Most of what I know about my father’s World War II army service I’ve learnt since his death in 1999.

My father rarely spoke about his wartime experiences. Growing up, I knew very little about what he actually did during his 5½ years of military service during World War II. I was aware that he served first in Darwin, then overseas in the Middle East and New Guinea (present-day Papua New Guinea), but I knew little else.

My search for information about my father’s wartime service began about 16 years ago, when I was researching my mother’s wartime service.

In 2007 I purchased a copy of his War Service Records from the National Archives of Australia. Around the same time, I discovered war service documents my father acquired in the 1990s under Freedom of Information legislation. I also possess my grandmother’s 1941-1944 diary, the subject of A mother’s love (October 24, 2015) and the inspiration for the name of my website.

By studying these documents, I have been able to piece together most of my father’s movements and the roles he performed during the 5½ years he served in the Australian Army during World War II.  

My father was one of nearly one million Australians, both men and women, who enlisted in Australia’s defence services (Army, Navy or Air Force) during World War II. The Australian Army was by far the largest service, with a total enlistment of 726,800 personnel. [1] This figure represents a little over 10 per cent of Australia’s population at the time.

My father’s story, which follows, is my tribute to him and other men and women like him who gave up so much to enlist and engage in Australia’s defence services during World War II.

Note 1. The structure of the Australian Army during World War II can be found here on the Australian War Memorial website.  

Note 2. A list of references I used in preparing this story is found at the end of the post. Specific references are numbered and noted throughout the text by brackets: [X].

July, 1940: Enlistment

William Edwin (“Bill”) Proposch signed up for service in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2^nd AIF) at the Melbourne Town Hall on 18 June 1940. At the time he worked in the city with a firm of accountants as a clerk and trainee accountant. After work, at night, he attended lectures at The University of Melbourne. He was studying towards a degree in economics.

After undergoing a medical examination and being declared fit for duty, Bill enlisted in the 2^nd AIF on 18 July 1940. He was assigned to the 6^th Division, 23^rd Australian Infantry Brigade (Aust Inf Bgd). Prior to enlistment, Bill served for three years in the army reserve (Militia), in the 6^th Battalion City of Melbourne Regiment, as a corporal (non-commissioned officer).

At enlistment, Bill was 20 years of age (born 24 August 1919). However, he claimed he was 21 (born 24 August 1918). I assume he did this because, at 20, he needed his father’s approval to join, and he knew his father would not have approved. Unfortunately, I was never able to question my father about this, as it was after his death that I discovered he falsified his age at enlistment.

July 1940 to March 1941: Seymour and Bonegilla camps

On 24 July 1940, Bill arrived at Camp Seymour, a military training camp about 90 kilometres (km) north of Melbourne. This was his first posting, Headquarters (HQ) 23^rd Aust Inf Bgd. Pte Proposch spent three months training at Camp Seymour.

On four occasions during his army service, Bill ended up in hospital. The first occasion was during his stint at Seymour. On 23 September 1940, Pte Proposch was admitted to the 7^th Australian General Hospital, Seymour, with appendicitis, “for observation”. The symptoms gradually abated and he returned to his unit six days later.

On 23 October 1940, the army transferred Pte Proposch from HQ 23^rd Brigade to the 2/21^st Battalion (one of three infantry battalions that made up the 23^rd Brigade). Two days later, he relocated to Bonegilla, a large infantry training camp located in north-eastern Victoria, about 12 kilometres east of Wodonga (the nearest town). The camp at Bonegilla was Bill’s home for the next five months.

From the time Bill received his first posting (Seymour), his mother Elsie followed and recorded his every movement. As proof, besides my grandmother’s diary, I have the notes she made on the reverse side of a photograph Bill sent her from the Bonegilla army training camp.

The photograph shows a Union Jack with signatures of all the men in attendance at the camp in December 1940. “W.E. Proposch” is found under the heading “BHQ” (Battalion Head Quarters). Elsie’s notes (on the reverse side of the photograph) show that Bill returned home on leave before he was posted to Darwin. She wrote:

March – October 1941: Darwin

According to my father’s Defence Service Records, the 2/21^st Battalion left Bonegilla for Darwin on 24 March 1941. This deployment, to the Australian Army’s 7^th Military District (MD), and Darwin, was Bill’s first. At the time Darwin was the headquarters of the 7^th MD, which covered the entire Northern Territory. Bill arrived at Darwin on 12 April 1941.  

