Ray Parkin’s Odyssey by Pattie Wright. Published by Pan Macmillan Australia, Sydney, 2012. Hardback of 672 pages with over 100 excellent paintings and sketches, rrp $49.99. The story of the ...
Book Review: Ray Parkin’s Odyssey
The Sussex Trophy
By Harry Anderson HMS Sussex was a fine example of Royal Naval ships of her era. She was a London class heavy cruiser of 9,830 tons fitted with eight 8 ...
From Time to Time
By LCDR Tony Maskell, RAN (Rtd) The necessity of being able to pinpoint a ship’s position on the globe was becoming a very real problem in the 18th century. British ...
They Also Served: Supply Commander Eric Kingsford-Smith
By Greg Swinden The original version of this article was first published in the Supply Newsletter and has been reproduced with minor amendment. Also included is a copy of a ...
The Kerr ‘Sydney-Emden’ Medal
By Paddy O’Brien On 9 November 1914 the RAN cruiser HMAS Sydney engaged and destroyed the German light cruiser and commerce raider SMS Emden. This one and a half hour ...
Nauru – the Pleasant Isle
By Walter Burroughs In the December 2012 edition of this magazine there appeared an article on the Cocos and Christmas Islands. This theme is continued with a discussion on Nauru ...
Sydney Sharp-Shooter and the Zero
By David Mattiske This wreckage of a Japanese Reisen (Zero) B11-124 Cn 5349 was that of an aircraft flown by Sgt Pilot Hajime Toyoshima during the first Japanese bombing raid ...
Memories of a Garden Island Patternmaker
By Ian Thomson The author provides us with a delightful vignette of life as a dockyard apprentice. We should also remember that workers at Garden Island Dockyard were employed by ...
A Paymaster and a Master of Ship Recognition
Paymaster LCDR Eric Charles Talbot-Booth, RD, RNR wrote extensively on warship and merchant ship identification and recognition. Not only did he edit many published works, but he was a skilled ...
Gallipoli and Other Stories, by Uncle Bill
William Kinnersley was born in Wales on 20 September 1896 and died aged 95 on 17 May 1992 at Collaroy, NSW. After Royal Naval service during the First World ...
Bomb Disposal with Victor (Vic) Turner
By Leyland Wilkinson Victor Turner, who on account of his winning ways and fiery temperament, was always known as Paddy, was born to a WW I soldier settler family who farmed ...
The Campaign against the German Pacific Colonies and Australia’s Antecedent Imperial Strategy (1909–1914)
By Midshipman Michael Carpenter, RAN. Midshipman Michael Carpenter was born and raised in Adelaide, completing his secondary studies in 2007. Michael studied commerce at the University of South Australia in ...
HMAS Perth: Night Bombing at Alex
May 1st [1941] was celebrated in great style with the greatest display of fireworks I’ve yet seen. We arrived safely in Alex at 0730 and tied up at the fairway ...
HMAS Perth: Battle of Matapan
HMAS Perth: Malta – Hell in Grand Harbour
HMAS Perth: 1941-Norris’ reflections
I pray we never have to face again all we went through in those savage seven months. “Malta” – the realisation of what we were up against – just previous ...
HMAS Perth: Athens – A Joy Forever
HMAS Perth: Bombardment of Tripoli
Saturday [19 April 1941] quiet. Sunday we rendezvoused according to plan. Beautiful weather and they gave the ships company roast turkey and trifle for dinner. During the forenoon a Fulmar ...
Letter: HMS Pickle
Trafalgar in a Pickle Some sharp eyed readers have queried the flags worn by HMS Pickle which featured on the cover of the September edition of this magazine. She displays ...
Book Review: Vietnam The Complete Story of the Australian War
Vietnam: The Complete Story of the Australian War. By Bruce Davies with Gary McKay. Published by Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2012. Hardback, 690 pages with photographs. rrp $55. ‘You ...
They Also Served – Arthur Irwin Chapman, 11 January 1916 – 21 August 2012
By Jo Morrice Commander A.I. Chapman RAN (Rtd) died recently at the age of 96. This is the story of a remarkable and redoubtable man who was affectionately known to ...
Royal Naval Engineering College Manadon’s Centenary
By Ron Robb Most engineering officers serving in the RAN have at some time or other studied in HMS Thunderer, the Royal Naval Engineering College at Plymouth in England. Ex-students ...
Azimuth Thruster Propulsion Systems
By Warrant Officer Hugh Johnson One of the enduring features of naval engineering is a desire for reliability, which may lead to conservatism. In some respects warship design has changed ...
Cocos and Christmas Islands
These small isles to our north represent a microcosm of historical events taking place on a larger world stage. They encompass early exploration, colonial rule, resource booms, communications technology, and ...
District Officers Boats
By Leyland Wilkinson Leyland Wilkinson is a member of the NHS and was the former head of the trade school for apprentice training at the Garden Island Dockyard Training School, ...