Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Archibald Voller Lindsay was born on the 20th February 1885 at Toowoomba QLD.  He was the eldest of 7 children born to his parents James and Caroline Lindsay.  He had 2 brothers and 4 sisters.  He was educated at Buderim Mountain State School.  Upon completing his schooling he worked on the family farm at Buderim QLD where his father grew cane and was the first person to grow bananas in the area.    

On the 28th June 1910 Arch married Florence Sawrey at Buderim QLD.  They had 14 children...11 sons and 3 daughters.  At some point the family moved to Morayfield where Arch worked his own fruit farm. 

Arch was the delegate for Murrumba at the 8th Triennial Sate Convention of the ALP at Rockhampton QLD in February 1916 and in February 1924 became a Justice of the Peace.

When the second world war broke out farmers were exempt from enlisting because it was considered an essential service.  However, like many in the same position, Arch wanted to do his bit for the war effort so on the 27th April 1942 aged 57, he enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC).  His rank was Private, his service number Q201161 and he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion VDC (QLD). 

The VDC was an Australian part-time volunteer military force of World War II.  It was formed under the auspices of the Returned Services League in July 1940 and initially composed of ex-servicemen who had served in World War I.  The role of the VDC took some time to be recognised as an integral part of the Australian military forces.  It was responsible for its own administration and training but for operational matters it fell under the control of the Officer Commanding the Line of Communications Area to which it belonged.  At each command level, down to the Battalion, the VDC contained a handful of full-time staff to manage administration and training.  Most volunteers worked on a part-time basis, reporting for duty for about 6 hours a week.  Training was carried out with the assistance of instructors of the 2nd AIF and the Militia forces.  From April 1941 the VDC was officially recognised by the Military Board, and its role and structure had to be redefined.

The government took over control of the VDC in May 1941 and gave the organisation the role of training for guerrilla warfare, collecting local intelligence and providing static defence of each unit's home area.  Static defence is any immobile object that provides defensive combat capabilities, most commonly referring to buildings.

The government expanded the VDC in February 1942 making membership open to men aged between 18 and 60, including those working in reserved occupations.  As a result, by 1944 there were nearly 100,000 men in the VDC.  They were organized into 111 battalions consisting of about 1,500 full-time personnel, over 30,000 part-time active members and over 43,000 part-time reserve members.  As the perceived threat to Australia declined, the role of the VDC changed to manning search-lights, anti-aircraft artillery and coastal defences, releasing 6,000-7,000 regular army troops for the front line.

By August 1940 the VDC in Queensland had 18 battalions formed across the state and a Corps HQ was set up in October 1940.  Primarily, the VDC was Australian units with Heavy Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns, Light AA guns and searchlights responsible for the defence of Brisbane.  The Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) guns were in fixed emplacements while the Light AA guns and searchlights were mobile and could be quickly relocated with the aid of army trucks.  The Heavy AA Batteries were emplaced in six Brisbane suburbs and armed with Australian-manufactured 3.7 inch guns.  The siting of the AA guns was designed to protect Brisbane’s port facilities and the US New Farm submarine base and to cover the Eagle Farm and Archerfield airfields.  The 6 batteries were located at Hendra, Pinkenba, Herston, Morningside, Hemmant and Lytton. 

In December 1941 the Corps in Queensland numbered 9,347 members.  Early in that month full-time personnel were appointed to assist with training and administration.  Recognising the rapid advance of Japanese forces posed a serious threat to the country, the Commonwealth Military Forces absorbed the VDC intact in February 1942.  About 800 VDC members in Queensland were enlisted on fulltime duties at the same time to provide guards on bridges, aerodromes, other infrastructure and to begin demolition preparations in case of Japanese invasion.  Within a few months recruiting for the VDC had peaked at 17,249 volunteers in Queensland comprising 22 Battalions and the 23rd Regiment, a special northern mounted unit.

