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Shaggy Ridge, New Guinea. 1943-12-27. A wounded soldier of the 2/16th Australian Infantry Battalion, 21st. Australian Infantry Brigade being assisted to the regimental aid post during the attack on the Japanese held "pimple". identified personnel are: WX14757 Corporal M. Hall, DCM., (1); NX127159 Private R. J. Rowe (2).
Ray Shegog, Army 1941-42
Bill Holland, Navy 1941-1946
Reg Laught Airforce 1942-1945
Charles Griffin Army 1940-1942, Peter Griffin Navy 1942-1946, Colin Griffin, RAAF 1942-1945
John Dorsett RAAF 1940-1945
The 54th Siege Artillery Battery in action. Note that light rail is laid right to the gun position to facilitate the movement of the massive shells fired by these guns. Note the guns are wheeled so they can be relocated far easier than was the case with the 9.2 inch Howitzers of the 55th Battery. Note the box trails of these howitzers, The cutout section allows the gun to be fully elevated and accommodate the full recoil of the barrel on firing. These images were taken by renowned photographers Frank Hurley and George (later Sir Hubert) Wilkins. See the video link in the sidebar.

The 54th Siege Artillery Battery in action. Note that light rail is laid right to the gun position to facilitate the movement of the massive shells fired by these guns. Note the guns are wheeled so they can be relocated far easier than was the case with the 9.2 inch Howitzers of the 55th Battery.
Members of the VDC being instructed on the use of a 'light' machinegun. The weapon is a WW1 vintage German MG 08/15, brought back to Australia as a 'war trophy'. This one was loaned by the Australian War Memorial, but hundreds had been hanging in RSL Halls all over the country. Ammunition? Now that's another matter entirely.
A March Past by Members of the SA Volunteer Defence Corps on Anzac Day, 1942 at the Torrens Parade Ground in Central Adelaide. The Parade Ground had long been a rallying point for military contingents in SA and remains a hub of proceedings on Anzac Day to the present time.
V357389 Corporal Tom Goodall, unidentified, V356444 Corporal Joseph Aloysius Gill, V357842 Sergeant Alfred Thomson, 5th Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps, Queenscliff, Victoria.
Part of a large collection of photographs held by the State Library of SA relating to the activities of the Volunteer Defence Corps in SA during WW2. This image shows soldiers training on a WW1 vintage German MG08.15 one of many brought back to Australia as war trophies and often held in RSL halls. Ammunition would have been a challenge as it was not a standard Commonwealth supply item!
Studio portrait of 15433 Sapper Ralph Reynolds ROSE taken in England c. August 1916, the photographer is unknown. From the collection of the late Patricia Roberts (nee ROSE), eldest daughter of Ralph ROSE.
This photograph was taken whilst he was still undergoing initial pilot training. Trainees were required to wear the cap with a white band until their air training had been fully completed.
The crew members of a Halifax stationed at Driffield; left to right top to bottom: Jack Venning DFC, rear gunner, Flying Officer Colin J Challis DFC, mid upper gunner, Flying Officer Jack McCarthy DFC, wireless (radio) operator, Flight Lieutenant J Nicholas (or Nicholson), flight engineer, Flying Officer George Robinson DFC, bomb aimer, Squadron Leader John Good DFC and Bar, pilot, and Flying Officer Harold Olaf Stenborg. The men are dressed in their flying uniforms and are pictured with an eagle hovering above their heads in the background. Bowen also shows the hands of each of the crew members carrying out their individual characteristic activities.

Art Work of Halifax crew at Driffield U.K. by Stella Bowen (Jack Venning top left)
417812 Flight Sergeant Ronald Irving Cummings (3rd from right - back row)

417812 Flight Sergeant Ronald Irving Cummings (3rd from right - back row)
Studio portrait of 1175 Acting Sergeant Herbert Andrew Smythe, F Company, 3rd Battalion, of Gladesville, NSW. Corporal (Cpl) Smythe enlisted on 21 August 1914 and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Euripides on 20 October 1915. He was killed in action at the second battle of Bullecourt on 3 May 1917. His brother Viv wrote the following notes referring to the location of his brother's burial on the back of the photograph 'OG2. Hindenburg Line E. of Bullecourt. Buried in trench 3rd bay to left of dugout to L (left) of sap leading to OG1 next to T.M. position. Map reference. France 51BSW, 1/20,000, U23C 4.25. 2.5.' This grave was not located at the end of the First World War and he is memorialised at Villers-Bretonneux. Cpl Smythe is one of four Smythe brothers, they were: Major Edward Vivian "Viv" Smythe MC and Bar, 17th and later 24th Battalion; Lieutenant Percy Ellesmere Smythe MC, 3rd and later 24th Battalion and Captain Vernon Erle Smythe MC and Bar, 3rd, 4th and later 56t Battalion, and a brother-in-law, Lieutenant George Roy McPhee Croix de Guerre, who all served with the AIF.

