Sabretache articles from September 2006

Sabretache archives from September 2006

2008 Biennial Conference Perth, Western Australia the count down begins.
September 1, 2006... Well, with the excellent South Australian Conference now behind us it is time to start thinking about the next conference in 2008 in Perth, WA. I know, I know, it is ages away right? Yes and no. The conference team is being assembled as we...

With Horse and Morse in Mesopotamia: the history of a unit history.
September 1, 2006... Late in 1927 there appeared an addition to the steadily growing list of Australian army unit histories of the Great War, called With Horse and Morse in Mesopotamia: The Story of Anzacs in Asia. Despite its almost playful title, the work was...

Songs of the Second World War.(Julia Howe's works)
September 1, 2006... Let's start with a lady called Julia Howe who in 1861 wrote new words to a 19th century American camp meeting song; Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath...

Origins and development royal Australian Army Dental Corps.
September 1, 2006... Military medical services in some form or other have always existed in Australia. During the Boer War many troops became incapacitated due to dental disease, could not chew their food and had to be evacuated: an Army that cannot bite cannot...

A South Australian treasure: the VC to Sergeant Major John Grieve.(Victoria Cross)
September 1, 2006... 150 years ago on 29 January 1856, Queen Victoria signed a Royal Warrant instituting a new naval and military decoration for gallantry, the Victoria Cross. The new medal was for both officers and men who had served "in the presence of the enemy...

GRG 26/5/4 a remarkable photographic collection.(Australian Imperial Force )
September 1, 2006... 'GRG26/5/4' is a collection of photographs of AIF personnel of the Great War held by State Records of South Australia--the government archives. The reference translates simply as 'GRG'--Government Record Group; '26'--the index number allocated...

David Alan Fraser: 1920-2006.(Obituary)
September 1, 2006... Notice of the passing of Alan Fraser appeared in the June issue of Sabretache and it was appropriate that the same issue should carry his last article for the Journal--The Last Strike, the account of his participation in the last RAAF action...

The Shout Victoria Cross sale.(Captain Alfred John Shout )
September 1, 2006... The Victoria Cross, Military Cross and other medals awarded Captain Alfred John Shout of the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion were sold at auction by Bonhams & Goodman in Sydney on Monday, 24 July 2006. His elderly grandson was the seller. The...

Around the Water Cart.(Hugh Thompson Jr., US military helicopter pilot, Rear Admiral Sir David Scott )
September 1, 2006... Hugh Thompson Jnr, a former US military helicopter pilot, had died, aged 62. On 16 March 1968, Thompson and his crew came upon US troops killing civilians at the village of My Lai in Vietnam. He put his helicopter down between the soldiers and...

Peter Nolan. Possums and Bird Dogs: Australian Army Aviation's 161 Reconnaissance Flight in South Vietnam.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Peter Nolan. Possums and bird dogs: Australian Army Aviation's 161 Reconnaissance Flight in South Vietnam, Allen & Unwin Australia, ISBN: 9781741146356, paperback, 272 p., illustrations, $35.00 Peter Nolan who served as a RAAF technicians...

Peter Dornan. The Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Peter Dornan. The Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein, Allen & Unwin, ISBN: 9781741149890, paperback, 248 p., $26.95 Peter Dornan tells the story of the Battle of El Alamein through the eyes of Herb Ashby of the...

Garrie Hutchinson. Pilgrimage: A traveller's Guide to Australian Battlefields.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Garrie Hutchinson. Pilgrimage: A traveller's guide to Australian battlefields, Black Inc, ISBN: 1863953876, www.blackincbooks.com, $44.95. A comprehensive and accessible guide to Australian battlefields, past and present. In a time when...

Robert Macklin. Jacka VC: Australian Hero.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Robert Macklin. Jacka VC: Australian hero, Allen & Unwin, ISBN: 9781741148305, paperback, $29.95 The remarkable life story of Albert Jacka--a tree Australian war hero--the first Australian to be awarded a VC at Gallipoli who later became...

Anthony Beever. Battle for Spain.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Anthony Beever. Battle for Spain, & Nicolson, 7 July 2006, $49.95 Weidenfeld Drawing on masses of newly discovered archive material from Spain, Russia and Germany, Anthony Beever presents a substantially re-written history that will stand...

