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Military History Society of New South Wales

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25.01.2022 Together we Serve. These Recruiting posters are a vibrant display of National will and determination in order to mobilise manpower for total war. Util...ising art and sentiment, they were a powerful tool in attracting men to the services during the Great War. Here are five examples, three from the United Kingdom (including one for men to serve in the Bantam regiments of the British army), and one each for Canada and Australia. The Australian Imperial Force, like the Indian Army, relied entirely on voluntary enlistment to maintain manpower strength. Recruitment posters were crucial to Australia achieving this. Look out for more posts like this from Australia’s leading advocate for Digger heritage, the Families and Friends of the First Australian Imperial Force.

25.01.2022 Portraits of Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, GCB, GCMG, DSO, the British officer who played an important role in the military history of New South Wales as a senior officer during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli in 1915.

25.01.2022 4/3 Royal New South Wales Regiment conducted the Commanding Officer's dining out night. The event was held in the Anzac War Memorial Hyde Park. It was a great opportunity for SNCO's and officers to farewell the key appointments of the Battalion ... read on:

25.01.2022 Image of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hassett at an airfield in Korea, just before taking command of 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in July 1951. Born in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, during World War II Hassett took part of the battles of Bardia and Tobruk during which he was mentioned-in-dispatches. In the Korean War, he commanded 3RAR in the successful assault on Chinese positions at Maryang-San in October 1951 (the subject of our lecture on 5th June - see our website).

23.01.2022 On 17 August 1975, 400 Army Reserve soldiers parade through Sydney to open Royal New South Wales Regiment Week. Highlights of the parade were a church service and wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph, Martin Place, and the taking of the salute by the Honorary Colonel of RNSWR Sir Roden Cutler VC ... read on:

22.01.2022 Today we pause to remember the life and service of 214752 Corporal Colin Thomas Lithgow, who was killed in action on the 2nd of December 1966 whilst serving in South Vietnam. Originally from Strathfield, New South Wales, Colin volunteered for service and enlisted in the Army in 1966 ... read on:

22.01.2022 Glass plate negative of soldiers marching along Sydney’s Circular Quay returning from the Sudan, 1885 ... read on:

22.01.2022 Brigadier-General James Heane CB CMG DSO VD, born in Collaroy, New South Wales, was known as "Cast Iron Jimmy". He distinguished himself at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, in August 1915 and was awarded the DSO. In June 1916, now in France, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of 1st Infantry Battalion AIF. For his leadership at Pozières, Heane was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. On 3 December 1916 he was promoted to full colonel and temporary brigadier-general and given command of 2nd Infantry Brigade AIF, for leadership of which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. During World War I he was Mentioned-in-Dispatches six times. He survived the war and died in Sydney on 20 August 1954.

21.01.2022 Crowds farewell troops marching in front of the General Post Office, Sydney as they leave for World War I, 24 April 1915. Arthur Allen. Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.

20.01.2022 A little early, but we wanted our Investiture guests to enjoy! The Christmas Tree in the Main Hall is sourced from the Penrose State Forest in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales and donated by the Forestry Corporation of NSW, Moss Vale Area. #GovernorNSW Visit NSW State Forests

20.01.2022 The Thin White Line, on parade! Australian Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment VADs, in their white uniforms with distinctive emblem, march past their Presi...dent, Her Excellency Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, in the grounds of Government House, Sydney, circa 1915. A lapel badge for the 1918 Red Cross Appeal. Australian Red Cross nurses in their distinctive uniform.

20.01.2022 At Ease, Corporal Streeton! George Lambert painted his fellow Australian official war artist in London in 1917. Arthur Streeton relinquished his appointment as an NCO in the RAMC shortly there after. This picture is currently on special display in a retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales of over a hundred of Sir Arthur’s oil paintings, water colours and sketches.

