Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

MAJOR JOHN TILBROOK, CSM, RFD, JP

1. The following is a synopsis of John Tilbrook’s Army and Australian Public Service Careers and of his experience in undertaking military historical research and related activities.

Military service

2. Major J.D. Tilbrook, he served in the Army for more than 51 years (in all ranks from Private soldier to Major). Until his compulsory retirement at the age of 70 years on 30 January 2015 he served in the active Army Reserve as a part-time Research Officer with the Australian Army History Unit on a special age extension to age 70 years. He rendered operational service in Borneo (1965) during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia, and in the Vietnam War (1967/68). He also served in the ANZUK Force in Singapore/Malaysia (1971/74).

Australian Public Service

3. Between 1986 and 1997 John Tilbrook was employed as a Senior Officer in the Capital Equipment Program Division in the Department of Defence, initially as the Assistant Director of the Management, Review and Implementation Section, and then as Director, Project Management Education and Training. In the former position, he was heavily involved in the development of the Capital Equipment Procurement Manual (CEPMAN), and in the latter appointment, he was responsible for the development and delivery of project management-related training for all Service personnel and civilian staff concerned with the procurement of major capital equipment.

Project Management Consultancy

4. After leaving the Australian Public Service in 1997 John Tilbrook provided consultancy services under contract to the Department of Defence as the Project Manager for PROJECT NINOX, the acquisition of Thermal Imaging night fighting equipment for Army combat units.

Military research

5. John Tilbrook’s military history research background includes the following:

• As an Army Reserve Major, he has held a part-time Research Officer position continuously with the Army History Unit in Canberra from 1990 until 2015, in conducting military research tasks related to WW2 and subsequent wars and United Nations peacekeeping operations.

• One of his ongoing projects has been to assist the Army Historical Records Review Team since 1990 in cataloguing and downgrading all of the Army’s operational records from the Confrontation and the Vietnam War. He has also worked closely with the Official History Unit at the Australian War Memorial, providing advice on Vietnam records.

• He is the author of several military biographies in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and of several military history works.

• His last principal role with the Australian Army History Unit was to research matters referred from the Office of the Chief of Army, and draft ministerial responses.

6. His contribution to Army history was generally recognised in the Australia Day Honours Military List in 1997 with the award of the Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) ‘for outstanding service in the field of military history’.

7. He has been an honorary Corps Historian for the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corp since 1983, he has been a Justice of the Peace in and for the state of NSW since 2007 and continues to work with ex-Service organisations and with Canberra Legacy to assist Veterans, war widows and their dependants.

8. From 1997 until 2014 John Tilbrook held a Deed of Standing Offer (Commonwealth contract) with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to provide military research services and historical research reports responding the Veterans’ claims for disability compensation benefits aimed at verifying cited events that Veterans’ and past members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) claim to have been experienced during operational service overseas or during ADF military service in Australia. Until his retirement from his Company in 2014 John Tilbrook completed more than 6,000 military research reports for DVA and the Australian Government Solicitor (representing the Repatriation Commission).

Lest we Forget