I’m not sure how Bill and his fellow servicemen travelled from Melbourne to Darwin. But I suspect they travelled by train from Melbourne to Adelaide, then north through South Australia as far as the railway line took them, then by road to Alice Springs and Darwin.

During the trip to Darwin, Bill fell ill, with tonsilitis. On 8 April he was admitted to the Camp Hospital at Alice Springs. This was his second hospitalisation. With appropriate treatment he recovered quickly and was discharged two days later. He rejoined his unit en route to Darwin.

Pte Proposch’s deployment to the 7^th MD, based at Darwin, lasted for six months. He was part of the army’s contingent in the Northern Territory preparing for what seemed imminent – a Japanese attack on Darwin. He worked as a Group III Clerk for most of this time. His battalion “marched out” (left) Darwin on 2 October 1941, arriving “home” at Melbourne on 10 October 1941.

On his return to Melbourne, Bill continued his training, at Darley Military Camp, about 50 km west of Melbourne.

While at Darley Camp, Pte Proposch received word of his transfer from the 2/21^st Battalion to the 2/6^th Battalion and subsequent overseas deployment. Prior to leaving for the Middle East, Bill had a couple of weeks’ leave, which he spent with his family in Melbourne.  

November 1941 to August 1942: Middle East and Ceylon

On 1 November 1941, Pte Proposch and the men of the 2/6^th Battalion reinforcements embarked at Sydney for their sea journey to the Middle East. The journey, with a brief stopover at Ceylon, took 21 days. The troops disembarked at their destination on 22 November 1941.

Dimra, Palestine

My father’s Middle East deployment was to Dimra, Palestine. Dimra was a small Arab village located about 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) northeast of Gaza, in British Palestine (as it was known at the time). The Australian Army established a number of camps in the area during World War II.  

As a child, I knew my father spent time in the Middle East. But exactly where, I did not know. I remember him telling me about his visit to the site in Bethlehem where Jesus was supposedly born. It was not at all like what he expected. Much to his disgust, he found it to be a money-making tourist hotspot. (And that was more than 80 years ago!)

After my father’s death, I found in my mother’s collection of wartime memorabilia a number of postcards my father purchased during his time in the Middle East. I also found the following photograph of an enemy flyer, typical of those dropped over Allied occupied territory in the Middle East during the Second World War. This kind of material was meant to taunt and demoralise the Allied troops.

For much of his time in Palestine, Pte Proposch was attached to the 17^th Australian Infantry Training Battalion. On 10 February 1942, he was transferred to the 2/5^th Battalion (also part of the 17^th Brigade). Eight days later, he was promoted to Lance Corporal (L/Cpl).

After four months in Palestine, L/Cpl Proposch found himself on the move again. In March 1942, the Australian Army withdrew the 2/5^th and 2/6^th Battalions from the Middle East, along with the 16^th Brigade and the rest of the 17^th Brigade. The army needed these soldiers for Australia’s defence against the Japanese in the Pacific.

However, on their way home, the troops were diverted to Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka), due to a perceived threat of Japanese invasion there.

Colombo, Ceylon

As soon as Bill disembarked at Ceylon, on 24 March 1942, he was admitted to hospital. This was his third army hospitalisation. He had fallen quite ill with pharyngitis during the sea journey. He spent several days as a patient of the 2/12^th Australian General Hospital, Colombo, before his condition improved and he was well enough to return to duty. However, he ended up staying much longer than expected. A routine eye test revealed that he required glasses, for which he was fitted before returning to his unit, on 12 April 1942.

The Australian servicemen remained in Ceylon for five months, building defences and conducting jungle training exercises at various locations on the island.

August – September 1942: Back home, briefly

In August 1942, with the threat of a Japanese invasion of Ceylon over, the troops returned to Australia. L/Cpl Proposch and his fellow servicemen disembarked the Athlone Castle at Melbourne, on 7-8 August 1942.

According to my grandmother’s diary, Bill arrived home from his overseas posting on Friday 7 August, and spent a couple of weeks on “home leave”.

At the end of the leave period, the men of the 2/5^th Battalion spent several weeks at Camp Royal Park, a large military camp located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville. The camp tended to be used as a transit camp, which was the case for L/Cpl Proposch and his colleagues. The battalion was preparing for deployment to New Guinea. A draft of reinforcements – men from New South Wales and several other states – arrived and added to the battalion’s number.

