GUIDEPOSTDispatchesfortheVoluntaryGuidesofthe

AustralianWarMemorial

September2016Volume22Number8

DiarydatesforSeptemberandbeyondDay Date Time Activity

Wednesday 7September 1000–1130 ContinuingTraining:theRANintheVietnamWarMondayGuidestoarrangemorningtea

Thurs,Fri,Sat 8,9,10September 0830–1000 PGT:RANandRAAFintheSWW(seepage10)

Tuesday 13September 1730–1900 L&DTRAINING–Artillery.

Friday 23September 1700 DeadlinefortheOctober2016GuidePost.CopytotheEditor,<peter.judge@bigpond.com>

Wednesday 28September 0830 VGAWMCommitteemeeting

Wednesday 5October 1000–1130 ContinuingTraining:EmergingtechnologyintheFWWTuesdayGuidestoarrangemorningtea

FromthePresidentnThursday evening, 4August,we celebrated40years of guiding at theWarMemorialwithacocktailparty inAnzacHall,hostedbytheDirectorandstaff.Agoodnumberof

guides and their spouses/partners attended a very enjoyable function that included DiMitchell’sveryentertainingandlight-heartedoverviewofthepasttenyearsofguiding.OurthanksalsogotoSarahandGerardfortheireffortsinensuringthatthisfunctiontookplace.Eachguide, including trainees, shouldnowhavereceived their40thAnniversaryofGuidingcommemorativepin,aninitiativeofMemorialstaff.Veryimportantly,ourparticularthanksgotoErica,whodesignedthepin,andthenensuredthatitwasavailablefordistributionatthecelebrationson4August.AnyguidewhohasnotyetreceivedtheirpinshouldcontactErica.

Commemorationsofthe50thanniversaryoftheBattleofLongTanandVietnamVeteransDayattheWarMemorialtookplacesuccessfullyon17and18August.Verymanythankstothoseguideswhomade theextraeffort to lookafterveteransandvisitors,especially in theVietnamgallery.

The12traineeguidesareprogressingwellwiththeirHumpandProbationarytours,andthefirstofthemhasjustsuccessfullycompletedhisaccreditationtour.IrecentlyreportedontheirprogresstotheDirector,andreceivedthefollowingreply:

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AlsointhisissueContinuingTraining7September p.3 PeerGroupTraining p.10Lastmonth’sContinuingTraining p.3 100yearsagotoday p.10WhereisitintheAWMgalleries? p.8 TheAustralianFlyingCorps–earlydays p.11BackgroundersontheAWMwebsite P.9 SeptemberTrainingProgram p.12BasicTrainingreport p.9

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At thebeginningof theyear, all voluntaryguides signedaVolunteerAgreement,which

includedacommitmenttoattendatleastthreeContinuingTrainingsessions,threeLearningandDevelopmentTrainingsessionsandonePeerGroupTrainingsessionduringtheyear.Forthosewhohavenotyetstartedonthisminimumcommitment,thereisjusttimetodoit.

Three Continuing Training sessions remain and are scheduled for Wednesdays7September, 5October and 2 November. Three L & D Training sessions remain, the firstscheduled for Tuesday 13 September, with the other two due in October and Novemberrespectively. Two remaining Peer Group Training sessions are scheduled for 8/9/10Septemberand27/28/29Octoberrespectively.Trainingsessionsarearrangedtoassistyouinmaintainingthehighstandardsofguidingachievedduringthepasttwoyears,andtoassistyouindeliveringtoursaccuratelyandreliably.Guideswhodonotmeettheiragreedtrainingcommitmentmay be required to undertake a performance review unless they can providejustification for notmeeting their commitment. This requirement was imposed on a smallnumber of guides who did not provide justification for not meeting the 2015 trainingcommitment.

Thethree-monthtrialperiodforthenewsign-inarrangementscompletedon31August.Ifyouhaveanyfeedbackonthetrial,eitherpositiveornegative,pleaseforwardittoGerardassoonaspossible.Allindicationstodatearethatthenewsign-inarrangementswillcontinuepermanently,perhapswithminormodificationsresultingfromfeedback.

No doubt all guides are aware that the Annual GeneralMeeting of Voluntary Guides isscheduledforWednesday2November,whichincludestheelectionofthepresidentandsevencommitteemembers.NominationsforthesepositionsopeninearlySeptemberandcloseonor about Continuing Training on 5 October. Gerard, as returning officer, will organise thenominations process, the election and any required ballot, as occurred in 2015. After twoenjoyableyearsasPresident,Iwillnotbere-nominatingfortheposition.

