Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

WW1 medal set with MID - L-R 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal with MID clasp

The River Murray near Waikerie South Australia

Another Frank Hurley image of the crew of a 9.2 inch Howitzer of the 55th Siege Battery, at night in gas masks loading their gun. The soldier in the foreground is holding a long rod mop with which the chamber and bore are swabbed between rounds to eliminate any burning residue

HAMS Canberra in Sydney Harbour 1929, dressed with flags and firing a salute. Note the Supermarine Walrus seaplane, belonging to and crewed by No. 9 Squadron RAAF.

Rupert Ellsmore MC. Military Cross award.

Approximate dispositions of the Battle of Sunda Strait 1 March 1942

NX207799 Private John Ernest PARRY

KROKONG, BORNEO. 1965-05. RONALD T. CARROLL (KILLED IN ACTION 1968-08-08) AND 215627 PRIVATE NEIL BROWN, 'A' COMPANY, 3RD BATTALION, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT (3RAR). (DONOR N. BROWN)

This is a photo of troops from the 10th Battalion at Gallipoli. This is what it would have been like for Crowder.

Private Thomas MALONEY, RH#18

A Lancaster crew of No 467 Squadron, RAAF, at Bottesford, Leicestershire, preparing to set off for Berlin on the evening of 31 August 1943. They are, from left: Flight Sergeants J Scott, G. Eriksen and A Boys, Sergeant C Adair, Flight Sergeant B Jones (Captain), Flight Sergeant J Wilkinson and Sergeant E Tull, RAF, the only Englishman in the crew. This aircraft is 'M for Mother' at this time a veteran of 40 missions. It appears in two other published images, one of which was close-up of the nose art on the aircraft (AWM UK UK0463). It also appears in another image on this site, with a different crew later in 1943 by which time it had racked up 53 missions.

Distinguished COnduct Medal, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

QX10333 Corporal Athol 'Ned' Bayly. Taken in mid to late 1940 not long after enlisting and prior to overseas service.

Pat Hughes 1940

HIRST, Brian Elwood Johnston

This is an image of the letter that William sent to the camp commander, begging for his discharge.

Short ‘Empire’, VH-ABB ‘Coolangatta’ of QANTAS. Impressed by RAAF as A18-13 and allocated to 11 Squadron RAAF. It was returned to QANTAS on 13 July 1943, but crashed in Sydney Harbour on 11 October 1944.

Heilly Station Cemetery

Troops burying Japanese dead in a mass grave after the overnight fighting at SLater's Knoll.

'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.

Informal portrait of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Travers Harris KCB OBE AFC, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Bomber Command, with members of No. 460 Squadron RAAF, the original RAAF Lancaster Squadron in RAF Bomber Command, during his visit to the squadron at RAF station Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. Identified from left to right: 425080 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Jack Venning of Gympie, Queensland (later awarded DFC); 21082 Flt Sgt Thomas Lloyd Walkley of Craigieburn, Victoria; 414044 Flt Sgt Geoffrey Stewart Jordan of Sydney, NSW; 413986 Fl Sgt Wilfred Cyril Gordon of Raleigh, NSW (later awarded DFC); 414232 Fl Sgt Mervyn Edgar Hamilton of Brisbane, Queensland (killed on flying operations over the Netherlands on 15 August 1944); 420892 Pilot Officer (PO) Noel Knight of Coonabarabran, NSW (later awarded DFC); 414019 Flt Sgt Jan Goulevitch of Townsville, Queensland (later awarded DFC); 400102 Wing Commander Robert Alexander Norman DFC, Commanding Officer; 409632 Flt Sgt Samuel Whiteside of Korumburra South, Victoria (killed on flying operations over Germany on 27 January 1944); 14744 Flt Sgt Colin Stafford Francis of Summerhill, NSW (later awarded DFC); Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris KCB OBE AFC; 405909 Flt Sgt Ernest William Joseph Hurley of Ipswich, Queensland (killed on flying operations over Germany, 27 January 1944); 408559 PO Edward Hasall Anderson of Melbourne, Victoria; 412810 Flight Lieutenant James Robert Henderson of Sydney, NSW (later awarded DFC and DSO); 400577 Squadron Leader Kenneth David Baird DFC of Ballarat, Victoria; 422468 Flt Sgt John Joseph Egan (later awarded DFC) of Bankstown, NSW; and 414349 Flt Sgt William Kevin Halstead of Townsville, Queensland (killed on flying operations over the UK on 16 December 1943).

Private Leslie Robert Templeman

Two members of the 14th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Gunners Tommy Hill and Neil Cook engage Japanese aircraft during the Darwin Air Raid of 19 February 1942, with a WW1 vintage Lewis Gun, in a work by official war artist Roy Hodgkinson, first published in the WW2 Journal 'Khaki and Green' under the ID of 'B5/B7'.

