May 2019 As told by his son CMDR Vic Harvey, RAN, Rtd Fredrick Harold Harvey was a proud Geordie lad, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s suburb of Benwell, on 13 August 1899. ...
Article topics
Occasional Paper 52: The RAN and the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic
May 2019 Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Issue 6 of Semaphore, the publication produced by The Sea Power Centre Australia in March 2006. We are indebted to them ...
Battle of the Coral Sea
You must be a logged-in member to view this post. If you recently purchased a membership it can take up to 5 days to be activated, as our volunteers only work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you are not a member yet or your membership just expired you can Join Now by purchasing a new membership from the shop. ...
Occasional Paper 51: The Attack Class Patrol Boat
April 2019 By Dennis J Weatherall JP TM AFAITT(L) LSM Volunteer Researcher, Naval Historical Society of Australia Patrol boats have proven to be the most flexible and versatile elements of ...
Occasional Paper 50: Royal Australian Navy’s 118th Birthday
April 2019 On 1 March 2019 a ceremony was conducted at the Royal Australian Navy Memorial, ANZAC Parade, Canberra to mark the Australian Navy’s 118th Birthday. The program of events ...
Occasional Paper 49: The Good Times and The Bad Times
April 2019 The following paper describes the experiences of a young Royal Navy conscript, Gordon Cansdale who served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1945 to 1947. Gordon describes the ...
Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth: Aircraft Carrier
You must be a logged-in member to view this post. If you recently purchased a membership it can take up to 5 days to be activated, as our volunteers only work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you are not a member yet or your membership just expired you can Join Now by purchasing a new membership from the shop. ...
Special Service Squadron ‘down under’ March to April 1924
In 1924 the Royal Navy’s Special Service Squadron visited Australia and New Zealand. Ships involved: Battlecruisers under Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Field – HMS Hood (Captain John K Im Thurn) ...
Letter: HMS Shropshire and Rex the mascot
The following email was recently received by our Research desk with a photograph of a handsome canine nattily decked out as a Leading Seaman Gunner with two Good Conduct Badges. ...
Letter: Recollection of an Admiral’s Barge
Dear Editor, I enjoyed reading Bill Burrell’s recollections of admirals’ barges (Naval Historical Review, December 2018). He errs, though, in referring to the Admiral Hudson as a barge: it’s a cabin ...
Victoria Crosses awarded to Civilians
An article in the December 2018 edition of this magazine on Victoria Crosses makes no mention of the award to civilian recipients, in particular two Mercantile Marine1officers. The following may ...
The Royal Australian Naval College’s debt to Admiral Creswell
The following article is based on an address by Robert Hyslop to the Canberra and District Historical Society which appeared in that Society’s journal of September 1986, and still relevant ...
Chinderah Bay Antiques and Museum of the Seas
The September 2018 edition of this magazine reported on the closure of the Sydney Maritime Model Museum and the disposal of its considerable content of maritime artifacts. It is therefore ...
The German Raider HSK Stier and the American Freighter SS Stephen Hopkins
Many volumes have been committed to the deadly encounter between the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German raider HSK Kormoran. Depending on which side of the fence you sit, this ...
The debt owed to the Norwegian Merchant Service and MV Herstein
What if anything what does Norway, at the far end of the northern hemisphere, have to do with the wartime security of Australia? As this story unfolds the answer is, ...
The Admiralty Islands
By David Mattiske Recent announcements that the United States will partner Papua New Guinea and Australia on an initiative to further develop a naval base on Manus Island has aroused ...
They Also Served – LCDR Frank Derek Simon RD RANR (S)
Sixteen-year-old New Zealander, Frank Derek Simon, came to Australia in 1936 to take up an apprenticeship with a local shipping company. He stayed with his aunt and uncle in Sydney ...
The Batti-Wallahs’ Society
By John McGrath The President of the Batti-Wallahs’ Society has kindly given us permission to use the following information, with some minor additions, on the history of this unusual maritime ...
The Northern Sea Route: Russian Perspectives
The following article is by Alexandra Murtazaeva, a Russian student completing part of her international studies in Sydney. She has drawn upon recent Russian language news stories on this important ...
Harry’s Café de Wheels
By Ray Vidler The story of ‘Harry’s Café de Wheels’ goes back to the Great Depression years of the 1930s. With the world on the brink of a devastating war, ...
Austal Shipbuilders
Austal is an Australian shipbuilder involved in the design, construction and support of commercial and defence vessels. From corporate headquarters at Henderson in Western Australia it manages an impressive worldwide ...
Australia Day 2019
The following address was recently given at Russ Martin Park, Moruya, on the south coast of New South Wales, by Captain Ward Hack, AM, RAN, Rtd. While it was mainly ...
AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE FRIGATE: Hunter Class FFG
You must be a logged-in member to view this post. If you recently purchased a membership it can take up to 5 days to be activated, as our volunteers only work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you are not a member yet or your membership just expired you can Join Now by purchasing a new membership from the shop. ...
Occasional Paper 48: HMAS Anzac (II) – the last ‘Battle’
March 2019 The following paper on the distinguished service of HMAS Anzac (II) was first published in the March 2011 edition of the Naval Historical Review available on the Society ...
Occasional Paper 47: HMAS ANZAC III
March 2019 HMAS ANZAC (FFH150) III Al Faw Peninsula Iraq – NGS MISSION By Dennis J Weatherall JP TM AFAITT(L) LSM Volunteer Researcher, Naval Historical Society of Australia It took ...