IanNoble

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ContinuingTraining,Wednesday,7September 10.00–11.30,BAESystemsTheatre

ur main speaker in September will be Dr Jack McCaffrie, Commodore, RANrtd.Jack is a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and

Security at Wollongong University, where he was awarded his PhD. He is also an adjunctlecturerat theUniversityofNSWatADFA. Jack retired from theRAN inFebruary2003onreturningfromhisfinalpostingasNavalAttaché,Washington.

Hisrecentworkincludesco-authoringNaviesofSoutheastAsia:AComparativeStudyand,asaVisitingFellowat theRAN’sSeaPowerCentre,writing thesecondeditionof theRAN’sdoctrine publicationAustralianMaritimeOperations. His currentwork includes a history ofthePacificPatrolBoatProgramandahistoryofdefencepolicyand theRAN’sdevelopmentfrom1955to1983.

JackwilldiscusstheRAN'sinvolvementintheVietnamWar,coveringdestroyersonthegunline,logisticssupportconductedbyHMASSydney,theFleetAirArmandNavyclearancedivers.Jack has said, 'TheRAN contribution to the VietnamWarwas operationally diverse,evenifnumericallylimited.Mostofitseffortscouldbeconsidered‘nichecontributions’whichwereinnowaydecisiveinanyaspectofthewar.Neverthelessprofessionalismandbraverywere very much evident in every respect and the Navy itself benefitted greatly from theextendedexposure towartimeoperations.' Jackwill linkthis talk to itemsondisplay in thePost-45gallery.

Ourcameospeakerisafellowguide,ChrisAppleton.ChriswillspeakaboutTheOfficeofAustralianWar Graves (OAWG), which is the Australian agent of the CommonwealthWarGraves Commission (CWGC) caring for Commonwealth War Dead (and a few others) inAustraliaandPNG.ThroughtheCWGC it is responsible for thecommemorationof103,000AustralianWardeadin83countries includingAustralia.AstheCWGConlycommemoratedthosewhodiedduringtheWorldWars,theOAWGseparatelycommemoratesAustralianswhohavedied laterasaresultofwarservice,andthosewhodied inAustralia’sotherwarsandoperations.

MondayGuidestoarrangemorningteaNextmonth,onWednesday5October,wewelcomebackMeliahHampton(AWM,MHS)whowill speak on ‘Battlefieldeffectivenessofemergingtechnology in theFWW'. Thiswill be ourfinalCTlecturefor2016.

AndrewLeask

Lastmonth’sContinuingTraininghePresident, IanNoble,opened themeetingwitha fewapologiesand thehope thatallpresentwouldbeabletoattendthefollowingevening’spartytocommemoratethe40th

anniversaryofvoluntaryguidingintheWarMemorial.Nine of our current trainees (i.e. allwho have so far submitted themselves) have now

completedtheirhumptours,andwilljointherosterfortheirprobationarytours.Somehavealreadyperformedanumberofthesetours,sotheyshouldbefullyontherosterverysoon.

Ianremindedusthatwehavesignedupforatrainingcommitment–threeoutofthetenCTsessions,thesameofLearningandDevelopment,andoneofthefourPeerGroupsessionsduring the year. He urged us to use our best endeavours to fulfil this commitment. PGTtraining sessions areon tomorrowmorningand the two followingmornings– there is stilltimetoenrolforoneofthese.

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Onasadnote:ourcolleagueMichaelCarr,whostoppedguidinglastyearafterastroke,diedon18July.AsmallnumberofGuideswenttohisfuneralon25July,andIanhassentaletterofsympathyonourbehalftohiswidow,Diane.

In the absence of Andrew Leask, Ian now introduced our speakers, firstly our cameospeakerKarl James,aseniorHistorianintheAWMMilitaryHistorysectionforthepasttenyears. He has just published a book,DoubleDiamonds:AustralianCommandos inthePacificWar1941-45,andthiswashistopicforthismorning.

Karlbeganbydescribingapatrolon theKokodaTrail inOctober1942, ledbyayoung

lieutenantfromthe2/6thIndependentCompany,todetermineJapanesepositionsandtroopmovements,‘soppingwetandeatenalivebymosquitoesandsandflies’.HispatrolwasaweekaheadofthemainAustralianadvance,andwastypicalofthenatureofoperationscarriedoutbyAustralianindependent-companies-cum-commando-squadronsinthePacificwar.

