History Archives - Page 3 of 21

Governor of South Australia Frances Adamson, right, presents Elizabeth Buchanan with a Medal for Gallantry, which was posthumously awarded to her father, the late Pilot Officer Warren Frank Cowan, for his actions on July 22, 1942. Story by Flight Lieutenant Robert Cochran. Photos by Sergeant David Cotton.

Heroic WW2 acts awarded 82 years on

30/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 708 Views 0 Comments Medal for Gallantry, WWII

Medals of Gallantry have been awarded to members of 32 Squadron who were killed in action during World War 2.

Army Captain Blake Parbery holds his grandfather Gordon Wells' service medals, outside Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland. Story and photo by Captain Peter Nugent.

Exercise continues support of South Korea

28/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1445 Views 0 Comments 3rd Battalion RAR, Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield, Gallipoli Barracks, Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division, Kapyong, Korean War

Members of Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division travelled to South Korea in August for Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield for the next

Lieutenant Jonathan Wills visits Henricus Avenue, Colombo, once home to his mother's family and which now bears the family name. Story by Lieutenant Commander Emma Anderson. Photos by Petty Officer Bradley Darvill.

ADF People History Overseas Royal Australian Navy

A golden opportunity in Sri Lanka

28/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 941 Views 0 Comments Indo-Pacific Endeavour, Navy Reserve

A deployment to Sri Lanka was like an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? for public affairs officer

Australian military personnel gather for a dawn service at the Trincomalee Commonwealth War Cemetery in Sri Lanka. Story by Lieutenant Jonathan Wills. Photos by Leading Seaman David Cox.

History Lest We Forget News Royal Australian Navy Videos

Indo-Pacific partners share history of sacrifice

23/08/202423/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1624 Views 0 Comments Indo-Pacific Endeavour, Sri Lankan Defence Force, WWII

In the dim first light of day, a contingent of ADF personnel gathered for a dawn service on August 17

Retired Caribou aviators and 35 Squadron Association members with a restored de Havilland DHC-4 Caribou at the RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre. Story by Flight Lieutenant Rob Hodgson. Photos by Sergeant Peter Borys.

History News Royal Australian Air Force Veterans

Wallaby Airlines remembered

21/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1788 Views 2 Comments C-27J Spartan, No. 35 Squadron, RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre, Wallaby Airlines

On a cold, wet morning at RAAF Base Amberley, 35 Squadron Association members gathered to commemorate a significant event for

Madeleine King MP hands over Sergeant John Brislin’s WW2 medals to his son, Bruce Brislin, outside her office in Rockingham, WA. Story by Lieutenant Commander John . Photos Supplied.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

WW2 medals lost but not forgotten

21/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 767 Views 0 Comments WWII

“We will remember them” is more than a phrase. CAPTION: Madeleine King MP hands over Sergeant John Brislin’s WW2 medals to

The Australian War Memorial's V2 rocket on a Meillerwagen launching trailer inside the memorial's storage hub in Mitchell, ACT. Story and photo by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

History News Royal Australian Air Force

Exciting piece of history on display

16/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1474 Views 0 Comments AWM, WWII

For the first time, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) will display a Nazi missile alongside a Lancaster bomber sent to

Army soldiers from Rifle Company Butterworth rotation 144 receive an historical briefing prior to conducting the Sandakan Death March in Sandakan, Malaysia. Story by Lieutenant Chloe Reay. Photos by Corporal Nakia Chapman.

Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

Diggers retrace Sandakan Death March to pay tribute

16/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1195 Views 0 Comments Malaya and Borneo, Rifle Company Butterworth, WWII

In 1942, under Japanese occupation, Australian prisoners of war were sent to Sandakan in Borneo, Malaysia, to build an airstrip.

Privates Bianca Nankervis and Nelson Fox from Rifle Company Butterworth rotation 144 visit the Kundasang War Memorial in Ranau, Malaysia. Story and photos by Lieutenant Chloe Reay.

Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

Paying tribute to fallen family members

16/08/202424/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1131 Views 0 Comments 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, Malaya and Borneo, Rifle Company Butterworth, WWII

As part of their three-month deployment to Malaysia, soldiers from Rifle Company Butterworth (RCB) rotation 144 were given the opportunity

Three members of the Pearn family with a Navy officer at the ADF Careers Centre, Wollongong. From left, Sub-Lieutenant Rhys Pearn, Lieutenant Jordie McLeod, Recruit Breanna Pearn and Leading Seaman Vicki Pearn. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman.

ADF People History Royal Australian Navy

Three generations enlist on same date

13/08/202422/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 998 Views 0 Comments

It is common for families to follow a tradition of military service. What isn’t common is having three members of

Air surveillance operator Corporal Mikayla Dows, of 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit, monitors the air space inside the Mobile Control Reporting Centre during Exercise Pitch Black 24. Story by Flight Lieutenant Matthew Edwards. Photo by Sergeant David Gibbs.

History News Royal Australian Air Force

Bandicoot spells end for Mobile Control and Reporting Centre

02/08/202403/08/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 992 Views 0 Comments Exercise Pitch Black, No. 114MRCU

Tucked away behind dimly lit screens are the faces of air battle managers and air surveillance operators illuminated by battlespace

Second Lieutenant Cecil Healy is the only Australian Olympian to have died in combat.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Remembering Aussie Olympic Gold medalist killed in action

24/07/202430/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 989 Views 0 Comments France, WWI

Olympians Kaarle McCulloch and Michelle Ford have honoured the memory of Cecil Healy, the only Australian Olympic gold medallist to die

From left, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, Warrant Officer of the Air Force Ralph Clifton; Saskia Hobbs and Reverend Mark Perry take part in the lighting of the candle ceremony. Story and photos by Lieutenant Commander John Thompson.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Lighting a candle for fallen aviators on London trip

19/07/202430/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1389 Views 0 Comments Chief of Air Force, RAF, United Kingdom

Australia’s new Chief of Air Force has embarked on his first overseas trip, arriving in London for a series of

Captain Matthew Flinders. Story by Lieutenant Commander JA Thompson.

History News Royal Australian Navy

Captain Matthew Flinders finally returns home

19/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1289 Views 0 Comments

The ADF was on hand recently for the reburial of the Royal Navy captain who led the first circumnavigation of

Former Air Force Nursing Officer Val Lawrence, meets Warrant Officer Class One Darren Wasley at the War Veterans’ Home at Myrtle Bank in South Australia. Story by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel. Photos by Sergeant Murray Staff.

ADF People History Veterans

Nurse and rescued orphan meet 50 years on

16/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2054 Views 0 Comments Service Nurses, Vietnam War

After decades of war and with the imminent fall of Saigon in 1975, a humanitarian crisis was unfolding in South

An unexploded World War II-era Japanese bomb that was later disposed of by the ADF's North Queensland Joint Explosive Ordnance Support team after it was unearthed at the Stokes Hill Waterfront Precinct in Darwin. Image supplied.

Australian Army History News

Normal day at work ends with a bang

16/07/202421/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1073 Views 0 Comments Joint Explosive Ordnance Support (JEOS), UXO, WWII

Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) Kyle Johnson arrived at work on June 26 expecting a routine day. CAPTION: An unexploded World

Former members of 1 Commando Company, from left, National Secretary Airborne and Special Forces Association Pat Doherty, President 1 Commando Association Merv Liddell and Chairman of Operation Pilgrimage Group Allan Miles at the unveiling of the new heritage marker at the company barracks, Georges Heights, Sydney. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers.

Australian Army History News Veterans

Mission accomplished for former commandos

11/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2109 Views 0 Comments HMAS Penguin

Sixty-one years after he first walked through the gates of 1 Commando Company, Allan Miles trod the familiar path to

Warrant Officer Rodney Wallace and Squadron Leader Jamie Stirling (fourth and fifth from left) with the other 11 Squadron personnel at Owens Arch along the Kokoda Track. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Trekking for history and self

09/07/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 772 Views 0 Comments Kokoda Track, No. 11 Squadron, PNG, WWII

The Kokoda Track was always in the back of Squadron Leader Jamie Stirling’s mind during his more than 25 years

Squadron Leader Martin Copland at the end of the 155 Pilot’s Course in 1991. It was the last course to use the Macchi jet. Story by Flying Officer Wendy Pyper.

ADF People History

A career with altitude

28/06/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 568 Views 0 Comments No. 2 Expeditionary Health Squadron, RAAF Reserve

Fifty years ago, Squadron Leader Martin Copland was six years old and oblivious to the disaster about to unfold in

Air Force aviators reunite 40 years after graduation. Rear, from left: Squadron Leader Michael Spencer, Squadron Leader (retd) Geoffrey Menzies, Wing Commander (retd) Gavin Small, Flight Lieutenant (retd) Russell Lucas, Group Captain (retd) John Heinrich and (front) Wing Commander Michael Hicks. Story by Corporal Melina Young.

ADF People History

21/06/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 601 Views 0 Comments Military Reunions, RAAF East Sale

Last month, a contrast unfolded in the art of navigation. CAPTION: Air Force aviators reunite 40 years after graduation. Rear, from