Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Service Medals of P/O James RENNO, DFM

846 Private Roy Stephen KENYON, MM

Group portrait of No. 4 Initial Training School, RAAF Course No. 22, A Squadron, Flight 13. Pugh is second from the left in the centre row.

Original grave marker of the crew of Lancaster LL847 JO-D and the common grave in which they are now interred in Le Gros-Thiele Communal cemetery

FLGOFF Kenneth BENNETT 463 Squadron

Most of the crew of Lancaster LL847 JO-D of 463 Squadron. Sgt Henry Fowler RAF far left,P/OFF Robert Byrnes RAAF, FLGOFF Kenneth Bennett 3rd from left (pilot). three remaining men not yet identified. Missing from this group is James OGILVIE RAAF who is believed to have flown as a trainee second pilot on the night the aircraft was lost. From ADF Serials site 463 Sqn. 15/03/44 to 17/12/44, JO-D. ORBS record 94 missions. First flown by RAAF Pilot F/O J H Dechastel & crew who completed a tour of 32 missions 30 of them in LL847. Also RAAF Pilot F/O K P Brady & crew completed a tour of 30 missions 28 of them in LL847. The last mission on 17/18-Dec-1944 was flown by Pilot K E H Bennett RAAF, 2nd Pilot F/O J H Ogilvie RAAF, F/Engineer F/S R G Nuttall RAF, Nav F/S S Easton RAF, B/Aimer F/S T N Watson RAF, Wireless Op F/S R W Byrnes RAAF, MU Gunner Sgt G A C Frizzell RAF, Rear Gunner Sgt H Fowler RAAF. Brady's gunners shot down an ME109 on 28-Jul-1944 & the rear gunner shot down a Donier 217 on 29/30 Aug-1944. Bennett's gunners shot down a JU88 on the 6/7-Dec-1944 while it was attacking another Lancaster.

A memorial to the crew of No. 463 Squadron RAAF Lancaster LL847 JO-D, which crashed nearby after being shot down with the loss of all seven crew on the night of 18/19 December 1944

Original grave marker of the crew of Lancaster LL847 JO-D and the common grave in which they are now interred in Le Gros-Thiele Communal cemetery

FLGOFF Robert Wentworth BYRNES 463 Squadron

1630 Private Bruce Oscar STEWART 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion

Sister Kath Neuss a victim of the Banka Island massacre

Nursing SIster Dorothy Elmes, a victim of the Banka Island massacre

Sister Ellen Keats, 2nd/10th Australian General Hospial

Australian Army Nursing Sisters Ellen Keats and Elizabeth Pyman. Ellen Keats was evacuated from Singapore on the ill-fated SS VYner Brooke and was murdered by her Japanese captros at Banka Island. Sister Pyman was more fortunate being evacuated on another ship and returning safely to Australia

A commemorative coin marking the 75th Anniversary of the loss of the SS Vyner Brooke

Australian Army Nursing Sisters Ellen Keats and Elizabeth Pyman. Ellen Keats was evacuated from Singapore on the ill-fated SS VYner Brooke and was murdered by her Japanese captros at Banka Island. Sister Pyman was more fortunate being evacuated on another ship and returning safely to Australia

Lieutenant Gladys Hughes, a survivor of the Vyner Brooke sinking, captured as a PoW died just three months from war's end in May 1945 from the effects of disease ill treatment and mal-nourishment.

Malaya. 1941. Group portrait of three nursing sisters of 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station (2/4 CCS), 8th Australian Division. Left to right: Sister D. S. Gardam, who survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke, was taken prisoner by the Japanese and died later in captivity in April 1945, Sister E. M. Hannah, also a survivor from the Vyner Brooke and the only surviving nurse of the 2/4 CCS, and, Matron I. Drummond, who, after surviving the sinking of the Vyner Brooke was among those massacred by the Japanese on the foreshore of Banka Island, Sumatra on 1942-02-16.

