Nashos
Australian National Servicemen
Category Article
A TALE OF 5 MARRIED COUPLES IN WEWAK
by John Humphrey After 5 years of deferment, I was in the January, 1970 intake of National Service. We started with 3 months at Puckapunyal, which every guy here can relate to. As part of the interviews that we had…
NINGERUM on the OK TEDI
by 2Lt John Stringfellow In June 1967 Delta Company of the 1st Battalion of the Pacific Islands Regiment, under the command of Major Colin Adamson, flew to Ningerum to conduct military training and to win the hearts and minds of…
Kerema to Wau via the Bulldog Track, Nov/Dec 1967
by 2Lt John Stringfellow I was instructed by my company commander, Major Greg Warland, to take my 11th platoon of D Coy, 1st Pacific Islands Regiment from Kerema on the south coast of Papua to Wau in New Guinea via…
Chalkies’ History Research Update – Feb 2016
by Darryl Dymock, Taurama Barracks 1969-70 It’s been quite a task pulling together the responses to the 2015 Chalkies’ survey, mainly because there was such a great response: 73 in total – and they all (thankfully) had a lot to…
Memorial plaque for Sgt. Donnan on Mt. Wilhelm
Clicking on a photo will display a full sized image of the photo in a new window. Photographs and news clippings courtesy of Sgt. Jim (Bill) Semple This page, dedicated to the memory of Sgt. Donnan, highlights in photos the…
Two experiences of Recruit Training
by WO2 Dan Winkel ENLISTMENT IN THE RAAEC (The Australian Regular Army) I became aware of the RAAEC during my 3 months NS Training. Three years later almost to the day, I found myself in the Office of Capt. George…
Didiman Karkaruk
Didiman Karkaruk * by Sgt. Peter Schroder (1968-69) *Agricultural Officer for chooks, poultry, chickens I started my National Service in January 1968 after completing an Agricultural Science degree at the University of Adelaide. I did my recruit training at Puckapunyal.…
The Great Debate: Conscription and National Service in Australia 1912-1972
by Terry Edwinsmith Registrants to this conference which was held at the Camberwell RSL, Victoria, on 30th May 2015 were welcomed by Colonel Marcus Fielding (Rtd) in his role as Conference Chair and President of the Military History & Heritage…
History of Conscription – A personal perspective
by WO2 Dan Winkel Very few people in Australia are aware the plan for the Australian Defence Forces as put forward by Lord Kitchener to the Federal Parliament in 1908 envisaged the Australian Military Forces as consisting of two elements.…
Ian Hodder’s Experience
As a graduate of Ballarat Primary Teachers College in Dec 1964 I was “lucky” to be balloted into the 1st Nasho intake of 1965 but was deferred for one year. The army with its usual efficiency managed to delay my…
Presentations from the Brisbane Reunion, Oct 14
The major theme for the annual Brisbane reunion for 2014 was focussed on the experiences from Moem Barracks in Wewak. As a result, the majority of presentations were personal experiences of National Service RAAEC sergeants who spent their time in…
Conscript flies to Vietnam, 47 years late!