Roy Hodgkinsons - war artist. Depicting an incident which happened whilst the artist was sitting on the beach at Oro Bay. Two Hudson's of the Royal Australian Air Force had taken off from Dobodura, with wounded and sick for general hospital. As soon as these planes were airbourne 14 Japanese Zeros first strafed the airship and then attacked the Hudsons, one of which shot down a Zero whilst the other was hotly chased by Zeros and eventually shot down, making a perfect belly landing on the sea. All patients were brought ashore safely with the exception of two stretcher cases who had been killed by Zero bullets. The rear gunner died from a wound in the lungs received during combat.

Commemorative_Plaque

P40 Kittyhawk A29-82 of 2 OTU in flight - similar Curtis P40 Kittyhawk aircraft were involved in fatal accidents at 2 OTU.

2 OTU Mildura WW2. A range of aircraft can be seen including the ubiquitous P40 Kittyhawk and some Vultee Vengeance dive bombers.

The graves of 9 aircrew (4 RAAF, 5 RAF) lost in the air raid on Lille 10/11 May 1944

2207 PTE Sydney South , 2nd Battalion KIA at Lone Pine

Sister M Hall, Moonee Ponds Baby Health Centre, 1950

Peggy Eveett Farmaner

Amiens Cathedral

RAAF OVERSEAS HQ, LONDON, ENGLAND. 1943-03-16. 402571 PILOT OFFICER (PO) C. R. G. GRANT DFM (LEFT) WON HIS AWARD 1942-11 FOR HIS CONSISTENT SKILL AND DETERMINATION IN NIGHT OPERATIONS OVER ENEMY TERRITORY, AND 403564 FLIGHT LIEUTENANT J. K. DOUGLAS DFC WAS CITED 1943-01 AS "A MOST DETERMINED AND SUCCESSFUL CAPTAIN OF AIRCRAFT WHOSE QUIET CONFIDENCE AND KEEN SPIRIT HAVE BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO ALL."

A group of PoW awaiting extraction by helicopter FSB Balmoral 28 May 1968

HEadstones of two Commonwealth airmen

L-R 1914/15 Star, British Empire War Medal, Victory Medal

Slouch Hat memorial adjacent to the Bullecourt church. Steve Larkins collection

A section of the 10th Bn Scout company. The fate of these men typified the high cost of the landing among the men who landed on 25 April 1915. Four died within days of the landing; Whyte, Stokes, Teesedale-Smith and Phil Robin, a former champion Norwood footballer. Wilfred Jose was killed in 1917. Of the survivors, Arthur Blackburn went on to become one of the standout citizen soldiers the nation has produced. Guy Fisher became a successful lawyer and judge. Eric Meldrum died at his own hand in 1922. John Gordon was commissioned in the Australian Flying Corps became an ace and survived the war assuming a senior RAAF role during WW2. Their story is more fully documented under their respective person pages on this site Arthur BLACKBURN; Guy FISHER; John GORDON; Wilfid JOSE; Eric MELDRUM; Philip ROBIN; Francis STOKES; Malcolm Teasdale SMITH; Thomas WHYTE .....and in an essay entitled "Flowers of the Forest" and held by the State Library of SA. http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=5127

RAF Station Waddington Lincolnshire, England. C. 1944-05. Group portrait of members of the crew of "S" for Sugar, a Lancaster aircraft of No. 467 Squadron RAAF, prior to taking off on her ninety seventh raid over enemy territory. Left to right: Captain for the first time is Pilot Officer T. N. Scholefield of Cryon, NSW Flying Officer I. Hamilton Flight Sergeant (F Sgt) R. T. Hillas F Sgt F. E. Hughes Sergeant (Sgt) R. H. Burgess F Sgt K. E. Stewart Sgt J. D. Wells

Amos Austin BALDWIN

FSGT Noel Wilkinson GADSDEN 625 Sqn RAF. Flt Sgt GADSDEN trained as an Air Gunner as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), and was posted to No. 625 Squadron RAF operating Lancaster bombers. On the night of 12/13 August 1944, Flt Sgt GADSDEN's Lancaster, serial number ME733, radio call sign CF-Z, was shot down and crashed at Hollenstein, Germany after an operational sortie over Brunswick. He was killed alongside six other crew members

Portrait of Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, KBE CB DSO, Royal Australian Air Force.

Mareeba, Qld. 1944-03-15. An Australian-built CAC Boomerang fighter aircraft coded BF-S (serial no. A46-126) nicknamed "Sinbad II" of No. 5 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron RAAF, piloted by 402769 Flight Lieutenant A. W. B. Clare of Newcastle, NSW.

A de Havilland Mosquito FB1 of No. 464 Squadron RAAF