Memorial Articles
The Memorial boasts a staff of subject specialists in all aspects of military history and museum practice.
Our articles and our Encyclopedia allow subject specialists to share their knowledge on Australian military history.
They also provide a way for us to take a closer look at the people and the stories behind the history and our museum collection.
Robert Chisholm was born William Leslie Chisholm on 18 April 1894 in Melbourne, Victoria. He was one of six children, born to Annie (née Absalom) and Robert Chisholm. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 23 November 1915, joining the Australian Army Service Corps as a driver. He embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Persic on 22 December 1916. Upon arrival in France he was attached to the 2nd Australian Divisional Supply Column but by early 1918 was serving in the 4th Divisional Train.
When people went to war, cats went too.
Its a little known fact that cats and even kittens accompanied men and women into the fields of battle, both at sea and on land. "War cats" had two important roles: “official mascot” for the regiment, squadron or ship; and “rat catcher”, a less glamorous, though no less essential duty.
The outbreak of the First World War brought an immediate rush of volunteers wanting to serve their country. In 1915, in the central west of New South Wales, a movement began which became known as the 'Gilgandra snowball'. Under the leadership of 'Captain Bill' Hitchen, 20 or so men who had decided to enlist started off to march to Sydney.
Whether walking back to safety from behind enemy lines, parachuting out of a disabled aircraft, crashing into water and being saved by a life raft, or enduring horrible burns from a plane crash, the stories of near misses experienced by aircrew during the Second World War are remarkable. As a symbol of the camaraderie between the men who had experienced these near misses, numerous clubs were formed, each with a distinct badge or patch to represent the wearer’s exploits.
The standard dress for those below officer level in the land forces of the ANMEF was the most easily sourced at the time - the Universal Training Pattern militia uniform consisting of slouch hat or forage cap, woollen military shirt, cord breeches, puttees, ankle boots and 1908 Pattern webbing equipment.
Back in 1990 as I was flying back to Australia after a month in England I noticed the flight path took the plane over the Middle East. I didn’t think much of it at the time, as the Earth usually does from 20,000 feet, the area looked serene. Little did I know that in less than two weeks this serenity would be broken on 2 August 1990 when Saddam Hussein’s armies rolled into Kuwait and started what was to become the First Gulf War 1990-1991.