Lest We Forget

Lost Airmen

A few weeks ago I spoke about a search being launched by the Air Force to try and locate the remains of four airmen lost in 1942. Unfortunately, I’m here today to report that no remains were found at the site, although dog tags were uncovered.

“The harsh climate and passage of time meant the prospect of locating remains was slim, but Air Force has made every effort to account for these brave airmen who gave their lives protecting Australia,” said Minister for Defence, Mr Snowdon.

“The families of the four crew members have been advised, and while no remains were found, a number of personal and military artefacts, such as dog tags, watches, pocket knives and an engraved pen were recovered and will be returned to the airmen’s relatives.”

In other news, keep your eyes on the ABC next Tuesday (28th October) for a new series about the Navy’s Clearance Divers. This will afford us a unique opportunity to see inside this world and what the life of a diver entails.

Coming home

Last week I was speaking about the search being launched for WW2 remains in Papua New Guinea. While I don’t have any news on that expedition it was heartening to learn during the week that the remains of Private David Fisher, Australia’s last missing soldier from Vietnam, are about to return home.

Private Fisher fell from beneath a RAAF helicopter in 1969 and died as a result of his fall. Buried by enemy soldiers his remains have only recently been discovered.

Lest We Forget.

Writing the stories of the fallen

In this week’s blog I’d like to talk about two bits of news that emerged during the week, the search for the remains of WW2 Airmen in Papua New Guinea and developments with recently discovered WW1 remains at Fromelles.

Plans were announced this week that a team of investigators from the Air Force would travel to Papua New Guinea to search for the remains of the crew of a Hudson Bomber that went missing in WW2. The four Air men, Flying Officer Graham Gibson, Pilot Officer Frank Thorn, Sergeant Barton Coutie and Sergeant Arthur Quail went missing in February 1942 and the wreckage of their plane was only discovered earlier this year.

Also this week, Minister for Defence Science Personnel, the Hon Warren Snowdon MP, thanked the people of Fromelles for their help in the excavation of the newly discovered war grave. Visiting the site and laying a wreath Minister Snowdon said;

“It is a humbling experience to walk these fields, knowing this is where thousands of Australians lost their lives fighting in the First World War over 90 years ago.”

“These men are Australian heroes and I know we have made the right decision in agreeing with the British to recover the remains of these soldiers, and to re-inter them in individual graves near where they have lain for so many decades.”

Although there is more work to do with both cases, it is nice to hear that these projects are moving along and we may soon be able to conduct further research into these brave men and tell their full story.

Patrick Joseph Bugden VC

On this day in 1917 Private Patrick Joseph Bugden began an action that would win him the highest military honour and also cost him his life. Popular and outgoing, Patrick enlisted in May 1916, leaving for France with the 31st Battalion in September.

Almost a year later, on September 26 1917, the battalion was involved in the battle of Polygon Wood, the 5th Division’s first major offensive since the devastation of Fromelles. However, unlike at Fromelles, the artillery barrage that the troops advanced under was described by Bean as being “the most perfect that ever protected Australian troops.”

During the battle Bugden would risk his life several times to help his fellow Diggers, his most daring act was the rescue of Alex Thomson, who was being escorted away by three German soldiers.

After the war Thomson wrote to Bugden’s family, saying:

"Just then three 'Fritzes' jumped into the shell hole on top of me giving me no chance to put up a scrap. ...A moment or so after the above had occurred the Fritz who had just saved me from being shot made a jump into the next shell hole and got shot through the stomach. I looked up to see what was happening and saw a private named Paddy Bugden charging up with a few men to my rescue ... The whole of the above episode took place under very heavy shell, rifle and machine gun fire, so you can understand the debt I owe to Paddy Bugden for his bravery in rescuing me. I am exceedingly sorry to say that Bugden got killed by a shell a couple of nights later."

Bugden would make several dashes into no-mans land under heavy shelling over the following few days, his bravery and valour winning him the Victoria Cross and, sadly, costing his life.

Patrick Joseph Bugden is buried in Hooge Crater cemetery, Zillebecke, Belgium and his VC is on display in the Queensland Museum.

Your Family's History

Last weekend I was at an auction and got to talking to another of the buyers about military history. It turned out he had a relation who had died at Gallipoli. When I asked if he had read his relatives service file online he said that he hadn't. I took his email address and upon returning home did a little research for him, bringing to light a few facts that he didn't know, a fact which brought me much joy.

