Around the water cart.

Among the material recently made available at Australian Archives Sydney office is a box of lantern-slides produced by Wing Commander (later Sir Lawrence) Wackett's unit at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1924 and 1928. They appear to relate to the construction of aircraft and may have been used for promotional purposes. (Memento, National Archives of Australia, January 2000).

Shirley and Trevor McIvor of Queensland have produced a CD-ROM, Queensland War Memorials and Tributes, which has pays homage to our servicemen from the Boer to the Gulf War. It facilitates family research and searches for special categories, tributes, Queensland prisoners of war, etc. Order from T & S McIvor, 27 Maker St, Toowoomba, Queensland, 4350. $A45. (International Arms and Militaria Collector, No 19, received May 2000).

The Victorian Historical Journal, June 1999 has an interesting article by Nancy McConnan, taken from the letters of Walter McConnan of the 8th Light Horse Regiment during service at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. McConnan was one of only 39 of the original 500 members who returned to Australia with the regiment in August 1919. The article includes a photograph of all ranks of C Squadron, 8th LH, taken at Broadmeadows in 1914 or 1915.

When the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance was envisaged and designed in Victoria in 1922, the major argument was whether the memorial should be a non-utilitarian monument or a utilitarian project such as a hospital, a home for war widows or another worthy project. New ideas that came forward included Dame Nellie Melba's idea of a tower with a carillon of bells, an adaptation of the Taj Mahal, a palace of Art, a hall of fame, an Eiffel-style tower at least 122 metres high and a model of Mont St Quentin. Utilitarian proposals included a bridge over the Yarra River, the conversion of Federal Parliament House in Melbourne (now the Victorian Parliament's House) into a picture galley and war museum or the rebuilding of a slum area of Melbourne. The foundation stone of the present building was laid on Armistice Day 1927 and the building dedicated on 11 November 1934. In June 1933, the Lone Pine had been planted close to the memorial. This was grown from a cone brought home by a soldier of the 24th Battalion whose aunt planted the seeds in her Warrnambool garden. The tree now shades the sculpture of Simpson and his donkey. Trees reproduced from cones dropped from the Lone Pine were supplied to Legacy Clubs throughout Australia and one is still thriving at Government House in Canberra. (The Shrine of Remembrance, by Peter Isaacson, published in Victorian Historical Journal, June 1999).

From his Bookshelf section in International Arms and Militaria Collector Bulletin No 19b comes a report from our Queensland Branch Secretary, Syd Wigzell on `Grenades and Their Uses', a manual compiled by `Lt Col Law' and issued (so Syd believes) to the AIF in about 1916. It provides an insight into early British and Australian grenade types and trench raiding tactics. Among the improvised grenades covered are the Jam-tin, the Welsh Berry and the Russell Boomerang grenade (?!). Mechanical devices used to lob grenades are also covered; these include the trench catapult, which was a 50-lb, 12ft-long, winch-cocked, rubber-band-powered thrower with a range of 150 yards. The reprint by Rick Landers, PO Box 3082, Dural, NSW, 2158 is in paperback, 116pp, with k28 b&w illustrations. Price about A15 plus p&p and possibly GST.

Incidentally, Arms and Militaria Press (Ian Skennerton) have recently revised their publication arrangements and will now issue quarterly bulletins in a small format (eg, 19b mentioned above) and each year will issue a top-quality 150-page, thread-sewn, square-back annual (Notice in Collector Magazine Bulletin 19b, received May 2000)

Our good friend Sgt Jason Logue reports in Army 31 August 2000 that the Web site `Anzac Steel' is worth a look, particularly for those interested in armour and armoured vehicle (and the modelling of them). With the recent demise of the tank museum's site, there is a large hole in Australia's web-based military heritage and Anzac Steel will help to fill that gap. There are articles on the US M3 series in RAAC use through to features on the Leopard and ASLAV. Paul Handel is the site's main contributor and Shane Abdoo (who prepared the dioramas at the Puckapunyal Tank Museum) caters for those interested in armour modelling. (Army Newspaper, 31 August 2000).

