By John Ellis Queen Victoria instituted the Albert Medal in 1866 to recognise those civilians who had attempted to prevent the loss of life at sea. A year later the ...
Naval Historical Review
HDML 1321 and what she represents
Java is heaven, Burma is hell but you never come back alive from New Guinea – Japanese wartime saying An eagle-eyed member of our Society drew attention to this short ...
Fifty Years under the Australian White Ensign
With the Australian White Ensign approaching its fiftieth anniversary on 1 March 2017 it is appropriate to reflect on the history of the revered ensign in its various forms with ...
Weather Signals
By Leyland Wilkinson I recently came across a guide to ‘Weather Signals at Sydney’ which was produced by the NSW Section of the Ex-Naval Men’s Association and could be purchased ...
Book Review: Bravo Zulu: Honours and Awards to Australian Naval People Volume 1: 1900-1974
By Ian Pfennigwerth. Echo Books, Geelong, 2016. Hardcover & Paperback with illustrations, maps and index, 775 pages. RRP from $65. Available through Echo Books at www.echobooks.com.auor from Ian Pfennigwerth at ...
Book review: The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945
By Peter Hennessy and James Jinks, Publishers Allen Lane, 2015, Hardcover & Paperback, 864 pages. RRP from $30. To many people the submarine is a mystery – what do they ...
First to Command!
Commander Norman Hamon Shaw OBE, RAN The first graduate of the RANC to command a warship By Commander Tony Vine, RANR Norman Shaw was born in Perth Western Australia on ...
Mine Hazards during Mine Clearance Operations by the RAN
By Mike Turner Awards for Rendering Mines Safe (RMS) operations give some indication of the hazards involved. The George Cross (GC) was awarded four times and the George Medal (GM) ...
Petty Officer Fredrick Harold Harvey and Colombian Naval Service
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. Benwell in ...
The Swimmer/Sapper Attack at Vung Tau 23 May 1969
By Hector Donohue and Jake Linton The following article describes the first swimmer/sapper attack involving CDT3 in Vietnam and is drawn mainly from the recently published book United and Undaunted ...
Petty Officer Fredrick Harold Harvey and Colombian Naval Service
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. Benwell in ...
Meet the Artist: Ian Hansen
The Naval Historical Society was recently privileged to receive a presentation by the renowned maritime artist Ian Hansen. We journeyed far and wide as Ian outlined a remarkable career and, ...
Un Sous-marin Français Construit aux Antipodes A French Submarine built in the Antipodes
By Commodore Bob Trotter OAM RAN (Rtd)1 ‘The year 1866 stood out because of a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon which doubtless has not yet been forgotten. Not ...
Submarines: The History and Future Underwater Warfare
The following article is taken from a feature first broadcast on ABC National Radio on 25 June 2016. It is reproduced with the kind permission of the author Keri Phillips ...
Letter: Hits on HMVS Cerberus
The following was recently received from Ted Bell one of our members who is also a very useful internet boffin. Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about ‘the world’s ...
Book Review: John Jess, Seeker of Justice
By Elizabeth McCarthy. Sid Harta Publishers, Melbourne, 2015. Paperback 320 pages. RRP $29.95 but discounts available. This book, published in August 2015, was written by a daughter of John Jess ...
Centenary of Shackleton’s Antarctic Rescue by the Chilean Navy
By Dr. Carlos Tromben-Corbalán, Centre for Strategic Studies, Chilean Navy Tuesday 30 August 2016 was an auspicious day in the Chilean naval calendar marking the centennial of the rescue of ...
Able Seaman William Arthur Alfred Nye (1904-1974)
As told by his son William Douglas Nye The last (June 2016) edition of this magazine contained an article relating to the life story of CPO William Henry Nye. In ...
Women in the RAN: The Conflict of Equality
By MIDN Jaycob Humphreys, RAN We have had other essays on this topic by female officers, but this perceptive discussion from a recent New Entry Officer Course student, is by ...
The Battles for Leyte Gulf: where Australian ships fought in one of the greatest battles in naval history
By David Scott David Horace Ford Scott grew up on a soldier-settler block near Holbrook, NSW but his parents were forced to walk off the property during the Depression and ...
Climate Change and ‘future wars between nation-states’?
By John W. Wells (1) This controversial article takes us out of our normal comfort zone as the author has definite views which are not necessarily shared by the Society. ...
Breaking Up is Hard to do
The title of the 1960s worldwide hit song recorded by Neil Sedaka seems appropriate to our next story concerning the disposal of warships. Living in an age of global consumerism ...
Our First Gardeners
By Norman Rivett Who were they? The first garden from which Garden Island derives its name commenced here on Monday the 7th of February 1788 when a party from HMS ...
HMAS Moreton and Brisbane Naval Depots
By George Franki The name Moreton is synonymous with naval history in southeast Queensland but to date little mention of it appears in our historical records. We trust this small ...
Letter: Searching for a photograph of CMDR J. M. Jackson, RN
The NHR dated December 2015 contained an article by Leyland Wilkinson on the remarkable sixteen years that CMDR J.M. Jackson, RN served on the Australia Station and lamented the lack ...