Thesesquadrons,resultingfromaBritishmissioninearly1941,weretheprecursorsoftoday’selitespecialforces,followingthepatternofBritishcommandounitsinEurope.Twelveindependentcompanieswereraised.Renamed‘commandosquadrons’,theybecameactiveinNewGuinea,BougainvilleandBorneo.Theytrainedunder‘hush,hush’conditionsonWilson’sPromontory,Victoria.Commandedbyamajor,eachconsistedof17officersand256ORs,withengineer,signalsandmedicalsectionsaswellasthreeplatoonsofthreesectionseach.Theywere armed with light weapons – no anti-tank guns or heavy mortars. They were notintendedforpitchedbattles,buttoexploittheenemy’sweakpoints.

TrainingofofficersandNCOsbeganinFebruary1941–asix-weekcourse,followedbyafurthersixweeksspentintrainingtheirmen.Recruitswerevolunteers,largelyfromMilitiaortrainingdepots,aged20–35,selectedwiththehighestfitnessstandards.Onceaccepted,theytrainedinirregularandguerrillawarfare,demolitionsandadvancedfieldcraft.

By October 1941 three companies had been trained; when Japan entered the war afurther fourwere raised. TheNo. 1 Companywas sent toNew Ireland, in expectation of aJapaneselanding.Asordered,theydestroyedmilitaryinstallationswhentheJapaneselandedinJanuary1942,butwerecapturedastheyattemptedtoescapebyshipandtakentoRabaul.Fromtherethe133ORs joinedthe1050prisonersaboardtheMontevideoMaruenroutetoJapan; they drowned when the ship was torpedoed by the US submarine Sturgeon. TheofficersenduredtherestofthewarinJapanesePOWcamps.

No. 2 Co. was part of Sparrow Force in Timor,most of whichwas capturedwhen theJapaneselandedinFebruary1942.ButtwomonthslaterAustraliareceivedamessagefromamakeshiftradiointheTimormountains:‘Forceintact.Stillfighting.Badlyneedbootsmoneyquinine and tommy gun ammunition’. A protracted guerrilla war followed, with theAustralians helped by the Timorese in spite of brutal reprisals. In September they werereinforcedbyNo.4Company,butsoonafterwardstheAustralianswerewithdrawn.Thiswasamodelaction,butthecosttotheTimoresewashigh–atleast40,000killed.Wasitworthit?

NewGuineawastheprincipal theatre for the independentcompanies.No.3Co. inmid-1943weresaid tohaveprowled the jungle ‘likehungry tigers’.ThecapturebyNo.6Co.ofKaiapitinSeptember1943wassingledoutasa‘brilliantaction’,clearingaclusterofvillagesandavitalairstrip,openinguptheMarkhamValleyforthesubsequentAustraliancampaign.

Meanwhileareorganisationhadbeenhappening.InDecember1942thedepotmovedtoCanungrainSEQueensland,becomingthe1stCommandoTrainingBn.Ninemonthslatertheindependent companiesbecame ‘cavalry (commando) squadrons’ and later just ‘commandosquadrons’. Privates became troopers and platoons became troops. These changes wereresentedbymanysoldiers,whosawalossoftraditionandreputation.

The AIF’s three divisional cavalry regiments also changed, losing their tanks andarmouredcarstobecomethe2/6th,2/7thand2/9thCavalry(Commando)Regiments.Fournewsquadrons (2/9th–2/12th)were raised, and theword ‘cavalry’ laterdropped.During

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1945 all eleven squadrons took part in Australia’s final campaigns in New Guinea, theSolomonIslandsandBorneo.OnBougainvillethecommanderused2/8thSqnashis‘eyesandears’, operating in front and on the flanks of the main force, patrolling continuously andevacuatingthelocalstopreventreprisals.

