Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Be still. The bleeding night is in suspense Of watchful agony and coloured thought, And every beating vein and trembling sense, Long-tired with time, is pitched and overwrought. And for the eye, The darkness holds strange forms. Soft movements in the leaves, and wicked glows That wait and peer. The whole black landscape swarms With shapes of white and grey that no one knows; And for the ear, a sound, a pause, a breath. The hand has touched the slimy face of death. The mind is raking at the ragged past. ……A sound of rifles rattles from the south, and startled orders move from mouth to mouth.

Thomas Davidson - who went by [and enjoyed] the nick-name "Jonk" - returned to Campbell Town in 1919. He then wed Alice Clark and together they produced 11 children who all grew strong and healthy. The first three children born were Sylvia, Laurence and Thomas [who went by his second name of Rex]. His nick name even featured in his will- issued in June 1975 - in which he bequeathed his estate to his children. I was given a copy of this will by my father - the above mentioned Laurence [Laurie] Davidson. My earliest memory of my grandfather goes back to 1951 when I was 3 years old. Over the next decade I spent several weeks of school holidays with my grand parents and attended several birthday / wedding type celebrations. Everybody called him "Jonk". His wife, their children, their spouses, the neighbours, members of the Campbell Town rifle club, the footy club and the patrons at the pub in High St. Campbell Town. The use of the nickname "Jonk" was so prevalent that I [and I assume many others] thought that it was his actual name! It seems to be a family tradition to bestow the name of Thomas on a son and then ban the use of it except for official documents. His second son never used the name Thomas - he always went by Rex. My older brother was named Thomas Anthony and has always been known as Tony. So entrenched was the use of the nick-name "Jonk" to identify my grandfather it was used in an obituary for one of his sons who died in April 2019 - some 30 years after Jonk died. In my 71 years I have never heard of any body else called 'Jonk'. At a recent funeral I was told that the nick-name originated with a chap who either had a speech impairment [or mental impairment issues]. Rather than correct the man [perhaps they tried] the nick-name Jonk was embraced by all and sundry - including Jonk! Terry Davidson May 2019

Thomas Davidson - who went by [and enjoyed] the nick-name "Jonk" - returned to Campbell Town in 1919. He then wed Alice Lockett and together they produced 11 children who all grew strong and healthy. The first four children born were Sylvia, Laurence Olive (Ollie) and Thomas [who went by his second name of Rex]. His nick name even featured in his will- issued in June 1975 - in which he bequeathed his estate to his children. I was given a copy of this will by my father - the above mentioned Laurence [Laurie] Davidson. My earliest memory of my grandfather goes back to 1951 when I was 3 years old. Over the next decade I spent several weeks of school holidays with my grand parents and attended several birthday / wedding type celebrations. Everybody called him "Jonk". His wife, their children, their spouses, the neighbours, members of the Campbell Town rifle club, the footy club and the patrons at the pub in High St. Campbell Town. The use of the nickname "Jonk" was so prevalent that I [and I assume many others] thought that it was his actual name! It seems to be a family tradition to bestow the name of Thomas on a son and then ban the use of it except for official documents. His second son never used the name Thomas - he always went by Rex. My older brother was named Thomas Anthony and has always been known as Tony. So entrenched was the use of the nick-name "Jonk" to identify my grandfather it was used in an obituary for one of his sons who died in April 2019 - some 30 years after Jonk died. In my 71 years I have never heard of any body else called 'Jonk'. At a recent funeral I was told that the nick-name originated with a chap who either had a speech impairment [or mental impairment issues]. Rather than correct the man [perhaps they tried] the nick-name Jonk was embraced by all and sundry - including Jonk! Terry Davidson May 2019

There is an 'urban legend' dating to the 1970s and 80s that the Crimea Cannons were occasionally fired, without authorisation, by Army Reserve soldiers based on the Torrens Training Depot, generally at night when few witnesses were about. The technique was (apparently ) to ram a hand grenade simulator down the bore followed by a rolled up telephone book or a doormat. The resulting explosion would blast smoking bits of shredded phone book across the Parade Ground like pyrotechnic confetti, the boom would echo along the river bank of the nearby River Torrens, seagulls would be startled into flight and random pedestrians would get the fright of their lives. According to the story the cannon fire was on occasion supplemented or replaced by blank fire from several percussion rifles in the upstairs Officers Mess, a fact which seems to narrow the focus on who might have been responsible for these goings on. This practice appeared to die out as the grenade simulators were retired from service (they were probably assessed as a WHS risk) and authorities became less tolerant of the boisterous antics of the local soldiery. .

'During the attack South of WARFUSEE ABANCOURT near AMIENS, on the morning of the 8th August 1918, this N.C.O.'s section was held up by machine gun fire. He and two other men rushed the post, killed the gunners, and captured the gun, thereby enabling the advance to the objective to continue. He showed great bravery.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 61 Date: 23 May 1919

'ANZAC' insignia Members of the Australian Imperial Force who served on Gallipoli will be entitled to wear over the Unit “Colour Patch” on both sleeves of the Service Dress Jacket and Greatcoat the letter “A” an indication that the wearer had taken part in the operations on the Gallipoli Peninsula. - Military Order 354 of 1917 Members of the Australian Imperial Force who served on Gallipoli or the Islands of Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos, or who have served on transports or hospital ships at or off Gallipoli or the Islands above-named, or in AIF lines of communication Units in Egypt will be entitled to wear over their Unit “Colour Patches” on both sleeves of their Service Dress Jacket and Greatcoat the letter “A” as an indication that the wearer had taken part in the Gallipoli operations. - Military Order 20 of 1918

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-first-conscription-referendum

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/a-tale-of-two-soldiers

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8007689

http://www.aircrewremembered.com/bell-maxwell-heron.html

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-australasian-soldiers-dardanelles-cenotaph

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/29/us-museum-under-fire-over-display-of-skull-of-australian-soldier

http://aircrewremembered.com/taylor-james-william.html

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-worst-day-in-australian-military-history

/collections/home-page-stories/flanders-memorial-garden

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8021060&S=1&R=0

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=68620&c=WW2

https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/research/home-page-archives/from-prisoner-to-guard--leslie-parish

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1602740

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7998389

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-wounds-we-do-not-see

http://korean-war.commemoration.gov.au/armed-forces-in-korea/royal-australian-navy-in-the-korean-war.php

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-new-year--1916

http://aircrewremembered.com/tanner-kej.html

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/the-pow-death-ships

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1477410

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/a-boer-war-story-in-pictures

http://aircrewremembered.com/parritt-geoffrey.html

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/51079-lockleys-memorial-centre-formerly-lockleys-memorial-hall/

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1oipg/BritainAtWarAugust20/resources/55.htm

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=443461

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1947749

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1341856?image=7

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4668044&S=1&R=0

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/interned--prince-alfonso-del-drago-in-south-australia

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8855618&isAv=N

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/43945/LOCKWOOD,%20RICHARD%20JACK

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3026930

/collections/home-page-stories/remembering-corporal-norley

https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=111882

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=11587636

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/raid-on-celtic-wood-launch

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/christmas-eve-transcends-conflict

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4738871

https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/groupstories/2634

https://vwma.org.au/collections/home-page-stories/malaya-borneo-veterans-day

http://aircrewremembered.com/smith-eric-alfred.html

https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597:north-american-b-25cd-and-b-25jk-mitchell-uk&catid=93&lang=en&showall=1&limitstart=&Itemid=555

/collections/home-page-stories/the-loss-of-ambon-and-gull-force

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/search?conflict=WW2&searchType=NAME&serviceNumber=&surname=Gryst&firstName=&secondName=