20.01.2022 The unit history of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion during World War One is now available from Regimental Books. Check out Neville Browning's latest unit history book... - a great Christmas present for someone with an interest or relative who served in this battalion. Available here: https://regimental-books.com.au//anzac-pioneers-history-o/

20.01.2022 On this Remembrance Day 2020 the Military History Society of New South Wales pays tribute to the brave Australians who fought and died for their country. Lest We Forget. Image: 8th July 1917, a memorial was erected to commemorate the Australian soldiers of the 1st Division AIF, raised in NSW, who fell during the capture of Pozieres, France, in July 1916. The inscription on the cross reads '1st Australian Division AIF'. In front of the memorial are the graves of Bombardier D J Davies, killed in action; Bombardier F A Blackham, killed in action; Gunner G P Johnston, killed in action; Gunner O C Dalrymple, killed in action.

20.01.2022 1st NSW Volunteer Rifles, c1854 by Thomas Harvey Lewis, courtesy of Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. Government House, Sydney, appears in the background.

19.01.2022 The Centenary Exhibition at the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney. Exhibition Gallery - Lower floor, The Centenary Extension, open until 11 November 2022. Free of charge. https://www.anzacmemorial.nsw.gov.au/e/centenary-exhibition

18.01.2022 "In New South Wales, the Sydney Cenotaph was dedicated that same year, on the 21st of February 1929. The Premier of NSW, Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, KCMG, KC declared at its dedication: The Cenotaph itself represents the tribute of the whole community. The site on which it stands is the gift of the city; that city in which those whose deeds we commemorate assembled before their departure, from which they set out on a journey from which too many of them never returned; a city whose safety and integrity were assuredly their efforts. The monument is the offering of the whole State." ... read on:

18.01.2022 Further to yesterday's post about George Braund, below is an image of the three serving New South Wales parliamentarians who fought in World War I. Ted Larkin (left), George Braund (centre) and John Nash in Egypt, 1915. Ted Larkin was killed in action at Anzac Cove on the first Anzac Day, 25 April 1915. John Nash was a medical doctor and served with the Australian Army Medical Corps. He survived the war and died in Sydney in 1925.

17.01.2022 Subject to any changes in health advice, the gardens of Government House, Sydney, will reopen to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10am - 3pm, beginning the 31st of October 2020. More information coming soon ...

17.01.2022 Lieutenant-General Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford purchased a commission in the Rifle Brigade of the British Army in 1844. He served in the Crimea (1855) and during the Indian Mutiny (1857). He was appointed commander of all forces in South Africa in 1878 and successfully brought the 9th Cape Frontier Wars (Xhosa Wars) to a conclusion in 1879. His son Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 3rd Baron and 1st Viscount Chelmsford was an officer in the 1st volunteer battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment and later served as the 22nd Governor of New South Wales from 28 May 1909 to 11 March 1913. Photos: the father on left, the son on right.

15.01.2022 From the Facebook Page of the Governor of New South Wales, Christmas Tree in the Main Hall of Government House, Sydney. The portrait on the left foreground is of Governor Charles Robert Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire (in office from 1885-1890) depicted in the uniform of the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers outside on the Arcade at Government House.

15.01.2022 Today we pause to remember the life and service of Private James Charles Martin, who died of enteritis on 25 October 1915 at the age of 14. Private Martin is believed to have been the youngest Australian soldier to have died while on active service. James Charles Martin was born at Tocumwal, New South Wales, on 3 January 1901 ... read on:

14.01.2022 On this day in 1900 at Paardeburg, Orange Free State, South Africa, the NSW Mounted Rifles fought as part of the last major action of the Boer War. This attack led to the surrender of 4,000 Boers. Photo: Boer troops in the field, 1900.

