Richard Marshall was born in c.1916. He was part of the 51 Battalion in Cairns, Queensland, which, at the outbreak of the Second World War, was a voluntary militia unit. As part of his work in this unit, Marshall composed an intelligence report regarding the evacuation of Cairns in the event of an invasion by enemy forces. His report also recommended the strategic destruction of infrastructure to slow the progress of the invaders. As he got older, Richard Marshall moved to Kandanga in South East Queensland, and donated his report to the Australian War Memorial in 1995. This report now forms part of the national collection.