Rosetta Joan Wight

NSW. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX76279 Sister Janet Kerr, 2/13th Australian General Hospital, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). She was one of sixty five Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children evacuated on the Vyner Brooke from Singapore, three days before the fall of Malaya. The Vyner Brooke was bombed by Japanese aircraft and sunk in Banka Strait on 14 February 1942. Of the sixty five nurses on board, twelve were lost as sea and thirty two survived the sinking and were captured as Prisoners of War (POWs) of which eight later died during captivity. Sister Kerr, aged 31, was one of the remaining twenty two nurses who also survived the sinking and were washed ashore on Radji Beach, Banka Island, where they surrendered to the Japanese, along with twenty five British soldiers. On 16 February 1942 the group was massacred, the soldiers were bayoneted and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea where they were shot. Only Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and a British soldier survived the massacre. Both were taken POW, but only Sister Bullwinkel survived the war. Sister Kerr was the daughter of Ida Maud Kerr of Woodstock, NSW. (Photograph copied from original photograph attached to attestation form, lent by Central Army Records Office.)

Sister Merle Trenery, presumed lost at sea in the sinking of the SS Vyner Brooke on 14 February 1942

Captain Joan Hempstead of the 2nd/13th Australian General Hospital

Peggy Eveett Farmaner

QLD. Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of QFX22714 Captain Pauline Blanche (Blanche) Hempsted, 2/13th Australian General Hospital, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). She was one of sixty five Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children evacuated on the Vyner Brooke from Singapore three dyas before the fall of Malaya. The Vyner Brooke was bombed by Japanese aircraft and sunk in Banka Strait on 14 February 1942. Of the sixty five nurses, twelve were lost at sea, twenty two survived the sinking and were washed ashore on Radji Beach, Banka Island, where they surrendered to the Japanese along with twenty five British soldiers. On 16 February 1942 the group was massacred, the soldiers were bayoneted and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea where they were shot. Only Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and a British soldier survived the massacre. Both were taken POW, but only Sister Bullwinkel survived the war. Sister Hempsted was one of the remaining thirty two nurses who also survived the sinking and were captured as POWs, eight of which later died in captivity. Sister Hempsted died of illness on 19 March 1945 in Sumatra. (Photograph copied from original photograph attached to attestation form, lent by Central Army Records Office.)

'White Coolies' originally published in 1954, re-released and the basis for the movie "Paradise Road"

Members of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company excavating at Hooge, in the Ypres Sector. Work on these dugouts constituted a record for Tunnelling Companies employed under such conditions, for the ground, in close proximity to the famous Hooge Crater, was a shell churned marsh and soakage was heavy. Accommodation was dug for two Brigades and Headquarters of one Machine Gun Company. Commenced on 5 June 1917, the task was completed and dugouts handed over to the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades on 19 September, for the use of the troops engaged in the operation of the following day. Identified, foreground, left to right: two unidentified members of the 56th Battalion; 5488 Sapper (Spr) C. G. Allcock (third from left, looking at camera); unidentified member of the 56th Battalion (working with Allcock). Background, left to right: 5529 Spr H. J. Edmonds; 5374 Second Corporal E. S. Sherrin (resting against sandbags); 3688 Spr J. Tither; 3363 Spr J. E. Rimmer (pushing upright cart); 5380 Spr J. W. Mcdonough (second from right); 5555 Spr J. J. Horne (extreme right).

R135 ADDEMS Harold Basil 2249 Trooper

R237 ADDEMS Percival Edward 2333

RAAF SGT David Leicester

Frank Mouritz 2018

3782 Sapper G J F Carter, 3rd Australian Light Railway Operating Company. Amputation to both legs above the knee. Australian War Memorial - Accession Number M00051 Place made United Kingdom: England, Greater London, Ealing, Southall Date made February 1919 Conflict First World War, 1914-1918

A memorial erected to the crew of Lancaster LL874 JO-D of No. 463 Squadron RAAF which crashed nearby on the night of 17/18 December 1944 with the loss of all crew

Normandy, France. C. 1944-06. Spitfire aircraft of No. 453 Squadron RAAF, painted in black and white stripes, invasion markings, at dispersal at the edge of a barley field airstrip, ALG B.11, ready for operations over the Normandy battlefield.

Ground crew from 451 and 452 Squadrons at RAF Matlaske May 1945

21 Squadron Mosquitoes in echelon astern formation

Painting by Will Longstaff depicting the night counter-attack o Villers Brettoneux that recaptured the town and checked the German advance on Amiens, 24/5 April 1918.