In mid-September 1942, the battalion relocated to Greta, in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Here, at Camp Greta, one of the largest military training camps in Australia at the time, the battalion continued its preparation for deployment to New Guinea. Notably, in preparation for jungle warfare, the army dyed the men’s khaki uniforms green.   

Before his battalion left for New Guinea, L/Cpl Proposch took three days’ special leave, returning to Melbourne from Greta to spend time with his brother Wesley who was seriously ill. My grandmother wrote in the “little black diary”:

October 1942 – September 1943: New Guinea

From Greta, the 2/5^th Battalion travelled to Brisbane. There, on 8 October 1942, just two months after returning from the Middle East, 800 men from the battalion embarked for New Guinea. My father was one of the men who boarded the Dutch ship Maetsuycker en route to Milne Bay.

The troops arrived at Milne Bay on 17 October 1942, and disembarked at Gili Gili, a naval loading and unloading dock in the bay. Milne Bay, on the south-eastern tip of Papua, is long and wide, and provides a large, sheltered harbour that is deep enough for big ships to enter. Milne Bay was the site of the first major battle of the war in the Pacific, the Battle of Milne Bay (25 August to 7 September 1942), in which Allied troops comprehensively defeated Japanese land forces.

By the time the 2/5^th Battalion arrived, the Allied base at Milne Bay was secure. It was being developed as a major army and air force base, with three aircraft runways, from which to launch counter attacks against the Japanese.

The men of the 2/5^th Battalion didn’t take part in any fighting until January 1943, when they assisted in the defence of Wau, Morobe Province, in the New Guinea Highlands. By early February, the Australian troops overcame the Japanese in the Wau area, ensuring the security of the area as a base for future operations.

Wau, Morobe Province

The Wau area of New Guinea is rugged and mountainous. The township of Wau is situated at an altitude of about 1,100 metres. Edie Creek is located about 5 miles (8 km) south south-west of Wau, about 2,100 metres above sea level. The highest point in the area is Mount Kaindi (altitude 2,500 metres), which overlooks both Wau and Edie Creek. Edie Creek itself drains into the Wau Valley to the Bulolo River through a steep gorge. The creek descends some 1,000 metres over a distance of just 5 km.

Prior to the war, the township of Wau and nearby Edie Creek were small mining settlements. There was a great deal of fighting in this area in 1942-1943 because Wau was located on a route between the Japanese-held bases at Lae and Salamaua (to the north and north-east) and the Australian base at Port Moresby (to the south).

L/Cpl Proposch continued to work as a clerk for the first couple of months of his deployment to New Guinea. Just what that work entailed, I can only surmise.

However, on 20 December, he relinquished his clerical duties with the 2/5^th Battalion and was transferred to HQ 17^th Brigade. The next day he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant (Sgt). Clearly, his superiors had some other job in mind for the young soldier.

The commission and a new role

In January 1943, Sgt Proposch received notification of his promotion to commissioned officer rank. It became official on 1 February 1943 when he was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt), 2/5^th Battalion, and appointed to the role of Education Officer. Lt Proposch remained seconded to HQ 17^th Brigade, stationed at Wau.

As Education Officer, Lt Proposch led a small training unit under the auspices of the Australian Army Education Service (AAES). The AAES was established in 1941. It was loosely based on a vocational education scheme set up in 1918 within the First Australian Imperial Force (1^st AIF) as part of the demobilisation and repatriation process at the end of World War I.

The AAES had two main aims. First, during war, it sought to provide the troops with educational facilities, intellectual stimulation and meaningful recreation in order to sustain morale and dispel boredom. Second, post-war, it aimed to collaborate with other authorities in the rehabilitation of troops, through training and retraining military personnel for absorption into civilian life. It aimed to redress insufficient or interrupted occupational training and missed opportunities as a result of military service. [2]

According to one report in 1943, through the work of the AAES the Australian Army was quietly and successfully leading the way in adult education. [3]

The accident

Every Wednesday Lt Proposch and his AAES team journeyed from Wau to Edie Creek to deliver lectures on current affairs and show films to the troops stationed there.