Two officers of The Queens Own Corps of Guides are credited with introducing 'khaki' (Persian for `dust colour') to our various armies. Lt (afterwards Lt Gen Sir) Harry Lumsden and his 2iC Lt W Hodson of the Bengal Fusiliers (later the founder of the famous `Hodson's Horse (4th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers) adopted khaki for the Guides because of the terrain of the rocky mountains and plains of North West India. It was introduced as a working dress in 1861 and became the official service dress in India. Clothing was dyed khaki regimentally, using whatever pigment was available - tea, coffee, mud, curry powder. The spinners of Manchester invented fast-dyed khaki and patented it in 1884. For the reconquest of the Sudan 1897-98, all the troops were dressed in khaki uniforms. The Americans adopted it in the early 1900s, Japan in 1905, French Colonial Forces in 1910 and the Belgian and Spanish Armies in 1919. (RUSI (Qld) Bulletin, March 2000, from a contribution by Major Gil Western, MC).

Despite the increased lethality and accuracy of weapons, the rate at which soldiers actually kill the enemy has not increased significantly. Lt Col Grossman, a US Army psychologist, and the author of On Killing - The Psychological cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society says the average firing rate was incredibly low in (American) Civil War Battles ... the killing potential of the average Civil War regiment was anywhere from 500 to 1000 men per minute. The actual killing rate was only one or two men per minute per regiment (`The Battle Tactics of the American Civil War': author Griffith, NFD) Grossman reports that at the Battle of Gettysburg, of the 27,000 muskets picked up after the battle from the dead and dying, 90% were loaded. Since it took 95% of a soldier's time to load his musket and only 5% to fire it, this is a clear anomaly. But even more amazing is that of the thousands of loaded muskets, more than half had multiple loads in the barrel. S L A Marshall, in his battlefield studies during WW2, discovered that only 15 to 20 per cent of individual riflemen actually fired at the enemy. Grossman says, `from a military perspective, a 15% firing rate among riflemen is like a 15% literacy rate among librarians'. (Army Magazine [Australia], No 42, March 2000).

Dr Richard John Gatling is best remembered for the machine gun that bears his name. The reliability of that multi-barrelled weapon was quite phenomenal. During three days of tests in October 1873, one hundred thousand rounds were fired from an 1865 model, using the gravity feed drum magazine. At Karlsruhe in 1869, one hundred riflemen armed with the Prussian needle gun hit a target 6 feet high and 72 feet long 196 times out of 721 shots in one minute. In the same time, at a similar target, a 0.5in Gatling gun scored 216 hits out of 246 shots. (Albury-Wodonga Branch Newsletter, No 3/2000, May 2000). And to bring that closer to home, Sgt J Land of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps Museum, Singleton, NSW is in the process of restoring and conserving the 1871 Gatling gun in the museum. It was completely repainted in a shade of Brunswick green some 30 years ago. He would like to know what the original colours were. He would also like to have any information about this gun's service in Australia. It has a very low serial number, No 36. Those listed in `Report of the Military Committee of Inquiry 1901' were four guns in Victoria with numbers 4138-4141 inclusive. Can any member help him with information? (International Arms and Militaria Collector Magazine No 19 received May 2000).

Located within the Rookwood Necropolis (the largest cemetery complex in the Southern Hemisphere), the Sydney /War Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is Australia's largest war cemetery and memorial. This cemetery has the only Stone of Remembrance in an Australian War Cemetery. It contains 734 war graves and the Memorial to the Missing honours 751 dead. A further 199 names of men and women of the Armed Forces whose remains were cremated appear on the Cremation Memorial. In all, the Office of Australian War Graves maintains 11,416 war graves. Of these, approximately half are in war cemeteries and the remainder is distributed among some 900 civil cemeteries throughout the nation. There are also memorials to 1032 missing personnel. The German military cemetery at Tatura, Victoria and the Japanese War Cemetery contain, respectively, the graves of 250 and 523 war dead of our one-time adversaries. (War Cemeteries within Australia, Brochure issued by the Office of Australian War Graves, June 1998).