by Terry Edwinsmith During the latter half of July and early August 2014, my wife and I were fortunate to travel on a river cruise along the Mekong River which flowed through Vietnam and Cambodia. Our plane from Singapore arrived…
Dan’s TPNG Adventure Tours
by WO2 Dan Winkel (1966-69) Here is a little story of the Charter Flights I organized in TPNG from late 1966 onwards. I was involved in organizing and supervising as many as thirty, one day and weekend excursions to various…
An Immoral Youth Group
by John Ford (1969-70) In 1968/69 and 1969/70 the senior officer of the Education Corp at Taurama Barracks was Captain Wolfgang Flayden. The 1968/69 Chalkies had a troublesome relationship with Capt Flayden whom they referred to as “The Wolf”. Our…
A ‘Chalkie’ Adventure in the Western Highlands
MEETING WITH THE HEWA PEOPLE The Hewa people are an ethno-linguist group living in the remote north-western corner of the Southern Highlands near the junction of the Strickland and Laigaip rivers. Strickland River Valley and the valley of the Hewa…
My story including Goldie River
by John Teggelove 1966-67 Goldie Headquarters building, 2014 (Photo Greg Ivey) My marble came out for the first National Service intake in July 1965 but the call-up was deferred, to enable me to complete my first teaching year, so I…
Agriculture in 2PIR
This article was originally published in the August 1971 RAAEC Newsletter and was found amongst Sgt. Graham Leader’s memorabilia. Graham served in 1970-71 at Taurama Barracks. Sgt. Robert Scott served at Moem Barracks as an Education Instructor in the RAAEC.…
Extract from the RAAEC Newsletter, August 1971
The August 1971 RAAEC Newsletter was found amongst Sgt. Graham Leader’s memorabilia. Graham served in 1970-71 at Taurama Barracks. Only the pages relating to the PNG Command have been published. When reading the newsletter, Sgt. Bill Larsen, who served at…
The Role of Igam Barracks at Lae, Papua New Guinea
by Ron Inglis 1971 ‘Chalkie’ at Moem and Igam Barracks, Ron Inglis, attended the opening of the Pacific Islands Regiment (PIR) Exhibition held at the Australian Army Infantry Museum, Singleton, on October 1, 2013. It was an opportunity to gather…
Program of the Official Opening of Igam Barracks
Courtesy of Peter Darmody Igam Barracks, situated near Lae on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, was one of the places that Chalkies were sent between the years 1966 and 1972. Igam was opened in 1968 by Phillip Lynch,…
Footy jumper mystery at Moem Barracks
by Greg Smith, Moem Barracks 1969-70 Any ex-student of Melbourne High School (MHS) would easily recognize the School’s maroon-coloured footy jumper with the school’s motif, the head of a unicorn, on the left breast. It was therefore quite surprising in…
A Snapshot of the Life of a National Serviceman in Pre-independence PNG
by Ted Middleton I was in my third year of training as a Telecommunications Technician when I learnt that I had won the National Service lottery. Like most young men who were conscripted and were still studying, I deferred until…
Reflections on ANZAC Day at the Western Front
by Rod Cassidy (2PIR Moem Barracks, Wewak, 1970-1971) It was cold up there. The Waterloo Battlefield stretched out before me away to the west. Half way up the climb to the top of the Lion Monument, I was overtaken by…
Events leading to a Rededication of Graves at Taurama Barracks Cemetery. 25/9/2013
by Terry Edwinsmith Some of the strangest stories are fact rather than fiction. This story, I believe falls into this category. Several years ago, I wrote an article for Keith Jackson’s PNG Attitude (as it was then known) about National…
Nasho Gone Bad
“NASHO GONE BAD” – from Conscript to Professional Soldier, and beyond! by Murray Gough (1970-75 and beyond) How could a keen and energetic young teacher in NSW become conscripted for service into the Army, and why would he “sign-on” to…
The Last (PNG) National Service Chalkie Sergeant?
by Martin Forbes (1972-74) I entered National Service (NS) at Kapooka in Jan72, was selected to go to PNG and didn’t leave until Dec74. I was also the sole didiman of the group so it was destination Moem Barracks at…
The Origins of the RAAEC
by Lt. Col. Roger Jones (retd.) End of the First World War In winter 1917/18, the Canadian Army established its ‘Khaki College’ at Witley Camp in the UK to run classes and lectures of a vocational and rehabilitation nature. It…
Ten Year Anniversary of the Chalkies Group
by Ian Ogston The Chalkies Group came together officially on the 25th October, 2003. On this occasion, a group of ten Queensland Chalkies met for the first time at the Long Tan Room at the Kedron-Wavell RSL. The purpose of…
Services General Certificate of Education
Tony Marshall writes: I was conscripted into the Australian Army on the 1 As a clerk in the Medical Corps, I served with 1 Det.Med and Dent PNG. The exact dates of arrival and departure in Port Moresby are details…