On the morning of Wednesday 7 April 1943, Lt Proposch set out from Wau in a jeep and trailer on one of his weekly visits to Edie Creek. Four men accompanied him that day: two members of his team, a chaplain and a driver.  

The road between Wau and Edie Creek was unsealed, steep and winding. It was dangerous, given the possibility of landslides, undermining and weakening of the road by constant water action in some places, and frequent breakaways. Drivers of vehicles using the road were given clear instructions about passing of other vehicles. At all times heavy vehicles had the right of way over smaller vehicles.

Around 1115 hours, about 2½ miles (4 km) from Wau, the jeep encountered a truck approaching downhill. Seeing the jeep coming up the hill, the driver of the truck pulled over to the right hand side of the road, as close as possible to the cliff face, and stopped. He did so to safeguard his passengers and vehicle and allow the jeep to pass on the truck’s left hand side nearest the edge of the road and the valley below.

The driver of the jeep threw his vehicle into low gear and crawled towards the section of the road where the truck had stopped. The ground looked solid enough and the road wide enough for the jeep to proceed safely on the right hand side of the road. But it was not so.

The jeep had passed about half the length of the truck when suddenly the edge of the road collapsed. In a split second, the jeep and its five occupants were thrown into the gorge approximately 450 feet (137 metres) below. 

The result? Two of the jeep’s passengers, Sgt Smith and Cpl King (members of Lt Proposch’s team) were killed almost instantly. The driver, Driver Olney, was seriously injured and died the following morning. Two men, Lt Proposch and Chaplain Graydon, miraculously survived.

Proposch suffered multiple lacerations of the scalp and Graydon multiple lacerations of the scalp and face. Both men underwent emergency surgery that same evening and were evacuated to Port Moresby the following morning (Thursday 8 April).

For more details about this accident, and its aftermath, read 1943, Wau, New Guinea: An amazing escape, which I published on my blog on November 6, 2017.

Lt Proposch spent two weeks in hospital (his fourth and final hospitalisation) and a further three weeks convalescing. By 17 May 1943 he was well enough to return to Wau and his role as Education Officer.  

The 2/5^th Battalion returned to Australia in September 1943. At Milne Bay, the servicemen embarked on one of two ships, the Liberty ship Charles Steinmetz and the Dutch merchant passenger-cargo ship Boschfontein. Lt Proposch was on the Boschfontein. The men disembarked at Cairns, north Queensland, on 23 September 1943.

September 1943 – September 1944: Australia

From Cairns the men travelled to Wondecla, the site of a military training camp on the Atherton Tablelands, inland from Cairns. Following relocation of the Australian Army headquarters in north Queensland from Townsville to Atherton in December 1942, in early 1943 units of the Australian 6^th and 7^th Divisions began setting up camps near Wondecla, a small town south of Herberton, on the Atherton Tablelands.  

The returning soldiers remained at Wondecla for several weeks, prior to a period of extended leave. The following photographs were taken at Wondecla just days before the men went on leave.

According to my grandmother’s diary, on 12 October 1943, Bill sent his parents a telegram from Cairns. It read: “Home about 22^nd. Well. Bill”.

A special meeting and a march of honour

I believe that it was during October or November 1943, when Bill was en route between Cairns and Melbourne, that he met Evelyn Beaumont, the woman he was destined to marry. They met at a dance in Brisbane, at Brisbane’s City Hall. At the time Aircraftwoman (ACW) Evelyn Beaumont, of the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), was living and working in Brisbane.

The attraction was immediate, and mutual, and the couple agreed to meet “down town” the following day. As Bill was just passing through, and would soon return to his unit, Bill and Evelyn exchanged details and promised to write to each other.

After spending about three weeks at home with his parents, on 16 November 1943, Bill returned to his unit, at Camp Royal Park, Melbourne. Two days later, on 18 November, Lt Proposch was one of approximately 1800 servicemen of the 17^th Australian Infantry Brigade who marched through the city of Melbourne.

The march was touted as one of the greatest of the city’s wartime parades. The headlines in three of Melbourne’s newspapers were: “Jungle And Desert Fighters Given Great Welcome: 17^th Brigade’s Stirring March [4], “The Gallant 17^th On The March” [5], “Tumultuous Welcome Given To Brave 17^th: Our Fighting Men March Through City” [6]. This is how The Argus [7] reported the event:

One of the largest crowds seen in Melbourne during the present war gave a grand welcome to the redoubtable 17^th Australian Infantry Brigade in its march of honour through the city yesterday.