Kristen Alexander. Clive Caldwell Air Ace.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Kristen Alexander. Clive Caldwell Air Ace, Crows Nest, Allen and Unwin, 2006. paperbound, vi +298 pages, maps, photographs, index. Kristen Alexander has written a fine biography of Clive Caldwell, who was Australia's leading fighter ace of...

Peter Edgar. To Fillers-Bretonneux: With Brigadier-General William Glasgow, DSO, and the 13th Australian Infantry Brigade.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Peter Edgar. To Fillers-Bretonneux: With Brigadier-General William Glasgow, DSO, and the 13th Australian Infantry Brigade, Australian Military History Publications and the Army History Unit, Loftus NSW, 2006, ISBN 1876439467, hardcover and dust...

Oceans of Love: Narrelle--An Australian Nurse in World War I.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Oceans of Love. Narrelle--An Australian Nurse in World War I. ABC Books July 2006 Card covers 272 pp, illustrated. RRP $29.95 Before discuss I book I really enjoyed, I will get this out of my system. Design and feel are all very well when...

The Diamond Dakota Mystery.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... The Diamond Dakota Mystery. Allen & Unwin August 2006 Card covers 222 pp., illustrated. RRP $26.95 ... one of the most curious episodes in Australian history--the shooting down of a plane on the remote north coast of Western ...

Ian D Skennerton. .30 Browning Model 1919A4 Machine Gun: Parts Identification Lists, .30 13a3 and 13a4 Notes, Exploded Parts Drawings, Armourers Instructions, Accessories and Ancillaries.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Ian D Skennerton. .30 Browning model 1919A4 machine gun: parts identification lists, .30 13a3 & 13a4 notes, exploded parts drawings, armourers instructions, accessories & ancillaries, Ian Skennerton (http://www.skennerton.com/) ISBN...

Alejandro M. de Quesada. Uniforms of the German Soldier: An Illustrated History from World War II to the Present Day.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Alejandro M. de Quesada. Uniforms of the German soldier: An illustrated history from World War II to the present day, Greenhill Books, London, 2006, (www.greenhillbooks.com), ISBN 1-85367-679-9, hardcover with dust jacket, 224 pp, hundreds of...

Tom Davis & John Bodsworwth (editors). Small Arms Training 1937.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Tom Davis & John Bodsworwth (editors). Small Arms Training 1937, John Bodswsorth, UK, 2004, ISBN 0-9545152-0-X, paperback, 64 A4 pages, numerous b & w illustrations. Available from Arms & Militaria Press, PO Box 80. Labrador 4215. Ph (07) 5594...

John Walter. Guns of the Elite Forces.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... John Walter. Guns of the Elite Forces, Greenhill Books, London (www.greenhillbooks.com) and Stackpole Books, Pennsylvania, 2005, ISBN 1-85367-637-3, hard cover with dust jacket, 280 pp, 50-plus b&w photographs, 16 x 24 cm, UK19.99 [pounds...

John Drogo Montagu. Greek and Roman Warfare: Battles, Tactics and Trickery.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... John Drogo Montagu. Greek and Roman warfare: battles, tactics and trickery, Greenhill Books, London, 2006. ISBN 1-85367-685-3, hard cover with dust jacket, 256 pp, 18 diagrams, 16 x 24 cm, UK25.00 [pounds sterling]. In researching this...

Jeff Hatwell. No Ordinary Determination: The Story of Percy Black and Harry Murray of the 1st AIF.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Jeff Hatwell. No ordinary determination: The story of Percy Black &Harry Murray of the 1st AIF, F.A.C.P, 2005, ISBN 1920731415, paperback, 368 pages, $29.95 The genesis of this book goes back 25 years or more when the author, who served as...

Tim Jones. SAS Zero Hour: The Secret Origins of the Special Air Service.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Tim Jones. SAS zero hour: The secret origins of the Special Air Service, Greenhill Books, London, 2006, ISBN 1-85367-669-1, hard cover, dust jacket, 239 pp, 38 b&w photographs, 16 x 24 cm, UK25.00 [pounds sterling]. Britain's most famous...

Gwen Watkins. Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes: The Secrets of Bletchley Park.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Gwen Watkins. Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes: The Secrets of Bletchley Park, Green_hill Books, London, 2006, ISBN 1-85367-687-X, hard cover with dust jacket, 232 pages, 13 b&w photos plus one plan of Bletchley Park, 13 cm x 19 cm. UK15.99 [pounds...