Elsewherein1945,the2/6thhadconductedanamphibiouslandingatDoveBayinNewGuineaandthe2/4thlandedonTarakanIslandofftheBorneocoastandthe2/9thand2/7thwerealsoemployedinBorneo.Tarakanwasthe2/4th’stoughestcampaign,with15deadand47wounded.TheCObrokedownandthe2iCwassackedforrefusingtoneedlesslyriskhismen’slives,beingmisusedasinfantrywithouttheappropriateweapons.AlsoonBorneowasa great act of bravery by a medical officer, Captain Raymond Alsopp who repeatedly puthimselfindangertorecuewounded,althoughwoundedhimself,eventuallymortally.HewasrecommendedforaVC,butawardedaposthumousMiD.*

Duringthecourseofthewartheroleoftheindependentcompanychangedfromafocusonraidsandguerrillaactionstooneofreconnaissanceontheflanksofamainforce,reflectingthenatureofthePacificwar.Theydidbestforcommanderswhounderstoodtheirstrengthsandlimitations,buttheywere‘noparadegroundsoldiers’.

MythankstoKarl,whomadeavailablehistalknotestohelpinthepreparationofthissummary.* Chris Hunter comments that, when Karl said Captain Alsopp had been recommended posthumously for aVictoriaCrossbutthiswasdowngradedtoaMentioninDispatches,therewasacollectivein-drawingofbreathfrom the audience. However, there is a reason for this seemingly vast downgrading. At the time only twodecorationscouldbemadeposthumously:theVictoriaCrossandtheMentioninDispatches.Sotheonlyotherdecorationthedoctorcouldreceive,ifhewasnottobeawardedaVictoriaCross,wasaMentioninDispatches.Inthisrespect(i.e.aposthumousdecoration)theawardhereceivedwassecondonlytotheVictoriaCross.

Our principal speaker wasMichael Kelly, taking us through the battle of Maryang San.October marks the 65th anniversary of ‘Operation Commando’ and the outstandingachievements of the 28th British Commonwealth Brigade, particularly those of the 3rdBattalion,RoyalAustralianRegiment (3RAR) in capturingHill 317, knownasMaryang San.Michaelsaidthatthesignificanceof3RAR’sachievementscannotbeunderstated.Anexcellentplanofattackwithstrongsupportingarmssuchasartilleryandarmourwasexecutedwithspeed and determination by an understrength battalion against overwhelming odds. Thebattle is justifiably remembered as one of the finest battalion actions in the history of theAustralianArmy.

InAugust1951,followingtheendoftheKoreanwetseason,GeneralJamesVanFleet,COof theUS8thArmy,wentbackon theoffensive. In the ICorps sector,heplanneda limitedadvancetocaptureaseriesofstrategicallysignificanthillsforwardoftheImjinRiver.

In the 1st Commonwealth Division’s sector, the 28th British Commonwealth Brigade,commandedbyBrigadierGeorgeTaylor,wasorderedtocapturethekeyheightsofHill317(Maryang San) and the adjacent Hill 355 (Kowang San). The 1st Battalion, RoyalNorthumberlandFusiliers(RNF)wassecondedfrom29Brigadeforthebattle..

Taylor informedhisbattalioncommandingofficersof the forthcomingoperation in lateSeptember.Heexplained that ‘theattackwillbebackedupby130gunsandheavymortarsplusstrongairandarmouredsupport,moresupportthanweoranyotherbrigadehashadinKorea.’

Facingthe28thBrigadewasthereinforcedChinese571stRegiment,whichconsistedofthree infantry battalions supported by artillery. One battalion was emplaced on Hill 355anotherwasspreadoutacrossHill317andthesurroundingfeaturesandthethirdbattalionwasinreserve.The572ndRegimentheldKowangSanandthe210and227features.Addingtothechallengewasthetrulyinhospitableterrainconsistingofhighridgesandsteep,foliagecoveredhillsandvalleyfloorsstilldryingoutfromthewetseason.

3RAR’s commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hassett was concerned that hisbattalion’s taskconsistedofa longapproachmarchwithopen flanks, followedbyanattack

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againstanenemywhoheldexcellentdefensivepositions,waswellequipped,motivatedanddeterminedtostay.Tomaintainthebattalion’sbattle-readiness,Hassettinstitutedatrainingprogramthatfocusedonfitness,weaponsproficiency,smallunittacticsandmostimportantly,unitcohesion. Itwouldpayoffhandsomely inthe forthcomingbattle,which lastedsixdays,3–8October1951.

Hassett’s forward reconnaissance convinced him that a flanking attack, ‘running theridges’, was needed, and during 2 October 3RAR moved surreptitiously into their stagingpositions,unseenbytheChinese.Heavyfogdescendedthatnight.

