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4 OCT 1917: World War I and Sergeant Lewis McGee, 40th Battalion, originally from Campbelltown, Tasmania, earns the Victoria Cross near Ypres, Belgium. It was a posthumous award. Lewis McGee (1888-1917), railway engine driver and soldier, was born on 13 May 1888 at Campbell Town, Tasmania, son of John McGee, labourer and later farmer, and […]

4 OCT 1917: World War I and Lance Corporal (later Warrant Officer Class 2) Walter Peeler, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, originally from Castlemaine, Victoria, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Broodseinde Ridge, during the battle of Ypres, Belgium. Walter (Wally) Peeler was born on 9 August 1887 at Barker’s Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, […]

3 OCT 1992: The Vietnam Forces National Memorial, Anzac Parade, Canberra, was opened by the Prime Minister, the Hon. Paul Keating, MP, and honours those Australians who served and died in the war in Vietnam. The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial is the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. […]

3 OCT 1918: Lt Joseph Maxwell, VC, MC, DCM, 18th Battalion, originally from Sydney, New South Wales, performed the action that resulted in him being awarded the Victoria Cross, on the fortified ‘Beaurevoir line’, near Estrees, France. Joseph Maxwell (1896-1967), often claimed as the second most decorated Australian soldier in World War I, was born […]

2 OCT 1943: World War II and Australia’s 9th Division captures Finschhafen in New Guinea, which subsequently becomes the base for the protracted Huon Peninsula campaign, 1943-44. Following the capture of Lae by the 7th and 9th Australian Divisions in early September 1943, the 7th Division was ordered into the mountains to pursue Japanese forces […]

1 OCT 1918: World War I and Australian Light Horsemen take Damascus. The Light Horse advances into Damascus, the Syrian capital, at the end of the long and victorious advance that ended the First World War in the Middle East. The Capture of Damascus occurred on 1 October after the capture of Haifa and the […]

30 SEP 1918: World War I and 1717 Private Edward John Francis Ryan, 55th Battalion, originally of Tumut, New South Wales, earns the Victoria Cross at Bellicourt, France. Jack Ryan was born on 9th February 1890 at Tumut, New South Wales. His father Michael was a labourer born in Australia to Irish parents. Michael Ryan […]

30 SEP 1918: World War I and 2143 Lance Corporal (later Corporal) Ernest Albert Corey, MM, a stretcher bearer with the 55th Battalion earns a third bar to his Military Medal, first won on 5 May 1917. The winning of four Military Medals is a unique feat. Ernest Albert Corey was born near Cooma, New […]

29 SEP 1918: World War I and Captain George Hubert Wilkins, MC, official AIF photographer, rallies United States troops at the battle of the Hindenburg Line, while taking photographs. For this action he was awarded a bar to his Military Cross, becoming the only Australian official photographer to be decorated for bravery in the field. […]

29 SEP 1918: World War I and the Battle of St Quentin canal begins. Originally built to connect the Somme and Scheldt Rivers, the Germans utilised the St Quentin Canal as an additional defensive barrier forward of the Hindenberg Line. East of Peronne the canal ran through a tunnel for approximately six kilometres between Bellicourt […]