14.01.2022 The 2/30th Battalion, 8th Division 2nd AIF, marching through Tamworth, New South Wales, just after being formed in 1940 and before leaving Australia to serve in Malaya. The 2/30th were the first Australian troops to engage the Japanese at the ambush at Gemas in January 1942 ... read on:

14.01.2022 British officer Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton, KCB, KCMG, DL, FRGS was commandant of the New South Wales military forces between 1893 and 1896. Before that, he saw active duty in 1879 as a lieutenant in the Anglo-Zulu War and with the mounted infantry during the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880-81 and the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882. Hutton was closely linked with the employment of mounted infantry in the African campaigns. In March 1900, during the Second Boer War, he was appointed Commander of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, a formation made up of Canadian, Colonial Australian, and New Zealand troops. Between 1902 and 1904 he served as the first General Officer Commanding the Australian Military Forces. His main task was to transform six colonial forces into one national Australian Army.

13.01.2022 King George V attends a service at Westminster Abbey to mark the homecoming and burial of the Unknown Warrior, Armistice Day 1920.

13.01.2022 Liverpool, New South Wales, 1915. Men of the Australian Light Horse in training early that year.

12.01.2022 Here at Government House, the coats of arms of all 38 former Governors of New South Wales are on public display, from the stain glass version of Captain Arthur ...Phillip to the modern representation of our last Governor, General the Honourable David Hurley. In this video our team look at the symbolism used in the Hurley Coat of Arms, including a nod to the South Sydney Rabbitohs! https://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/government-h/discover-more/ #GovernorNSW

12.01.2022 The Battle of Maryang-San, Korean War, October 1951, is the subject of our next lecture on 5th June (see our website). Lt Col Frank Hassett commanded 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, which spearheaded the assault against Chinese positions. Here is an interview with Sir Francis Hassett as he later became, originally from Marrickville, New South Wales.

11.01.2022 In the news today some reporters are calling the premier of New South Wales "courageous". Lieutenant Colonel George Braund from Armidale NSW was a serving member of the NSW parliament when he enlisted for World War I. He was the first member of an Australian parliament to do so. Braund was appointed to raise and train the 2nd Infantry Battalion AIF and became its commander in August 1914. On 25 April 1915 he landed his troops at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. After midnight on 4 May 1915, while returning to brigade headquarters, he took a short cut through scrub and apparently failed to hear a challenge from a sentry, who shot him dead. He was one of only two serving Australian members of parliament to die in the Great War.

11.01.2022 Museum At Home Webinar this Tuesday 1 june Colonial Wars, 11.00AM 12.00PM AEST Register for a free ticket: http://ow.ly/OvwA50EFUbl In this month’s Museum At ...Home webinar we take a closer look at three wars that Australian troops participated in before the Australian colonies federated in 1901. ART19687

10.01.2022 Article about the Liverpool-Sydney Soldiers Riot of 14th February, 1916. An estimated 10,000 volunteers took leave of their training camps at Casula and Liverpool and marched in protest through the city of Sydney.

09.01.2022 Last night whilst discussing the NSW Contingent with a friend we both noticed a small but interesting detail about the uniforms worn prior to departure. In eve...ry way, the pre embarkation kit was virtually identical to that worn by the 1st NSW Volunteer infantry, except for one detail in regards to the helmets. Upon a close inspection of some of the photographs taken of the parade from Victoria barracks to Circular Quay, a keen eye will spot that the helmets lack any brass on them. No NSW helmet plate, no brass spike. This is also seen in the painting "The departure of the Australian contingent for the Sudan " by Arthur Collingridge and also in some of the veterans photos. Why these men weren't issued the helmet accoutrements is still a mystery to me (if someone has found a reference in their own research please share) but it is an interesting point to note for anyone studying the uniforms of the contingent. See more

09.01.2022 Living history impression: 1st NSW Volunteer Infantry 1882-88

08.01.2022 1933 ~ 2020 ANZAC War Memorial & Pool of Reflection construction with tractor and horse drawn cart with workmen digging out the pool. Today's photo show the completed project with a growing city behind it. Images City of Sydney archives / K.Sundgren.

