I Was Only Doing My Job: Australia's Military History

In this episode of "From Duty to Dishonour," we delve into the compelling story of Private Percy George Stafford, an Australian soldier who served in the First World War. As we explore Stafford's life, we confront the challenging question: what happens when someone falls short of society's expectations of a soldier? Join us as we look into the service of a man who allegedly spent no time in the front line, despite...

4-AUGUST-1914/4-SEPTEMBER-1939. While serving as a Naval Reservist, Midshipman Richard Stanley Veale ordered the first shot fired by British Forces in the First World War. Twenty years later while in command of the same shore battery that fired the first shot in the First World War, Commander Richard Stanley Veale would order the first Australian shot fired in anger during the Second World War.

Explore the remarkable life and serv...

19-MAY-1915. While serving as a soldier of the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, Sergeant William Charles Bullock Beech, horrified by the tragic loss of life of his comrades on Gallipoli, took a biscuit box, signal wire and a broken mirror to invent one of the most iconic weapons of trench warfare on Gallipoli, the Periscope Rifle.

--- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi....

27/28-JANUARY-1916, While serving as a soldier of the 5th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Private Edward Attfield did not let his diminutive stature prevent him from volunteering for overseas service. He landed at Gallipoli and despite wounds and illness served until the evacuation in December 1915. When he returned to Alexandria, he vanished, never to be seen again.
His story is a murder mystery that ...

11-NOVEMBER-1993. To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the unidentified remains of an unknown Australian soldier, exhumed from the Adelaide Cemetery in Villers Bretonneux in France was interred within the Hall of Memory of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of that interment.

Lest We Forget.

--- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonl...

25-APRIL-1915, While serving as Commanding Officer of the Royal Australian Navy's second Submarine HMAS AE2, Royal Navy Officer Lieutenant Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Dacre Stoker was faced with the challenge, to traverse the Dardanelles when the last two submarines to do so were sunk.

The Stage is set, the curtain is drawn, allow I Was Only Doing My Job: An Australian Military History Podcast to introduce you to the Silent AN...

9-AUGUST-1942. While serving as a Surgical Officer aboard the Royal Australian Navy Heavy Cruiser HMAS Canberra, Surgeon Lieutenant Kenneth Newman Morris MID participated in the first American counter-attack during the Pacific Campaign, the Battle of Guadalcanal and the disastrous Battle of Savo Island.

In the Second World War chaos, one man apart out for his courage and resilience - Surgeon Lieutenant Kenneth Newman Morris. Morris...

This Episode marks Two years since the launch of the podcast.

1-JULY-1942. While serving as Chief Yeoman of Signals as part of the Royal Australian Navy, Chief Yeoman of Signals Stephen Lamont was selected as part of the network of observers stationed across strategic locations in Northern Australia and neighbouring territories known as the Coastwatchers. Initially stationed on Anir Island off the coast of New Britain, Lamont was i...

10-December-1941. While serving as a midshipman aboard the Royal Navy Battlecruiser HMS Repulse, Midshipman Robert Ian Davies MID participated in the first major naval engagement of the Pacific Campaign. We delve into the remarkable story of Midshipman Robert Ian Davies and his role in the sinking of the British battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse during the Second World War. Despite limited firsthand accounts of Davie...

20-MAY-1941. While serving as a Company Commander within the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before making a name of himself during the Kokoda Campaign. In this episode, we focus on the Australian operations aroun...

16-FEBRUARY-1942. Serving as a Staff Nurse in the 2/13th Australian General Hospital, Second Australian Imperial Force, Sister Florence Casson was one of the 21 nurses executed as part of the Bangka Island Massacre at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army.

To Donate to the Vivian Bullwinkel Project or the Bangka Island Scholarship Fund go here https://foundation.acn...

20-MAY-1941. While serving as a Company Commander within the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before making a name of himself during the Kokoda Campaign. In this episode, we focus on the Australian defensive operat...

20-MAY-1941. While serving as a Company Commander within the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before making a name of himself during the Kokoda Campaign. In this episode, we focus on the disastrous defence of Crete...

3-JANUARY-1941. While serving as a Company Commander within the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before making a name of himself during the Kokoda Campaign. In this episode, we focus on the rapid advance of the Aus...

3-JANUARY-1941. While serving as a Company Commander within the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before making a name of himself during the Kokoda Campaign. In this episode, we focus on the first involvement of the...

Earlier this month I sat down with Melissa Ratliff from God's Favorites: A History Podcast to discuss her current project, saving the Sundowner a motor yacht formerly owned by Charles Lightoller, who was Second Officer aboard the RMS Titanic for her ill-fated maiden voyage in April, 1912. She participated in the Dunkirk evacuation as one of the Little ships of Dunkirk before falling on hard times more recently. 

Link...