The whole route of the march from Alexandra Ave at one end of the city to the Flagstaff Gardens, at the other end, was thronged with cheering crowds, while flags waved from almost every building, and coloured streamers floated out from ledges and windows of shops and offices.

The huge crowd contained many thousands of children. About 1,800 men took part in the parade, most of them young and still boyish in appearance, notwithstanding their terrible experiences of war in North Africa, Greece, Crete, Syria, and New Guinea. They marched in battle dress, mainly jungle green uniforms, with rifles and fixed bayonets.

After the march, according to my grandmother’s diary, Bill returned home for one night before departing for Queensland the following day.

Between overseas deployments

Soon after returning to Australia from New Guinea, on 1 October 1943, Lt Proposch ceased his secondment to HQ 17^th Brigade and was transferred to the Australian Army Education Service (AAES). In practice, it made little difference to his working arrangements.

Along with the men of the 2/5^th Battalion and the rest of the 6^th Division Lt Proposch spent a large part of 1944 at the Wondecla Military Training Camp in north Queensland. During that time, the camp became the home of many of the army’s reinforcements, sent there for “jungle” training prior to deployment to New Guinea.

My father’s Defence Service Records do not include periods of leave. This is where my grandmother’s diary is a great help. For example, her notes suggest that Bill had an extended period of leave in August 1944. She wrote:

I do not know how often Bill and Evelyn saw each other following their meeting in Brisbane in October or November 1943. I believe they met at least twice at Rockhampton, where Evelyn was based with the WAAAF, from 23 April 1944.  

In 2007, I asked Evelyn how often Bill visited her in Rockhampton, but she did not remember. (She was 91 years of age at the time.) However, she did recall one occasion when Bill walked from the city to the airport to meet her.

After arriving at Rockhampton by train, Bill walked from the railway station at Stanley Street in the city to the airport at Canoona Road (where Evelyn and her WAAAF colleagues were based), a distance of about 3 miles (5 km). It would have taken him about an hour.

On 5 September 1944, during one of Bill’s visits to Rockhampton, Bill and Evelyn announced their engagement. “Before the engagement, my parents came from Rannes to Rockhampton to meet Bill and (happily) they approved of the match,” my mother told me.

On 12 September 1944, while still working as an Education Officer with the AAES, Lt Proposch was transferred to HQ 3^rd Australian Base Sub Area, based at Strathpine (Brisbane).

His next and final overseas deployment came soon after, in October 1944. It was to Aitape, New Guinea.

October 1944 – December 1944: New Guinea

Aitape

Aitape is a small town on the north coast of New Guinea. The Japanese took over the town in 1942. American troops landed and recaptured the town and area on 22 April 1944. Thereafter the Americans developed Aitape as a base to support the continuing drive towards the Philippines.

To free up the American troops for the Philippines operations, Australian troops of the 3^rd Base Sub Area and the 6^th Division began taking over the defence of Aitape from October 1944.

Lt Proposch was one of the Australian servicemen who left Brisbane for Aitape per the ship “Gorgon” on 4 October 1944. They disembarked at Aitape on 11 October. The campaign that followed, known as the Aitape-Wewak Campaign, began in November 1944 and lasted until the end of the war (August 1945).

However, Lt Proposch spent just seven weeks at Aitape, returning to Australia via Townsville on 4 December 1944.  

December 1944 – December 1945: Back in Australia

Soon after his return to Australia, on 30 December 1944, Lt Proposch was posted to Tasmania. His role was that of Education Officer, Returned Sailors’ Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia (RSL), attached to the HQ Tasmanian Line of Communication (LofC) Sub Area.

The appointment lasted until 7 March 1945, after which time he returned to Brisbane and the HQ Queensland LofC Sub Area.

A wartime wedding

Lt William Edwin (“Bill”) Proposch (2^nd AIF) married Evelyn Maud Beaumont (ex-WAAAF) at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Rockhampton, on 26 March 1945. Canon J E Dale conducted the ceremony, which commenced at 6:30 pm. Evelyn was the only daughter of Mr and Mrs D W Beaumont of “Woolein View”, Rannes (Queensland) and Bill was the second son of Mr and Mrs C W Proposch of Melbourne (Victoria).