3OctoberBritishunitsbegan theiradvance, takingHill208unopposedby6ambut failing tocaptureHill210.BCompanyopened3RAR’scampaignat3amthefollowingmorning,takingHill199;theywere relievedbyACompanyandwent into reserve.AnotherBritishunitattackedHill355,withtankand3RAR’sMediumMachineGunsupport.4OctoberTheBritishunitshadtakenHill210by10am,andbyeveninghadcapturedHill227,butatthetimeHill355provedtoodifficult.3RARwasorderedtocapturethetwoHill220featuresinsupportofarenewedassaulton355thenextday.CCompany7Platoonbegantheattackbeforedawn,andinspiteofheavylossestheyachievedtheirgoalby11am,ThiswashelpedbyapieceofoutstandingbraverybyLCpl JimBennett,whoatonepoint stoodupwithhisBrengunforaone-manassaultontheChinesepositions.

7PlatoonmadefurtheradvancesuptheNEfaceofHill355,andcombinedwithaBritishattackfromthesouthandSWthisproveddecisiveandbymid-afternoontheChinesebattalionhadbeenputtoflight,thehillwasinalliedhandsandtheywerepoisedforanassaultonHill317.CCompanywithdrewtonearHill199.MeanwhiletheChinese,expectinganotherattackonMaryangSan,hadsentanotherbattaliontoholdthepositionsalongtheridges–theoddstherewerenowabout1200Chineseto320Australians.

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5OctoberIn theearlyhoursBCompanybegan itsadvance inheavy fog,withDCompany30minutesbehind.Buttheymissedtheirway,andalittleafter9amtheChineseon‘Whiskey’openedfireon them. The Australians attacked and captured the hill with the loss of one man. Thisprevented theChinese frombringingenfilading fire tobearonothercompaniesof3RARastheymovedtowardsHill317.

ACompanybeganadiversionaryattackalongtheridgebelowHill317asDCompanysetoff,supportedbyfire fromCenturiontanks.BytheearlyafternoonACompanyhadreachedthe base of Hill 317, at the cost of 20 casualties. The mist lifted when D Company were50yardsfrom‘Victor’andaChinesemachinegunwoundedboththeCOandalieutenant,butboth remained until the feature was captured. The Company then pressed on towards‘Uniform’,underthecommandofanotherlieutenant,afterabriefbombardment.By2pmthefeaturewasinthehandsofDCompany,nowexhaustedandwithfewerthan60fitmen.

CCompanynowcontinued theadvance throughthem. ‘Baldy’ fellquickly,withartillerysupport.7PlatoonpressedonandMaryangSanwasin3RAR’shandsby5pm.6OctoberAfterpreliminaryscoutingandahailofgrenadesonwelldug-inChinesepositionson‘Sierra’,9Platoonmadeabayonetassaultandcapturedthefeature.HassettnowmovedhisHQonto317, then turned towards the ‘Hinge’. That evening B Company moved onto ‘Sierra’ inpreparationfortheirattack.

MeanwhiletheBritishhadtwicefailedtotakeHill217,sufferingheavycasualtiesintheattempts.7OctoberBCompanybegantheirattackonthe‘Hinge’at8am,afterapreliminarybarrageassoonasthe fog lifted.At first itwentwell, but theChinese lay in ambushon the flanks and foughtfiercely to retain the position.However,with twomenkilled and12wounded, by 9.20 amBCompanywasonthe‘Hinge’,buttheywerestillsubjecttoChineseartillery.

Therestofthedayseemedrelativelyquiet,butat8pmamassiveartillerybombardmentbeganontheAustralianpositionsfromthe‘Hinge’toHill317,followedbythreeregimental-sized attacks. Desperate fighting followed throughout the night, the Australians stronglysupportedbytheirartillerytopreventtheirbeingoverrun.8OctoberIn the early hours the Chinese, unable to break the Australian defences at the ‘Hinge’,withdrew.Theywereallowedtocollecttheirdead–atleast120.Withthelossofthe‘Hinge’theChineseabandonedtheirlowerpositions,includingthebitterlycontested217.

More thanhalfofBCompanywerecasualties,but theyremained inposition.Theotherthreeriflecompanieshadalsosuffered.Intotal,3RARhad20menkilledand104wounded,ofwhom15remainedonduty.

