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MOvember MOtivation

23 November 2011

We know that some of you out there are neglecting your razors in the name of raising money for a good cause, even some of the good men here at the War Memorial have put their hand up to cultivate magnificent moustaches. So we thought we’d bring you some MOtivational photos from our archives, to show you that competitive MO growing has been going on for decades!

ABLE BODIED SEAMAN COOPER, RAN, SHOWING OFF HIS BEARD ON HMAS PERTH.South West Pacific Area. 27 September 1944. The champion beards on the HMAS Shropshire. Able Seaman (AB) Lionel Evans of Cottesloe, WA, is having his beard trimmed by AB Alf Harris of Albany, WA, and AB Alec Perry of Earlwood, NSW.

During the Second World War, naval ships such as the HMAS Perth and Shropshire held beard growing competitions. Above, a champion beard grower, Able Bodied Seaman Cooper, shows off his award winning crop aboard the Perth; and on the Shropshire, Able Seaman Evans has his beard trimmed by fellow champion growers.

In other forces, where beards were perhaps not allowed, we start to see some imaginative moustache examples. This one below is an example of one of the longest, grown in Japan in 1946.

KAITAICHI, JAPAN. 1946-12-25. A MEMBER OF THE BCOF AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES WORKSHOPS UNIT, WHO HAS THE LONGEST MOUSTACHE IN JAPAN.

Studio portrait of Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Henry  Thomas 'Jack' Harwood, the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), (previously the 67th Battalion).

During the Korean War, soldiers took great pride in the cultivation of their moustaches, waxing them especially for the occasion of having their portraits taken. Official Photographer, Phillip J Hobson, took a series of portraits of men and their moustaches.

11034 Private A Hopes of Rockhampton, Qld, a member of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), relaxes as he listens to a borrowed Decca 50 wind-up gramophone and records.  He has waxed his moustache for the occasion.

Private Moore, seen below receiving a haircut from a Korean barber, worries about the fate of his moustache, which, when waxed, is an impressive 6 inches from tip to tip.

In Korea there are two kinds of haircuts, sukoshi and takusan. Sukoshi means small or very little, and takusan means plenty. The only trouble is that Korean barbers vary widely in their interpretation of the terms, and once in the chair, a soldier who orders a sukoshi haircut is never certain whether he will finish up with sukoshi taken off or sukoshi left on.Port Moresby. 1945-07-10. 125110 Leading Aircraftman M. M. Sullivan of Manly, NSW, and member of No. 40 Squadron RAAF, is standing on the entry ladder to a Short Sunderland flying boat transport. He nominates for best moustache in the RAAF.A group of bearded members of HMAS Perth.

Happy Mo growing!

Last updated: 30 March 2021

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