To mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War – 25 June 1950 – the Memorial will be sharing stories, photos and information about Australian service in Korea. Our blogs, articles and encyclopedia entries are written by Memorial historians, curators, librarians and exhibition officers to share their knowledge and information on the Korean War, the Memorial’s collection, exhibitions and events.

Stories will be featured on our website, updated regularly with new content until 27 July 2020, the anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. The website will be kept in perpetuity for future Korean War anniversaries.

 

  1. The Forgotten Official War Artist

    06 July 2020

    Just as the Korean War is often referred to as “the forgotten war” it seems that Frank Norton is the forgotten official war artist.

  2. “Nothing but a notebook and a pencil”: War Correspondents in Korea

    01 July 2020

    As Australia committed the Royal Australian Navy, followed by the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Army, Australian newspapers moved to send correspondents to cover the Korean war.

  3. “I was a prisoner in North Korea”

    30 June 2020

    Private Donnelly was at the front of the patrol and closest to the new trench line, watching as a barrage of grenades flew over his head. Trying to identify the enemy’s position, made difficult by low visibility, Donnelly threw two grenades...

  4. 'I can still visualise it now'

    25 June 2020

    Colonel Peter Scott is lucky to be alive. In October 1951, the 22-year-old Peter was an intelligence officer during the battle of Maryang San.

  5. 'There are many, many, stories like mine'

    25 June 2020

    For artist Lee Grant, the Korean War is anything but forgotten.

  6. Along parallel lines

    25 June 2020

    Two Australians played a vital role in saving South Korea at the outbreak of the Korean War.

  7. “The grey-headed old bastard”

    17 June 2020

    While many Australians today would not have heard the name Aubrey Coad, Australian veterans of the Korean War will certainly recall the man they nicknamed “the grey-headed old bastard”.

  8. “An expensive and vain attempt to take a prisoner”

    22 June 2020

    It was an icy winter’s eve in Korea on 24 January 1953 when 31 men from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) gathered on Hill 355 for a snatch patrol.

  9. The “Reactionaries”: Buck, Hollis, Madden, Parker and Gwyther

    18 June 2020

    On 9 August 1953, Tom Hollis and Keith Gwyther shared a drink at Britannia Camp near Seoul in South Korea. The men had been released, as part of Operation Big Switch, after more than two years of captivity.