Brigadier Taylor decided to relieve 3RARonMaryang San, replacing themwithBritishunits. After the fighting, Hassett received a DSO ‘for outstanding leadership’, and MajorNicholls, B Company commander,was awarded a bar to theMC he had earned in Tobruk.Hassett was unstinting in his praise for his men: ‘unquestionably, the soldiers won theMaryangSanbattle,notjustbecausetheywerebrave,butbecausetheyweresmartalso.Theyrecognisedthat, ifweweretoget317atall, letalonewithoutmassivecasualties, thentheywouldhavetomovequickly.Thistheydid.’Editor’s note:My thanks toMichaelKelly formakinghisnotesavailableas thebasis for this summary.But, alas,there was to be an epilogue (quoting from https://anzacday.org.au/op_commando). After the Australians werewithdrawnandBritish troopshad takenover,MaryangSanwas recapturedby theChinese justamonth later, on5November.ThetacticallyimportantfeatureofMaryangSanremainedinChinesehandsfortherestofthewar.

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Michael Kelly was followed by Sarah Hitchcock, who gave a brief overview of thearrangementsforcommemoratingLongTan.

Gerard concluded the CT session, beginning by reading a few eulogistic excerpts fromTripAdvisor.

Commenting on the new signing-in procedure, he said that we should be exact withtimingandnumbers,andifweledatourotherthantheoneadvertised,tomakeanoteofthat.

TheSWWgallerieshavenowre-opened,however,theArtCorridor(corridorexitingintoRearSecurity/Bunker)and‘RecentConflict’s’galleryhavenowclosedforredevelopmentandwillre-openinOctober.Accesstofrontofhousefromthebunkerwillnowbevia‘Post-1945’galleries.Additionally,‘RecentConflicts’willberenamedthe‘MiddleEast’gallery.Workwillstart soonon theAnzacHallmezzanine– the ‘AnzacSpirit’displayalong thebackwallwillgo.Onceworksarefinished,thisspacewilldisplay‘RecentAcquisitions’.

IwouldliketoreiteratethePresident’scomments,thatyouhaveacommitmenttoattendanumberoftrainingactivitiesthroughtheyear.

TheFamilyHistorysectionhavenowbeenrelocatedtotheResearchCentre,andarelessvisiblethanformerly.Pleasetellyourtoursthattheyexist,whattheydoandhowtofindthem.

WhereisitintheAWM?his beautiful timber shield can be found in the 1945GalleryoftheSWWGalleries.Itiswellaboveyoureyeline,

abovethecabinetholdingthemodelsofthedestroyerandthecorvette.TheshieldbelongstoHMASKanimbla(1).

The twin-screw motor vessel Kanimbla operated apassenger service between Cairns and Fremantle from 1936until theoutbreakof the SWW in September1939. Shewasrequisitioned on 6 September 1939 and sailed to Sydney,whereshewasconverted toanarmedmerchant cruiser. ShewascommissionedintotheRoyalNavyon6October1939.

December1939 sawher sail forHongKong fromwhere shepatrolled theChinese andJapanese areas searching for enemy ships attempting to run contraband back to Germany.Her duties took from there to Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. She carried out escort

duties around the Australiancoast and in the Pacific andIndian Oceans until April 1942when she returned to Sydneyfor conversion to an LSI(LandingShipInfantry).

On1June1943shewasre-commissioned into the RoyalAustralianNavy.

From then until the end ofthewar she took part inmanylandings in New Guinea, theDutch East Indies, thePhilippinesandBorneo.

Closer to home, GerardPratt’sgreat-unclecrewedonKanimblaintheyearsaftershewasdecommissionedaftertheendoftheSWW.

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Amongstotheractions, the ‘GreatGreyRaider’ captured22ships,a floatingdockandatrain.(Source.http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-kanimbla-i)Nextmonth’spuzzle

WESTA.L. ison theRollofHonourat theAWM. IhaveastoryIwouldliketosharewithyouaboutthatname.Youcanfindouttowhomthatnamerefersandinwhichconflictthatpersondied.IwouldliketosharewithyouhowIusethatnameinmytoursandwhereitleadsintheAWM.

AlltheBestBillArthur

emailwarthur5@bigpond.comph.0419880547.

BackgroundersontheAWMwebsiteTwentyyearsaftertheFirstWorldWar,militarydictatorsledtheworldintoasecondglobalconflict

BACKGROUNDER#56Issue#3.August2010,hasbeenrescopedasIssue#4–SecondWorldWar–Part1–1939:WarisDeclaredandPart2–1940–41VictoryandDefeat,

toreflectthe2016upgradeoftheSecondWorldWar(SWW)Galleries.

As a preamble the BACKGROUNDER addresses the Imperial War Museum images at theentrance to theGallery thatare intended toprovide the ‘bigpicture’ to theoutbreakof theSWW:RiseoftheNaziParty:TheFirstWorldWarsubjectedEuropetosevereeconomicandsocialstrain.GermanresentmentoverwartimedefeatandeconomicdepressionfedtheriseoftheNazipartyinthe1930s.Japanese aggression in Asia: In 1931 a militarist government in Japan began a war ofconquest against China. German expansion threatened Europe. Italy invaded Abyssinia.Britain and France, anxious to avoid another costly war, were unwilling to stop thisaggression.

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TheDictators:BenitoMussoliniofItalyandAdolfHitlerofGermany.Theambitionsofthesemencausedthewar.AppeasementFails–30September1938:Thewesterndemocraciesineffectuallysoughttomodify German demands in Europe, a policy known as 'appeasement'. Their weaknessdelayedbutdidnotpreventasecondworldwar.Invasion of Poland – 01 September 1939:TheGerman invasionofPoland inSeptember1939 at last provoked a European war. Australia immediately joined Britain in resistingGermany.

Hopethishelps.PeterHugonnet

BasicTrainingReport,31August2016en of the 12 trainees have successfully completed their ‘hump’ tour. At this stage,Ianticipate the last two will be able to complete their hump tour successfully in

September.One of the trainees, Paul Moggach, completed his twelve probationary tours by mid-

Augustandsuccessfullycompletedhisfinalassessmenttouron29August.Theother9traineeshavecompletedsomeoftheirprobationarytoursandarewellonthe

waytogettingtheiraccreditationtoursuccessfullycompletedoverthenextcoupleofmonths.PhilMuttukumaru

PeerGroupTraininghesecondsessionofPGTinJulyfocusedontheRoleofAboriginesandPrisonersofwarinFWW and SWW. PhilMuttukumaru, Krista Vane-Tempest, Bill Arthur, Ann Ashton and

JulieDarvillfacilitatedthediscussionforthe44guideswhoattendedthesessions.Thetalkswere informative,andmosthelpful for furtherguiding.. Iwould like to thankall thosewhofacilitatedthesessions,gaveuptheirtimetoresearchandthensharedtheirknowledge.TheGuides’notesarenowavailabletoallGuides.

ThenextPGT isonThursday8,Friday9andSaturday10September. ThissessionwillfocusontheroleoftheNavyandAirForceinSWW.MeetintheBunker.

Seeyouthere!SusanKearns

AHundredYearsagoheMelbourneARGUSreportedthatthePrimeMinister,MrHughes,addressedtheHouseof Representatives outlining the need for conscription tomake up for the shortfalls in

meeting recruiting targets. He addressed both Houses of Federal Parliament in a secretsessionheldintheSenateclubroomtoamplifytheneedforthemove.

In theVictorianLegislativeAssembly itwassuggested that theStateParliament shouldadjournforamonthsothatmemberscouldmakeeveryefforttoraiserecruitsbyvoluntarymeans. Atrecruitingmeetings throughout thecountryaudiencesweremainlycomposedofelderly men and women suggesting that such meetings should be on the racecourses andsportingfields

CompiledbyMichaelDowsett

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TheAustralianFlyingCorps–anotherFWWanniversaryhe Australian Flying Corps was officially launched as a ‘military aviation branch’ on20September1912,notquitetwoyearsbeforethedeclarationofwaron4August1914.Thegovernmentofthedaywaskeentohaveanindependentaerialdefencemodelledon

the example of the British, who had added an aeroplane company to the Royal EngineersBalloonCompanyin1911,andtransformedthetwointotheRoyalFlyingCorps(RFC)ayearlater.TheBritish initiallyalsoformedaseparateRoyalNavalAirSquadron(RNAS),butthissubsequentlymergedwiththeRFCtoformtheRoyalAirForce.

Opposing them, the Germans at first had concentrated on dirigible airships like the

Zeppelin,usingthemforscoutingandbombing,andmakingmanyraidsoverEnglandin1915and1916.However, theRheimsairshowin1911,dominatedby theFrench,hadconvincedtheGermans to change their emphasis to aircraft.This theydid to suchgoodeffect thatbyAugust1914theyclaimedtohave1000trainedpilotsand800militaryaeroplanes.

