Military history

For Remembrance Day 2023, In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae, recited by Michael Darby.

The Legacy Centenary Torch Relay had a local touch when Cohuna’s Geoff Hall was chosen to be one of 1,500 torch bearers to participate in the 50,000km 6-month journey. The relay commemorates Legacy’s centenary and recognises the sacrifices of families and the efforts of volunteers who have provided support in that time.

The Nhill RSL Sub Branch has, in partnership with Lowan Lodge 107, Rotary Club of Nhill Inc. and Nhill Lions Club, established a subcommittee aimed at honouring all service men and women in our Nhill cemetery. Our sub-committee will honour our local heroes by flying flags behind their graves on ANZAC and Remembrance days - we are hoping to start in 2024.

Wayne Krause. The family would like to thank Chappie and Sharon for being here and for Chappie taking the service. Les specifically asked if Chappie could do this a couple of years ago because of his personal friendship with Chappie and the impact Chappie had on the Island Les loved ... Leslie Allen King was born in Petersham, NSW, on 30 August 1921, the only son of Norm and Maggie King.

Corryong College teacher, Stephen Learmonth ... has undertaken his own project to record the biographies of other servicemen from the region and the Corryong Courier will be printing a selection of these stories in the lead up to Remembrance Day this year on November 11 ... Frank Leslie Butler was born on the 13th of April, 1919 at Tallangatta, Victoria.

Gale force winds, icebergs and sheer mind-numbing monotony ... for a few thousand of Australia’s WWI servicemen, this was their war. An endless round of escort and blockading with the ever-present threat of a torpedo from underneath. I am of course referring to those clean-cut young men from the Royal Australian Navy.

The Rockliff Liberal Government is a proud supporter of Legacy and this week we proudly welcomed the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay to Tasmania ... “It was an honour to be in Pozieres, France, as part of the Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize Tour when the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay began on April 23": Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Guy Barnett.

The Goomburra Town Hall is inviting local families who may have family members who served for their country to donate a paver for the Memorial Garden. There are two Honour Boards in the hall and the committee are replicating these by developing a memorial garden with named pavers of service personnel.

Residents of Wagga Wagga and surrounds are urged to save the date and head down to the city centre for the Australian Army Band Kapooka’s Freedom of Entry to the City Parade on Sunday 15 October 2023 ... “The Freedom of Entry to the City is a symbolic presentation which represents the highest honour a city can confer on an individual or a Military Unit": Dallas Tout, Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga.

The Vietnam war was Australia's longest war of the 20th century. More than 60,000 Australians served, 3,000 were wounded, and 523 died. In the early 1970s, more than 200,000 people marched in the streets of Australia’s major cities in protest of the war.

James Lister. On Friday, in my capacity as Shadow Assistant Minister for Veterans, I attended the Brisbane Vietnam Veterans Day service in ANZAC Square and laid a wreath in honour of the fallen. Vietnam Veterans Day is a unique post on our calendar of military remembrances.

Members of the Charlton RSL Sub-Branch marked Vietnam Veterans’ Day last Friday – August 18 – with a dinner and commemoration service to honour and recognize the contribution of those who served and fell in Australia’s longest military engagement (1962-1972/3) of the 20th Century.

Port Pirie Regional Council is thrilled to announce a captivating commemorative project that will breathe life into the military history of the region. South Australian artist Sam Brooks, renowned for his extensive portfolio of public art, has partnered with his assistant Mark Harding to create a stunning mural on the side of the last remaining WW2 Belmont Hangar at Port Pirie Aerodrome.

In the next two episodes, [Lord Howe Island] Signal readers are privileged to look inside the life of Islander, Rosemary Sinclair (nee Fenton), "Miss Australia" in 1960. Rosie’s description of her early life on Lord Howe from the 1940s takes us back to World War II, which cast a dark shadow over her early life on the Island. Her later success as "Miss Australia" was symptomatic of the post-war optimism which pervaded the Island in the 1950s and 60’s, making her an important Island voice from "the flying boat days" up to the present.

John Williams. Also known as a "Lone Pine" the tree began life in Nhill as a germinated seed planted outside the Monomeeth Aged Care Homes in Clarence Street. The story of the tree began in 1970 when well-known local identity Tammy Dickinson, accompanied by Joe Morris and Fred Wubbling, travelled to Gallipoli in search of the grave of Tammy’s Uncle, Thomas Dickinson.

2023 marks 61 years since the arrival of the Australian Army Training team in South Vietnam on the 3 August 1962 and 51 years since the withdrawal of combat troops in 1972. During the Vietnam War 523 Australians gave their life for their country ... the Warwick and district Vietnam Veterans will honour Lionel James Baxter at the Warwick Cemetery in a Service of Remembrance.

Shane Smith. This is my 5th and latest book on the military history of Naracoorte. The book is titled Findlaters Men. Consisting of 319 pages, over 20 photos and full nominal roll, it covers the formation of the Naracoorte Half Squadron South Australian Mounted Rifles 1900/12.

Nariel woman, Joy Bennetts, will be one of 30 participants from the region who will participate in the Centenary of Legacy Torch Relay which will travel through the streets of Wodonga and Albury on Saturday 5th August. The local torch bearers all have a connection to Legacy or the Australian Defence Force ... King Charles helped kick off the London leg of the Legacy relay.

So, last time, we looked into the early years of Australia’s only ever Field Marshall, Thomas Blamey. From his admittedly sterling service in the Great War to his less than admirable service as Victoria Police Commissioner. This time around we’ll look at his time as the top dog in Australia’s World War II involvement and see if we can come up with some kind of summary of just who this bloke was.

From Pozieres, France, to Grafton, Australia, the spirit of the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay 2023, continued to burn brightly when it arrived in the Clarence Valley on June 26 to commence its Grafton tour as part of its nationwide journey commemorating the 100th anniversary of Legacy, an iconic charity dedicated to providing support and assistance to the families of deceased and seriously injured Australian Defence Force personnel.

Aimee McCartney. On May 5, 2023, Headquarters Air Academy (HQ AirA) personnel gathered at the RAAF East Sale Yarning Circle to celebrate the significant service and diverse career of Wing Commander (WGCDR) Garry McKee ... At 16 years of age, WGCDR McKee, from Charlton in Victoria, enlisted into the Air Force as an apprentice Radio Technician.