In April 1943 the VDC came under the command of First Australian Army although it remained under the Queensland Lines of Communication Area for administration.  All AA batteries were connected by telephone cable to the Brisbane Central Command Post located with General MacArthur’s Headquarters in the AMP Building at 229 Queen Street.  The operational roles for the part-time VDC in an emergency were manning if AA defences, preparation and execution of demolitions, local defensive tasks of vulnerable points...beach and coast defences and guerilla action.

In June 1943 the Troops of "C" and "D" Companies of the 2nd VDC Battalion (2 VDC Bn) and "D" Company of the 1st VDC Battalion (1 VDC Bn)commenced trai ning to take over operation of the HAA guns from the regular Army troops. 

A Heavy AA battery comprised four 3.7 inch guns spaced from 90 to 100 feet apart.  Each battery had its own central concrete command post.  This post included separate concrete pits to house a predictor and a height finder.  Each of the four guns had to be within view of the predictor which itself could not be placed either 10 feet below or above any of the guns.  The interior of the gun emplacements were lined with steel mesh or scabbing plates designed to contain any flying concrete splinters that were blown off during an air raid from injuring the gun crews.  Some of the batteries had enough open space to fit sleeping quarters near the emplacements for the gun crews.  The 6th, 38th and 2/5th Heavy AA batteries, the components of the 2/2nd HAA Regiment (AIF), manned the guns. 

On the 31st January 1944 Arch was transferred to the 38th Australian Heavy Anti-Aircraft (AA) Battery who were responsible for covering the area of

Ascot/Nundah/Redcliffe.  The 1st Battalion “D” Company manned the battery at Victoria Park (Gun site 386) while the 4th Battalion manned the 3 batteries at Balmoral (Gun site 387) “A” Company, Hemmant (Gun site 390) “B” Company and Lytton (Gun site 385) “D” Company.  Arch served with the 2nd Battalion, with “C” Company being responsible for manning the battery at Hendra (Gun site 389) and “D” Company for the battery at Pinkenba (Gun site 388).  His service record doesn’t record which one of these “Companies” he was with. 

The 389th battery at Hendra was located at the Bannister Park Baseball Fields on the corner of Gerler Road and McIntyre Street.  The 388th battery at Pinkenba was located on Main Myrtletown Road. 

Between the 2nd and the 27th February 1944 the 388th and 389th Troops attended the batteries at Hendra and Pinkenba on 15 separate occasions for training.  Both Troops attended a practice shoot with live shells at Burleigh Range on the 2nd April 1944.  Training and manning of the guns at all batteries by the VDC continued until December 1944.

On Sunday 3rd December 1944 at Victoria Park in Brisbane, Governor Sir Leslie Wilson took the salute at the final parade for the Volunteer Defence Corps which was put on the reserve list from 1st January 1945.  The Governor said...

"The Volunteer Defence Corps had done a great job, how great very few people realised.  You have done a great deal of work in connection with coastal defence, ack-ack, searching for missing planes and the instruction of the A.I.F.  Perhaps the greatest value of the VDC and its work, was the effect on civilian morale.  In the north the corps did a great deal to encourage those people to whom the threat was great and who were left with very little defence."

The following day Arch was transferred back to the 2nd Battalion VDC and went on the reserve list on 1st January 1945.  He was discharged on the 21st October 1945. 

Arch’s son David enlisted as a Private on the same day as Arch and was also assigned to the 2nd Battalion VDC (QLD).  His service number was Q201161.  He served with Arch at the 38 HAA Battery at Victoria Park then transferred back to the 2nd Battalion VDC (QLD) before going on the reserve list and was discharged on the same day as Arch. 

Arch died on the 20th October 1965 at Redcliffe QLD aged 80.

A memorial commemorating those who served in the Volunteer Defence Corps during WW2 was dedicated on 28th June 1995 and is found at Mallee Memorial Park, Esperance Highway, Coolgardie WA. 

After the war, the VDC Association released 2 badges in honour of those who served in the Volunteer Defence Corps during WW2. 

Archibald Voller Lindsay was awarded for service in WW2 the Australia Service Medal.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 5th May 2022

Sources

https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=211

https://www.ozatwar.com/bunkers/38aabty.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Defence_Corps_(Australia)

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/ww2/vol-def-corps.htm