07.01.2022 Here we see photographs and paintings depicting three Great War commanders, one each from New Zealand, Canada, and Australia ... read on:

07.01.2022 An article about the Colonial forces in Campbelltown, New South Wales, between 1885-1898.

07.01.2022 Classic digger image. Rest In Peace.

06.01.2022 We will remember them. Today, on Remembrance Sunday, we mark 100 years since the funeral of the Unknown Soldier and the unveiling of the Centopath in London in... 1920, and although in this strange year, the ceremony in London will be drastically different and reduced, and while international travel is restricted, the ongoing reflection and remembrance of all the casualties of conflict is thought about today in Flanders Fields. Photograph of the unveiling of the Whitehall Cenotaph, 1920. The Graphic, 20 November 1920 Author, Horace Nicholls (18671941) The Cenotaph, 1920 IWM Q 14964. The King at the Cenotaph during the singing of the hymn "Oh God our Help in Ages Past", before the unveiling. On the west side of the Cenotaph are the political leaders of the nation. Unveiling of the Cenotaph and Funeral of the Unknown Warrior, Armistice Day, 1920. The King at the Cenotaph during the singing of the hymn, "O God, our Help in Ages Past", before the unveiling. On the west side of the Cenotaph are the political leaders of the nation.

05.01.2022 This is from the UK but there is an important message here for our municipal and government leaders. Only a tiny proportion of people want to interfere with public monuments like statues. Our leaders should not weakly capitulate to intimidation.

05.01.2022 Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Chilton was born in Sydney on 23 July 1905 and educated at North Sydney High School, then studied law at University of Sydney, joining the Sydney University Regiment. In World War II he was commander of the Australian 2/2nd Battalion. On 18 April 1941 the battalion successfully delayed troops from 3rd Panzer Regiment at Tempe Gorge in Greece. This successful rearguard allowed British and ANZAC soldiers to escape encirclement.

05.01.2022 Webinar: How historians research for the Last Post Ceremony The Last Post Ceremony has become an iconic event at the Australian War Memorial commemorating an in...dividual on the Roll of Honour, daily, 364 days a year. The Last Post Ceremony provides a solemn commemoration of an individual’s sacrifice and their story. In this webinar, we take a closer look at how historians at the Australian War Memorial researches those commemorated in the daily ceremony with historian Dr. Meleah Hampton. Watch on our Youtube channel: http://ow.ly/4PR750BU0IN

04.01.2022 Today we pause to remember the life and service of Lieutenant Frank Raymond Massie, who died of illness on the 15 of October 1918 in Damascus. Originally from Trangie NSW, Frank enlisted in the 1st AIF on 23 of November 1914 and embarked from Sydney on 15 June 1915 aboard HMAT Suevic as Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant ... read on:

04.01.2022 Sergeant Major of New South Wales Lancers in 1899. The regiment had its baptism of fire at the Battle of Belmont on this day in 1899 during the Great Boer War (otherwise known as the Second Boer War).

03.01.2022 Here's another image of Great War uniforms. This one is restricted to the western front and appears to be of the early period before the Australians arrived in 1916.

03.01.2022 Burwood Park War Memorial, Sydney, in 1974 and in 2020.

02.01.2022 From Her Excellency the Governor of New South Wales Lest we forget #governornsw

02.01.2022 Did you know the 1/15 Royal New South Wales Lancers have a formal alliance with The Light Dragoons. The Light Dragoons carry the ancestry of the Light Brigade who made the famous and ill-fated charge at the Battle of Balaclava, 25 October 1854.

02.01.2022 Photo of East Circular Quay, Sydney, around 1865. Note Fort Macquarie on the site currently occupied by the Opera House.

02.01.2022 Looking north over Garden Island just after WW2, the island has been joined to the mainland by building the drydock so Garden Island is now a peninsula. I sugge...st the light cruiser in dock is HMAS HOBART , as her sisterships PERTH and SYDNEY had been sunk in the war. This page cut out of a book I have not got the name of. See more

02.01.2022 "Several of his war-time commissions, both official and private, are included in the exhibition. They appear together and depict scenes from the Somme battlefield, the cockpit of Australian operations for much of 1916 and 1918" ... read on: