Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Hugh Carlyle was born on the 10th of December, 1948 in Adelaide to Ted and Doreen Carlyle. He was named after his uncle, Hubert George Carlyle, a navigator in WWII, who was shot down and died in France, and the two were similar in more than name. He attended Meningie Area School, Forbes Park Primary School and Mitchell Park High School with his siblings Ian and Bernadine, and enjoyed playing rugby and football throughout his childhood. After school, he became a shoemaker and moved to Park Holme in Adelaide’s south-west. Hugh had always wanted to be a soldier and follow in his uncles' path, and his chance came in 1969. He enlisted for Vietnam in March of that year, joining the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the A Squadron along with around 110 other men. By the time he was 20 years old, he had completed his training to become an Armed Personnel Carrier (APC) driver and travelled to the South of Vietnam to serve. Hugh’s squadron was made up of mainly APC drivers who operated throughout the Phuoc Tuy province.

Hugh’s first operation came in June 1969 in Binh Ba, South Vietnam, where the Vietcong were occupying a local village. It took 9 ½ hours to comb through every house, and his squadron did the same thing the next day at Hoa Long. He and his regiment spent the next two months driving through the jungle and ambushing local villages where the Vietcong were rumoured to be hiding. Due to the close nature of the APC’s, he became close friends with other members of his squadron, meeting Crew Commander Chris Blackett in September 1969, who gave him the name Junior due to his “baby faced look”, a name which quickly became popular. Hugh would often write to his family, especially his father, who would update him with the football results, and tells him that he hopes to return to playing football when he comes home. His squadron would flush out villages in search of Vietcong and supported and protected American troops in the dense jungles of South Vietnam known to house Vietcong bunker complexes and bases.

On February 17th, 1970, Hugh and Lance Corporal Barry Winston were sent to support the infantry in the Long Hai Hills in the Phuoc Tuy province, 16 kilometres south of the Task Force Base at Nui Dat. Throughout the day, progress was slow due to land mines surrounding the area, so the next day airstrikes were called in. On Wednesday, February 18th, soldiers of the 8th Battalion and Hugh’s squadron fought for over seven hours against around 50 North Vietnamese soldiers. With the confusion of the airstrikes, Carlyle’s and Winston’s APC became the lead vehicle in the battle. The infantry could not assist them due to the land mines, so as the vehicle approached the stronghold, they were hit by heavy fire. Their APC became stuck as was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, which killed Winston instantly. Hugh tried to escape and crawl out of the vehicle, but a Vietcong soldier saw him and threw a satchel charge on him, and he died instantly, at only 21 years old. Him and Barry Winston were the only two Australian’s who died during the 7 and a half-hour long battle, with 27 Australian soldiers wounded. Hugh had spent 329 days in Vietnam and was to be sent home in less than 10 days.

During his 11 months in Vietnam, Hugh took film of his time in Vietnam and his squadron, showing an insight into the Australian experience in Vietnam. He never saw the footage he took, as it was sent back to Australia for processing, and he was killed in action before it was completed. His close friend Chris Blackett commented on the deaths of so many young, able-bodied men due to the war, including Hugh, who had their lives ripped away from them; “I remember laughing, happy, handsome young lads, proudly serving their country. They had their whole life ahead of them. Never to be Dads or Grandads. Never to be allowed to show their full potential. No more to be brothers and sons and I think what a waste. What a waste of two good, strong, young sons of Australia”. Hugh’s only ambition was to join the army and follow in the footsteps of his namesake, Hubert Carlyle his sister Deanie Roach saying in 2016 at a memorial service; “The army was his life, that’s what he wanted to do.” He is buried at Centennial Park Cemetery in Adelaide.

HUGH CARLYLE JOINED THE ARMY AS A REGULAR SOLDIER .HE WAS AN A.P.C DRIVER K I A. AFTER SERVING ALMOST TWELVE MONTHS IN VIETNAM