Australian National Servicemen
Contributions from Sgts. Terry Edwinsmith and Ron Inglis Background Story As part of the 50th anniversary of the University of Queensland’s Alumni Association, Terry Edwinsmith wrote an article on the National Service Vocational Training Scheme of which many National Servicemen…
John was born on 23 June 1947 in country Wauchope, NSW. He was just over 2 and his sister Margaret 13 when their mother was killed outside Wauchope in 1949. His father re-married and John socialised with local school mates…
This page consists of two articles extracted from other publications. The first is an extract from the `G Time (a newsletter of the tour guides of the Melbourne Cricket Grounds written by an ex-chalkie Sgt. Geoff Piper. The second is…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 * 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.…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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” – 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…
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…