McLeod, Sydney Alexander (Sergeant, b.1943)

Collection related to the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and Vietnam War service of 1/5801 and 1201143 Sergeant Sydney Alexander McLeod, 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 1960-1971. The collection includes 40 letters and notes McLeod sent to his parents and siblings during his military career.

McLeod enlisted in the Australian Army in 1960. He deployed with B Company of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) to Camp Terendak in Malacca, Malaysia in 1964 to defend the Malay peninsula from potential attack from Indonesia. In his letters home, he remarks on how cheap things are in Malaysia, writes of hiring a television, mentions the recent State of Origin rugby league match (a disappointing loss for McLeod as a Queenslander), and discusses the increase in patrols along the border region, writing: "The commo's must think now is a good time to play up again." As the battalion prepared to deploy to Borneo, McLeod was seconded to the Animal Transport Wing, under the British Army's Jungle Warfare School in Johore. There, McLeod was employed as a pony handler responsible for two stallions, Baldy and Boeing. McLeod remarks on how much he enjoys working with the horses and mentions that he has met the son of the Sultan of Johore. He also discusses his disdain for British pomp and his disappointment with what he saw as poor training standards among British soldiers. After nine months as a pony handler, McLeod returned to 3 RAR for operations against cross-border incursions from Indonesia. He tells his mother not to worry; after all, "it is my job so I may as well earn my keep."

McLeod returned to Australia in October 1965, was promoted lance corporal, and posted to the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was then being raised at Puckapunyal, Victoria, as part of an expansion to the Royal Australian Regiment. McLeod was tasked with training the influx of recruits under the National Service Scheme. McLeod writes that the work will be difficult but he feels he is up to the challenge. He also informs his family that he has decided to extend his period of enlistment, declaring that soldiering "is my type of life so I am making a career of it."

There is a two-year gap in the letters between February 1966 and January 1968, by which time McLeod had been posted to the 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit in Nui Dat, Vietnam. The collection includes one letter and two telegrams concerning McLeod's 1967-1968 tour during the Vietnam War. He writes that he was posted to the Reinforcement Unit from a Mobile Advisory Team, where he held a demanding role that occasioned frequent contacts with the enemy, after he refused to "take on kids who have been in the army only 12 months". The two telegrams concern McLeod's hospitalisation in January 1968 after he was wounded by an enemy mine. He reassures his mother that the wounds are not serious.

McLeod returned to Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment from May 1970 to June 1971. He writes in August that the battalion is on mine clearing operations, which he finds slow and tedious. He also discusses his daily routine, inquires about people at home, and discusses patrols, writing that "Charlie [the Viet Cong] is pretty scarce around here". McLeod notes an increase in operations from late August, but was hospitalised for much of September with hookworm. He celebrates his release from hospital and promotion to sergeant, and writes of his desire to return to operations at Fire Support Base Le Loi. The final letter was sent in November 1970, wherein McLeod writes of his current operations, discusses family and friends in Australia, and remarks on his fondness and love for his father.

The collection also includes the typed lyrics for two songs, "I Hate Men" and "A Tennis Romance", and the log for a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth.