Summary 19-NOVEMBER-1941, While serving in the Royal Australian Navy as a submarine detector, Able Seamen Thomas Welsby Clark served aboard the Light Cruiser HMAS Sydney II in the Second World War, when the Sydney was sunk by the German commerce raider HSK Kormoran with the loss of all hands. three months later, the unidentified remains … Read More “The (Formerly) Unknown Australian Sailor AB Thomas Welsby Clark” »
Summary 18-AUGUST-1917. While serving in the Serbian Army as an Ambulance Driver, Sgt Olive May Kelso King, regularly exposed herself to danger and enemy fire while carrying out her duties to help deliver supplies and retrieve wounded in the dangerous Salonika Front in an ambulance nicknamed Ella, that she purchased herself for the cause. For … Read More “A Pioneer and her Ella-fant: Sgt Olive May Kelso King” »
Summary 8-JANUARY-1952. While serving in the Royal Australian Navy as a gunnery officer, Commander Warwick Seymour Bracegirdle served with distinction aboard several warships of the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Navy, in both the Second World War and the Korean War, being one of only a handful of officers to receive the prestigious Distinguished Service … Read More “A Lifetime at Sea: CMDR Warwick Seymour Bracegirdle DSC and two bars” »
Summary 17-AUGUST-1915, while serving as a signaller with C Company, 16th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Signaller Ellis Luciano Silas worked diligently at his telegraph set, until he fell ill with what we would now call PTSD. but what he is more famously known for is the detailed and elaborate sketches and artworks he created … Read More “The Gallipoli Painter Sig Ellis Luciano Silas” »
Summary 11-NOVEMBER-1993 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the end of the First World War, Australia would go on to entomb an Unknown Soldier from the battlefield of France in the Hall of Memory of the Australian War Memorial. For show notes, photos and transcripts visit www.thedocnetwork.net and follow the show on Instagram @IWODMJ to … Read More “The Unknown Australian Soldier” »
Summary 8-March-1918, While serving as a Chaplain with the 1 Australian Headquarters, Australian Imperial Force, Reverent Senio Chaplain Walter Ernest Dexter, was one of the original 12 chaplains assigned to the Australian Imperial Force and served with distinction throughout Australia’s involvement on Gallipoli and the Western Front, going down in history as the most decorated … Read More “The Sermon of the Pinching Padre: Reverend Senior Chaplain (Lt Col) Walter Ernest Dexter DSO, MC, DCM, MID” »
Summary 8-AUGUST-1918. On the 8th August 1918, the British Fourth Army under General Rawlinson launched a major attack with French and American units in support agaisnt German positions to the east of the strategic Railway junction of Amiens in the Picardie region of Northern France in an attack known as the Third Battle of Picardy. … Read More “The 17 Men of Amiens” »
Summary This Episode was Re-recorded 25-08-2022 10-OCTOBER-1941. While Serving with No. 3 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer Peter St George Bruce Turnbull, in North Africa became one of the first Australian Fighter Aces of the Second World War, with downing eight enemy aircraft, an act that would award him the Distinguished … Read More “The Fallen Fighter Ace: SQNLDR Peter St George Bruce Turnbull DFC” »
Summary 20-DECEMBER-1915. While serving with the 7th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Private William Charles Scurry, landed at Gallipoli and immediately set out to address a glaring issue with the rumours of the evacuation of ANZAC forces, just how was the 60,000 Australian and New Zealand troops going to get off the beaches without being … Read More “The Man Behind the Drip Rifle: Capt WIlliam Charles Scurry MC DCM MID” »
Summary 7-SEPTEMBER-1901. While serving with the Bushveldt Carbineers, a British Irregular Mounted Unit, during the Second Anglo-Boer War, Lt Harry Harbord Morant, better known as “Breaker Morant” allegedly ordered the execution of eight Boer Prisoners of War, along with a number of Dutch civilians, and a German Missionary. For this act, Breaker Morant, is one of … Read More “The Breakers Trial: Lt Harry Harbord “Breaker” Morant Part Two” »