I guess as someone who does this sort of research all of the time it is a familiar process for me, but I thought today I would reprint a blog post of mine from another blog which outlines how you can conduct some of your own family military research and hopefully learn a little more about your family's history.

World War I
Researching the World War I service of your relatives is now an easy process thanks to the National Archives’ digitisation of service records. Simply visit the National Archives’ NameSearch page and enter in the surname of your relative and then select World War I from the drop down menu.

This will then display how many matches the archive contains for the surname you specified. You can then browse through that list, or refine the search based on first/middle name or, better yet, service number.

Once you have found the entry for your relative simply click on ‘View Digital Copy’ and you will be able to see a full record of that person’s service (often running many pages) containing information such as where they enlisted, their physical appearance upon enlisting, where they served and with which regiments they served as well as any correspondence that was had relating to their service, during or after the war.

It is worth noting that if your relative served in both the First and Second World Wars, their Digital Copy will only contain a single page with no information aside from their name, this is because their World War I service records have been amalgamated into their World War II ones (see below).

World War II
The process for researching World War II service is the same as above, except obviously you select World War II from the drop down. However, one difference you will notice is that you are not able to ‘View Digital Copy,’ that is because these records are not publically available yet. However, through the National Archives site, you are able to request a copy of the record of your family member.

If you need more information while reading through these files, the Australian War Memorial website contains a wealth of information, including details on individual soldiers.

Rayene Stewart Simpson VC DCM

A few months ago we spoke about Australia’s first VC recipient and today I thought it was time to turn the tables and look at Australia’s most recent recipient, Rayene Stewart Simpson.

Born in Sydney in 1926, Simpson served during the Second World War (where he helped reinforce the garrison after the Cowra breakout) as well in Korea and Malaya before taking up a posting with the Special Air Service. Following this he was appointed as one of the initial advisors for the Australian Army Training Team and left for Vietnam in 1962.

During his second tour with the Training Team, Simpson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for actions when his patrol was ambushed. Although wounded, he managed to hold off the enemy while radioing for help. After this he was evacuated, ending up convalescing in Tokyo.

After a brief period out of the Army he re-enlisted and began his third tour with the Training Team. During this tour, while in command of a mobile strike force he was awarded his Victoria Cross.

His citation reads:

On 6th May 1969, Warrant Officer Simpson was serving as Commander of 232nd Mobile Strike Force Company of 5th Special Forces Group on a search and clear operation in Kontum Province, near the Laotian border. When one of his platoons became heavily engaged with the enemy, he led the remainder of his company to its assistance. Disregarding the dangers involved, he placed himself at the front of his troops, thus becoming a focal point of enemy fire, and personally led the assault on the left flank of the enemy position. As the company moved forward, an Australian Warrant Officer commanding one of the platoons was seriously wounded and the assault began to falter. Warrant Officer Simpson, at great personal risk and under heavy enemy fire, moved across open ground, reached the wounded Warrant Officer and carried him to a position of safety. He then returned to his company where, with complete disregard for his safety, he crawled forward to within ten metres of the enemy and threw grenades into their positions. As darkness fell, and being unable to break into the enemy position, Warrant Officer Simpson ordered his company to withdraw. He then threw smoke grenades and, carrying a wounded platoon leader, covered the withdrawal of his company together with five indigenous soldiers. His leadership and personal bravery in this action were outstanding.

On 11th May 1969, in the same operation, Warrant Officer Simpson's Battalion Commander was killed and an Australian Warrant Officer and several indigenous soldiers were wounded. In addition, one other Australian Warrant Officer who had been separated from the majority of his troops was contained in the area by enemy fire. Warrant Officer Simpson quickly organised two platoons of indigenous soldiers and several advisors and led them to the position of contact. On reaching the position the element with Warrant Officer Simpson came under heavy fire and all but a few of the soldiers with him fell back. Disregarding his own safety, he moved forward in the face of accurate enemy machine-gun fire, in order to cover the initial evacuation of the casualties. The wounded were eventually moved out of the line of enemy fire, which all this time was directed at Warrant Officer Simpson from close range. At the risk of almost certain death he made several attempts to move further forward towards his Battalion Commander's body but on each occasion he was stopped by heavy fire. Realising the position was becoming untenable and that priority should be given to extricating other casualties as quickly as possible, Warrant Officer Simpson alone and still under enemy fire covered the withdrawal of the wounded by personally placing himself between the wounded and the enemy. From this position he fought on and by outstanding courage and valour was able to prevent the enemy advance until the wounded were removed from the immediate vicinity. Warrant Officer Simpson's gallant and individual action and his coolness under fire were exceptional and were instrumental in achieving the successful evacuation of the wounded to the helicopter evacuation pad.