TheAustraliangovernmentbought landatPointCooke (later ‘Cook’,without the ‘e’) in1913foraCentralFlyingSchool.ItacquiredfiveaircraftfromtheBritish,allsaidtobe‘ratherprimitive’ compared with what the British themselves were using: two BE2a, twoDeperdussins, andaBristolBoxkite (pictured) foruse as a2-seaterbasic trainer.The littleDeperdussins‘stronglyresistedattemptstogetthemofftheground’andcouldonlybeusedfor taxiingpractice.Thereweredelaysdue todistanceandred tape,but the first flightwasmadeon1March1914.Otheraircrafttrickledinlater,includingaBlériotmonoplanesimilartotheoneinwhichthefirstcrossingoftheEnglishChannelwasmadein1909.

Thefirstintakeofjustfourtraineepilotssecondedfromtheirarmyunitsbegantraining102yearsagolastmonth,on17August1914, instructedbytwoairmen,oneAustralianandone British, who had learned to fly in England. Needless to say, there was a rush ofenthusiasm for thenewservice,andonedisgruntledapplicantcommented that ‘therewerejusttwoserviceableaircraftand2000waitingtousethem.’Asaresultsome200AustraliansmadetheirwaytoEnglandandjoinedtheRFCortheRNASsoasnottomissout..

TheAFCinitialflyingcourselastedthreemonths,withsubsequenttraininginEnglandorEgypt. Later,manyarmyofficers servingon theWesternFrontvolunteered to train for theAFC in England. The AFC saw its first action in the disastrousMesopotamian campaign inApril 1915, contributing a ‘Half-Flight’ of four pilots and 41 other ranks while the Indiangovernmentprovidedtheplanes.Eventuallytherewouldbeeightsquadrons:1SquadronwasformedatPointCookandsenttoEgyptin1916;2Squadronwasafighter/scoutunit,formedin Egypt and sent to France the same year; 3Squadron formed at Point Cook as areconnaissanceunitandwenttoFrancein1917;4Squadron,afighter/scoutunit,formedatPointCookandwenttoFranceinDecember1917.TheotherfourSquadronswereformedinEnglandastrainingsquadronstosupplyreinforcementsforNos1–4.

BytheendoftheFWWtheAFChadcomprised460commissionedofficers,mainlypilots,and 2,234 other ranks whowere themechanics, refuellers, signallers, and general groundduty staff. Considering its absurdly modest beginnings and Australia’s then population ofabout 4.5 million (a tenth that of the UK), this was a pretty stout effort. It was the onlyCommonwealth air force, although other Commonwealth nationals flewwith both the AFC

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andtheRFC.TheAFCwasalwaystinycomparedwiththeBritishservice–whentheRAFwasformedinApril1918,absorbingtheRNASandRFC,ithadover290,000officersandairmenandalmost23,000aircraft.

TheRAAFwas inaugurated on31March1921,whenmost of those serving in theAFCjoinedthenewbody.

PeterJudge

Sources:FMCutlackTheOfficialHistoryofAustraliainWW1,Vol.VIII;CharlesSchaedel,MenandMachinesoftheAFC1914–19;<www.australianflyingcorps.org/2004_2002/overview.html>.

Thesenoteswereoriginallypublished inGuidePost in July2008.Theyare reprintedhere,withslightchanges,becausewithsomanyanniversariesbeingcommemorated,theAFC’sfirstintakeseemsasignificantdatethatshouldnotbeoverlooked.Suchatinybeginning,butinjustfouryearsitledtotheeventsgraphicallyportrayedinOvertheFront.

An‘authenticreplica’oftheBristolBoxkitewasbuiltandflownasaWrightBrotherslookalikeinthe filmThoseMagnificentMenintheirFlyingMachines;witha90hpRollsRoyceengine the replicahadatopspeedof72kph.TheoriginalBoxkitewasactuallyaBritishderivativeof theFrench1909Farmanbiplane.

SeptemberTrainingProgram

Wednesday 7September 1000–1130 ContinuingTraining:DrJsckMcCaffrieTheRANintheVietnamWar.(IntheBAESystemsTheatre)

Thurs,Fri,Sat

8,9,10September 0830–1000 PeerGroupTraining:

TheRANandtheRAAFintheSWW(seepage10)

Tuesday 13September 1730–1900 L&DTRAINING–ShaneCasey,MHT:“Artillery,whatwasitand

howwasitused”.(IntheBAESystemsTheatre)

GerardPratt