"Accedited War Correspondent", Korea, shoulder patch: Bert Castellari, Daily Telegraph

Yellow embroidered shoulder patch "ACCREDITED / WAR / CORRESPONDENT" on a dark green wool ground.

Worn by Bert Castellari a correspondent with the Sydney 'Daily Telegraph' and the Melbourne 'Argus' in Korea between April and August 1954. His published stories are a mixture of hard reporting, human interest and sensational elements.

Castellari travelled with the Public Relations unit of the 28th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade; his first story was about himself, surviving a plane crash in "a remote guerilla infested area in south-west Korea". Other reports included "Morals Mean Little in Korea"; "Pusan - City of Creeping Death"; and feel-good stories about the Australians, "They're Ready in Korea - Hard Training, Playing, Sustaining morale".

Bertram Francis Castellari was born in London on 27 December 1923 and had seen service during the Second World War, enlisting on 6 January 1942 and serving under service number NX123622 where he operated Matilda tanks with the 1st Armoured Regiment. The AWM collection holds a photograph of him (P02125.001) sitting on a captured Type 94 Japanese tankette in Balikpapan in July 1945. The tankette was later collected and placed in the Memorial's collection (see REL/16287).