Painting by Will Longstaff depicting the night counter-attack o Villers Brettoneux that recaptured the town and checked the German advance on Amiens, 24/5 April 1918.

A map illustrating the general line of attack of the 15th (top) and 13th (lower) Brigades, encircling the town of Villers Bretonneux.

his rare colour photo shows P/O Orme and his crew back at Watton after a successful attack on shipping off the Dutch coast, 18th August 1941, just 10 days before they were lost in this same aircraft V6436 YH-L. P/O Orme can be seen climbing from the cockpit, behind him are two members of his ground crew, next to them wearing his Officers cap is P/O Gunnis, and far right on top of the fuselage is F/O Collins. (L. Gover)

The second attack at Dernancourt on 5 April 1918

Map illustrating the results of the major battles comprising Third Ypres; Menin Road 20 Sep 17, Polygon Wood 26 Sep 17, Broodseinde Ridge 4 Oct 17 and Passchendaele 12-24 Oct 17.

The second attack at Dernancourt on 5 April 1918

4501 BALLARD, PTE H.E.32nd and 50th Battalions

4501 Pte Herbert Edward Ballard

'Raid on Duisburg' Handley Page Halifax B.III bombers of No.462 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Air Force Driffield, Yorkshire, October 1944. Handley Page Halifax B.III “Lily of the Lamplight” aircraft MZ296, was lost on the 15 October 1944 while returning from a raid on Duisburg. Damaged by anti-aircraft fire and low on fuel, the crew successfully bailed out over Allied territory. The pilot on the final trip was New Zealander Flying Officer (FO) W.B. Cookson. The crew included three Australians:Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) W.F.Tolhurst (Bomb Aimer), FO L.J.Power (Wireless Air Gunner) and Flt Sgt N.O.Reed (Rear Gunner). FO Cookson later received the DFC for his actions.

A medium trench mortar and crew of the 3rd Australian Medium Trench Mortar Battery, 2nd Division, in action in a farmhouse 400 yards from the German front lines. Gun position selected and made use of to support Infantry raid prior to attack on Morlancourt village. Left to right: Lieutenant (Lt) J. Arthur; Lt L. C. Reeves; Gunner (Gnr) W. Commons, holding cleaning rod; Gnr G. Parker, loading mortar; Corporal P. Barber.

'Colourised' image of a NZ Howitzer battery displaying the key attributes of the gun - short barrel, fixed trail, high angle fire spoked wheels, crew of five.

Stonehaven War Memorial Panel

Stonehaven War Memorial. Stonehaven and Dunnottar - Kincardine & Deeside District UKNIWM Ref No. 8693 The Stonehaven and Dunnotar war memorial takes the form of a large sandstone, circular ruined Doric temple with eight pillars, raised on three high steps of rustic blocks. The commemoration and names of the WWI dead are listed on a dressed grey granite stone with a pinkish hue which stands in the centre of the paved enclosure which is entered into via a wide stair and wrought iron gate. The monument is clearly visible from the distance above the road on a headland south of the village. It was built in 1922 and officially unveiled in 1923 to commemorate the men and women who lost their lives in the ‘Great War’. It was designed by local architect John Ellis to resemble a ruined temple – possibly to signify the ruined lives of those whose names are on it. There is no record as to why he designed it to look ruined – no working drawings or sketches. It certainly is very different to most of the other war memorials in this area. The money to build the memorial was raised by the local community in one year through a variety of fundraising events and donations. The Black Hill was chosen as the site for a memorial as it was a popular place for the people of the town to visit – windy but with amazing views up and down the coast and just a short walk from the town. The main part of the memorial is local sandstone, cut from a quarry that existed at the south end of Stonehaven’s harbour. Inscribed on the external faces of the lintel stones: SOMME - MARNE - ZEEBRUGGE - GALLIPOLI - JUTLAND Inscribed on the internal faces of the lintel stones: 'ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF STONEHAVEN AND DISTRICT' Inscribed above the entrance: A TRIBUTE 1914 TO THEIR DEAD 1919 ONE BY ONE DEATH - CHALLENGED THEM - ONE BY ONE THEY - SMILED IN HIS - GRIM VISAGE - AND REFUSED - TO BE DISMAYED