph and document.Variousframed collage, 151st infantry, ranger airborne

A book with colour cover of soldier on duty in a forest. One soldier is taking care of an injured soldier while others are on the look out.non-fictionIt became a tradition for infantry battlaions to write the history of their Tour of Duty in Vietnam. For most this was achieved soon after their return to Australia, 9RAR was an exception.9th battalion, 9rar, vietnam 1968-1969

This is the action-packed story of an Australian Infantry battalion during operations in South Vietnam in 1969. The Battalion is the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on their second tour of duty in South Vietnamaustralia. army. royal australian regiment. battalion, 1st, royal australian regiment, 1st battalion

This is the action-packed story of an Australian Infantry battalion during operations in South Vietnam in 1969. The Battalion is the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on their second tour of duty in South Vietnamaustralia. army. royal australian regiment. battalion, 1st, royal australian regiment, 1st battalion