Their wedding was a small affair. My mother told me they had to restrict their guest list to about 30. It was still wartime and Evelyn’s family couldn’t afford a large wedding. Only the couple’s closest relatives, friends and colleagues were invited. Given the wedding was held in Rockhampton, Bill’s parents and siblings did not attend.

The newlyweds spent the first couple of weeks of their honeymoon at Emu Park (a small coastal town near Rockhampton), then Pialba, Hervey Bay, Queensland. [8] They spent another couple of weeks at Ballina, northern New South Wales.

At Ballina, they stayed at The Australian Hotel, from the first floor verandah of which they watched the town’s Anzac Day Parade, on 25 April 1945.

The final appointment

After their honeymoon, Bill and Evelyn made their home at 100 George Street, Parramatta (Sydney). On 1 May 1945, Lt Proposch took up his next and final appointment as Education Officer with the AAES, at the Australian Army’s 103^rd General Hospital, Baulkham Hills (Sydney).

Lt Proposch’s role at the hospital was to assist the repatriation of servicemen who had experienced trauma and/or serious injury (including loss of limbs) during their overseas service. One of his tasks was to help the men find meaningful employment when they were ready to return to civilian life.

In late 1945, with the war over, Lt Proposch applied for discharge from the army. Thus, on 6 December 1945, his appointment to the Australian Military Forces (AMF) (the official name of the Australian Army from 1916 to 1980) was terminated.

EPILOGUE

At discharge, William Edwin (“Bill”) Proposch had served a total of 1968 days (nearly 5½ years) in the AMF. His World War II army service included 689 days (nearly 2 years) of operational service in Australia (Darwin) and overseas. His three overseas postings were:

• Nine months in the Middle East (Palestine) and Ceylon (Colombo) with the 2/5^th Battalion of the 17^th Brigade (1 November 1941 – 4 August 1942)
• Twelve months in New Guinea (Milne Bay, Wau) (8 October 1942 – 22 September 1943)
• Eight weeks in New Guinea (Aitape) (4 October 1944 – 4 December 1944).

My research has revealed not only when and where my father served during his World War II army service, but also what he did during those 5½ years.

I’ve learnt that he performed two main roles: first, Group III Clerk (for about 2 years); second, Education Officer (for a little over 3 years). I believe he was well suited to both of these roles. He was a well-educated, quick-witted person who was known for his attention to detail, emotional intelligence and high level communication skills.

My father never spoke about his army work, which is a pity. I would love to have known about it while he was still alive and have had the opportunity to ask him about it. I often wonder why he didn’t talk about his work in the army, especially his role as an Education Officer with the AAES. As it turned out, after my university studies, I became a teacher and eventually an adult education teacher (just like my father!).  

REFERENCES

MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION

National Archives of Australia. (2007). Defence Service Records. Personal Record of Service – Australian Army. William Edwin Proposch. No. VX44865.

National Archives of Australia. (2005). Defence Service Records. Army Militia Service Records. William Edwin Proposch. No. 294976.

Australian Government. Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs. (1992). Medical and other records of service – Australian Army. William Edwin Proposch. No. VX44865. Documents provided under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Australian Military Forces. (1943). Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry assembled at Wau, New Guinea, on the Eighth and Ninth days of April 1943. Copy provided under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Australian Military Forces. (1943). Report of Court of Inquiry. Copy provided under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Elsie Proposch. (1941-1944). My diary 1941. My grandmother’s “little black diary”. Personal records.

SPECIFIC REFERENCES

1. Beaumont, Joan (2001). ‘Australian Defence: Sources and Statistics’ in The Australian Centenary History of Defence. Vol. VI. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
2. (1942, June). ‘Army Education in Australia’ in The Australian Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 42-49.
3. ARMY EDUCATION SERVICE (1943, September 10). Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser (Qld. : 1922 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77417571
4. JUNGLE AND DESERT FIGHTERS GIVEN GREAT WELCOME (1943, November 19). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 3. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11801817
5. THE GALLANT 17th ON THE MARCH (1943, November 27). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 3. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142147834
6. Tumultuous Welcome Given To Brave 17th (1943, November 18). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245800001
7. JUNGLE AND DESERT FIGHTERS GIVEN GREAT WELCOME (1943, November 19). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 3. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11801817
8. WEDDING BELLS (1945, March 28). Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article56421473

FOR FURTHER READING