AWM P04628.001
Sgt Bert Smyth, 3rd Battalion

Sgt Bert Smyth, 3rd Battalion
Pte Bert Smythe

Pte Bert Smythe
2603 Gnr Arthur Rayworth Davison, later killed on 20 August 1917
An AAMWS recruiting poster
Two members of the Women's National Emergency Legion (WNEL) on duty as mine-watchers on the bank of the Brisbane River, November 1942. Mine-watchers, under the control of the Royal Australian Navy, were women volunteers who manned posts along the river, many of which were sited in private backyards. AWM P01554.002
Fig 5. No. 2 Gun North Head, a 9.2 inch gun, firing to sea. With a range of 28km (Manly to Palm Beach), these guns were the largest employed in Australia's WW2 coastal defence.
A searchlight crew of the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) stands in front of its searchlight as part of a street display during Army Week in support of the Third Liberty Loan, Perth, March 1943. I was desperate to enlist in the army, having learnt Morse Code in anticipation of joining up, but my father refused to sign my papers. After much pleading and threats to join when I was twenty-one, he relented, and in August 1942 his fifth child was serving in the Australian Women's Army Service. (Image: AWM 029770, quote: Sister Julia O'Sullivan, Tell Us Your Story, www.anzac.dpc.wa.gov.au
Group portrait of participants of the No 2 Bombing and Gunnery School (BAGS), Course 30, on graduation day. Left to right, back row, is: Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Reader; LAC O'Sullivan; LAC Ziersch probably 417690 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Leslie Ernest Ziersch (lost on operations over the United Kingdom on 11 April 1944); 417830 LAC Geoffrey O'Halloran Giles; 417820 LAC Frederick Dyer; LAC Ballinger; LAC Sincock; LAC Parham; LAC Johnson; LAC Quinlivan; LAC Willington; LAC Banfield; LAC Payne; LAC Kirkham; LAC Bonham; LAC Kerfoot; 419298 LAC (later Flying Officer [FO]) Harry Ronald Crout (lost on operations over France on 10 May 1944); LAC Phillips; LAC Porter; LAC Wallace. Third row: 427438 Flt Sgt Gergo Caveridge (lost on operations over Germany on 28 September 1944); Clark; Dutton; 427502 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Paulus Senor Coronel (killed in an accident in the United Kingdom on 25 September 1944); Lamberton; 417821 LAC (later Warrant Officer) Harold Murray Earle (lost on operations over the North Sea on 29 October 1944); LAC Groves; LAC Randell; LAC Scott; LAC Morton; LAC Potter; LAC Walters; LAC Oliver; LAC Bunce; LAC Mitchell; LAC Kiddle; 26221 LAC Alick Betram Ewens; possibly 417818 LAC (later Flight Lieutenant [Flt Lt]) Clifford Harris Drewer (lost on operations over France on 24 June 1944); LAC Horinack; 410144 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Ronald Charles Brookman (lost on operations over France on 26 September 1944). Second row: LAC Brand; LAC Moffitt; LAC Seymour; LAC Lowe; LAC Lake; LAC Mander; LAC Murray; possibly 417855 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Rex Tidswell Lathlean (lost on operations over the United Kingdom on 24 July 1944); LAC Baynes; LAC Keightley; 419332 LAC (later Pilot Officer) John Barrie Nanscawen (lost on operations over Germany on 8 February 1945); 417826 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Frank Edgar Fischer (lost on operations over Germany on 29 July 1944); 410536 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Leonard Allan Eunson (lost on operations over France on 6 August 1944); King; 419387 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Gregory Herbert Hunkin (lost on operations over N. W. Europe on 27 June 1944); LAC Adams; LAC Kitto; LAC McRostie; LAC Martin; possibly 418744 LAC Conrad Fontaine. Front row: 417822 LAC David Easterbrook; LAC Bury; LAC Andrews; Corporal (Cpl) Kiddle; Sergeant (Sgt) Barnes; Warrant Officer (WO) Hunt; Flight Officer (FO) Allmand; Flight Sergeant (FS) Wilson; Sgt Stanbury; 417824 LAC (later Flt Sgt) Albert Wilson Farrer (lost on operations over France on 16 August 1944); LAC Hughes; LAC Carlton; LAC Ashurst.
R092 ADDEMS William Charles PTE 6702
VFX94085 Captain Nora Heysen, Official war artist, Military History Section, at 106th Casualty Clearing Station.

VFX94085 Captain Nora Heysen, Official war artist, Military History Section, at 106th Casualty Clearing Station.
CPL W.M. JOLUIS, RADIOLOGIST AT WORK AT 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION. HE IS X-RAYING THE WOUNDED KNEE OF V64795 PRIVATE J. P. SPORN, 7TH BATTALION AMF WHO WAS WOUNDED AT WEARNE'S HILL.