Warrant Officer Simpson's repeated acts of personal bravery in this operation were an inspiration to all Vietnamese, United States and Australian soldiers who served with him. His conspicuous gallantry was in the highest tradition of the Australian Army.

Following his service he took up a position with the Australian Embassy in Tokyo where he passed away in 1978.

His medals and a portrait are on display at the Australian War Memorial.

Legacy Week

During the week, news broke that nine Australian soldiers had been wounded in a heavy fire-fight with the Taliban. This event, which was our highest injury count since the Vietnam War, has left (as of writing) three soldiers in serious condition and our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families in this time of need.

The tragedy does draw attention to another topic, which is rather timely given this week was Legacy Week and today is Legacy Badge Day. For those who don’t know, Legacy supports the widows and children of deceased servicemen and women.

Incredibly important, Legacy work tirelessly to ensure these unsung heroes get the support, care and assistance they need and deserve. So, I ask that today you go out there and buy a badge, wear it proudly and at the same time spare a thought for the soldiers recovering in hospital and all of the others currently deployed around the world.

Lest We Forget.

The Boxer Rebellion

Sadly most people’s military knowledge encompasses the First and Second World Wars, Vietnam and the modern conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you’re lucky they may be aware of Korea. However, lots of people overlook Australia’s earlier military history, especially the China War, also known as The Boxer Rebellion. While this is not a general rule it is largely as a result of this period not usually being taught at high school (at least not when I was there, which wasn’t too long ago in the grand scheme of things).

The conflict came about as a result of the Chinese people’s objection to the influx of foreign powers setting up camp in their country to facilitate trade in the lat 1800s. Not bound by Chinese law (instead being governed by their own jurisdictions) the foreign powers began to grow in influence and power. As a result of this resentment amongst the Chinese numerous resistance movements were formed and the foreign governments decided to send in troops to protect their interests and quell any uprisings.

Australia’s involvement was largely naval and support based, with our available manpower already stretched by the conflicts in South Africa. However, Australian troops did take place in two major actions; an attack on the fortress of Pao-ting Fu and attacks on forts at Pei Tang, where they fought alongside soldiers from China, Britain, India, Germany and Russia.

The conflict was short loved and Australian troops left in early 1901 with only six injured (or sick) and no casualties.

There are plenty of great books and websites out there with information on this conflict and if you don’t know more about it I encourage you to get out there and have a look, it was certainly one of the more colourful and multi-national parts of world military history.

USS John S McCain

Naval watches are well advised to keep their eyes open as the USS John S McCain visits our shores this month.

The Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer is visiting Australia as part of the centenary celebrations of The Great White Fleet, a flotilla sent around the world in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt that featured sixteen new battleships, all of them painted white.

The boat gets its name from John S McCain Snr, a direct relation to current presidential candidate John S McCain, who visited Australia in 1908 with the original fleet.

While we are on the subject of fighting boats I would like to point out two excellent books that are well worth tracking down. Fighting Ships 1750-1850 and the newly released Fighting Ships 1850-1950 by Sam Willis are wonderfully illustrated coffee table books that offer a dramatic and awe-inspiring look at the world’s naval history. Full of dramatic paintings they are sure to please naval enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in ships. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a full review.

The Hidden Danger

During the week two more Australian soldiers were wounded in action in Afghanistan. Although thankfully neither of the soldiers received life-threatening injuries, the incident re-enforced the danger our soldiers face on a daily basis from improvised explosive devices, IEDs.

Changing the face of warfare, these booby-traps are often crudely constructed, a fact which ironically contributes greatly to their effectiveness, and hidden along roads and in places with high levels of military traffic. One can only imagine the impact the mere knowledge of these devices has on soldiers. The concept of the IED alone is enough to ensure soldiers are always on edge, never sure what will happen next, a state that must quickly get physically and emotionally draining.

Unlike fighting a conventional enemy, where you are aware of their presence and can respond in kind, this must be akin to that feeling of being watched by an unseen observer, never knowing what might happen next.

Big steps are being taken to protect soldiers from IEDs but given the variety of their construction it is harder to protect against than if you were working with a known quantity like, for example, a 9mm round.

At this time our thoughts and prayers go out to the wounded soldiers and their families as well as all of the other soldiers out there, we’re all grateful for what you are doing.