CPL W.M. JOLUIS, RADIOLOGIST AT WORK AT 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION. HE IS X-RAYING THE WOUNDED KNEE OF V64795 PRIVATE J. P. SPORN, 7TH BATTALION AMF WHO WAS WOUNDED AT WEARNE'S HILL.
PTE B.M. HARKIN, MEDICAL ORDERLY, 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION (1), DRESSING THE WOUND OF PTE A.J. BASSETT, 8 INFANTRY BATTALION (2).

PTE B.M. HARKIN, MEDICAL ORDERLY, 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION (1), DRESSING THE WOUND OF PTE A.J. BASSETT, 8 INFANTRY BATTALION (2).
A GROUP OF SISTERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY NURSING SERVICE, 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION. IDENTIFIED PERSONNEL ARE:- SISTER G. PARKINSON (1); SISTER G. THOMAS (2); SISTER D.A. NEWTON (3); SISTER E.M. FINLAYSON (4); SISTER E.M. SAUNDERS (5).

A GROUP OF SISTERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY NURSING SERVICE, 106 CASUALTY CLEARING STATION. IDENTIFIED PERSONNEL ARE:- SISTER G. PARKINSON (1); SISTER G. THOMAS (2); SISTER D.A. NEWTON (3); SISTER E.M. FINLAYSON (4); SISTER E.M. SAUNDERS (5).
Australian Second World War recruitment poster by James Northfield. The poster depicts a young Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force recruit. In the background to the right of the main figure is a montage of the various duties undertaken by the WAAAF. The aircraft depicted are Bristol Beauforts on the ground and possibly the same in the sky. The WAAAF was formed in March 1941 and disbanded in 1947. It was set up to release male personnel serving in Australia to serve overseas.
Tobruk War Cemetery
Buildings in Balikpapan near the opil refinery showing bomb and shell damage
Effect: Matilda Tanks destroyed by the Japanese naval guns emplaced at Mangam, Borneo

Effect: Matilda Tanks destroyed by the Japanese naval guns emplaced at Mangam, Borneo
Notes on the back of a photograph of his cycling mate, Arthur Lynch, KIA in the final stages of fighting in Singapore. He had been in the Army less than two months.
George "Sonny" Wright
Captain Roy George Baynes 1892-1948
Lord Kitchener is presented to Boer War Veterans by Colonel James Rowell. Kitchener visited Australia in 1911 as part of a far-reaching review into defence preparedness. As a result, Universal Military Service was introduced.
Order of Battle - Australian Forces Operation Exporter

RAN HMAS Perth HMAS Nizam HMAS Stuart AIF-7th Australian Division 17th Brigade' (2nd/3rd, 2nd/5th Battalions, 2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion) (Detached from 6th Division) 21st Brigade (2nd/14th, 2nd/16th, 2nd/27th Battalions) 25th Brigade (2nd/25th, 2nd/31st, 2nd/33rd Battalions) 6th Cavalry Regiment 9th Cavalry Regiment 2nd/4th Field Regiment 2nd/5th Field Regiment 2nd/6th Field Regiment 2nd/9th Field Regiment 2nd/1st Anti-Tank Regiment (1 troop) 2nd/2nd Anti-Tank Regiment 2nd/3rd Machine-Gun Battalion 2nd/5th Field Company 2nd/6th Field Company 2nd/9th Field Company RAAF No.3 Squadron (Fighters - P40 Tomahawks)
A C47, 'REW' tail number A65-48 of No. 36 Squadron over New Guinea in 1945
A C-47 transport being refuelled at No OBU Cloncurry
WAAAF Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAAAF
WW1 Service Record

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8206671
Adelaide Advertiser Article 17/11/1943

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2633766
National Archives Australia - WWI Service Record

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8015762
lawrence Plant's NAA Service Record

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8016605
The front gate of RAAF Tocumwal in 1945
Nieppe, France. 18 April 1918. A Company Headquarters of the 7th Battalion, established in an old shooting box in the Forest of Neippe, in Northern France. A week earlier on the arrival of the 1st Division at Hazebrouck from the Somme, the Germans were already commencing to penetrate the Forest of Nieppe immediately east of the town. The 7th Battalion, with some of the 1st Pioneer Battalion and a company of machine gunners, pushed through Nieppe Forest, north of La Motte Chateau, and dug in on the north-eastern edge, in touch with the British rearguards. The Australian line, when completed, ran down from Strazeele to the Wood, where it linked up with the British Guards and the 29th Division. The Germans attacked in force on the 14th, but were repulsed; they renewed the attack in the evening, but failed. They never attacked again on these positions.

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