Congratulation to our Victorian Branch member, Anthony McAleer for finalising and publishing the incomplete work `My Boys' of Mrs Aeneas Gunn (author of `We of the Never Never'). Anthony's work on her now-published record of the service personnel from the Monbulk area of Victoria is a valuable contribution to Australian history in general and military history in particular. (Despatches, Quarterly Newsletter of the Victorian Branch, No 3, June 2000).

The Victorian Branch Newsletter also draws our attention to an important date in 2001. The Australian War Memorial Field Day and Open Night will be conducted on the weekend closest to Australia Day 2001. The focus will be on a century of Australian military history from the Boer War (stretched to include the Sudan Campaign) to the modern day and will involve reenactment groups, static and moving displays.

Want to know about Imperial Honours and Awards to Australians from 1901 to the present day? Try www.itsanhonour.gov.au (Despatches, dune 2000).

The Society of Australian Genealogists recently obtained three volumes of the series `Index to news items, obituaries and photographs of World War II Tasmanian Servicemen and women published in the Launceston (Tasmania) newspaper `The Examiner". This index covers the period 23 September 1939 to 30 June 1943. The compiler, Mrs Wendy Knolle, has continued to index the items in this paper to 31 December 1945, but has been unable to publish the later work. It is deposited with the State Library of Tasmania (Reference Section). The earlier three volumes are available at the SAG Library, 24 Kent St, Sydney, NSW. (Descent, Journal of the Society of Australian Genealogists, June 2000).

I mentioned earlier the Society of Australian Genealogists Library in Sydney. Recently lodged and accessioned at the headquarters at Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent St, Sydney are `Regimental Indexes 1806, volume 4: 5th, 6th and 7th Regiments of Foot, 1st & 2nd Battalions' on microfiche. (Descent, June 2000).

The Cape Barren Island War Memorial, erected in 1937, was rededicated on Anzac Day 2000, honouring the service of the island's Aboriginal veterans. The island is at the western end of Bass Strait and the memorial has now been updated to include the names of 27 veterans from WW2 to Vietnam. All names recorded are those of Tasmanian Aboriginal men. Of the then 180 Cape Barren Islanders, 21 volunteered for service in WW1; six gave their lives. (Vetaffairs, Department of Veterans' Affairs, June 2000).

Frank Urban of 11 Bellevue Drive, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444 has notified the Society of the publication of his book `Somme Anzac Digger', a biography of Walter Elkington MC, 20th Bn AIF. The book is available from the author at $A15, including p&p and GST. (Intrep, ACT Branch Monthly Newsletter, August 2000).

The George Cross (GC) was instituted on 24 September 1940 at the personal instigation of King George VI, who wished to establish an award to recognise civilian or non-combat gallantry of a level equivalent to a combat award of the VC. To date, 398 awards have been made, 154 as direct awards and the remainder as `translations', that is previous awards being exchanged for the GC (112 Empire Gallantry Medals, 64 Albert Medals and 68 Edward Medals). The most recent award was to Sergeant S C Guthrie, New Zealand Police, Dunedin on 13 November 1990 (London Gazette 18th February 1992). Eleven awards of the GC have been made to women - 4 direct awards, 3 translations of the EGM and 4 translations of the AM. Three of the four direct awards were posthumous - Ensign Violette Szabo, WTS and SOE (1945); Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat-Khan, WAAF and SOE (1945) and Miss B J Harrison, Air Stewardess, BOAC (1968). (Intrep, ACT Branch Monthly Newsletter, August 2000).

Graham Wilson, our `serene and indefatigable' Federal and ACT Branch Secretary (the adjectives are taken from the Presidential Citation to 3 RAR for Kapyong - and are very difficult to say: Joe) has a particular interest in AIF Cyclist Units. He would love to hear from anyone with information on their employment in the First AIF. Contact him c/- PO Box 30 Garran, ACT, 2605 or at his work address: AIO, R7-5, Russell Offices, Canberra, ACT, 2600). (Free plug!).

Which Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the Ypres Salient holds the most number of Australians? Tyne Cot holds the most Australian dead: 1,368, not counting burials listed as `Known unto God'. As for the cemetery holding the least number of Australians, the honours are shared between Godezonne Farm, Hyde Park Comer, Mont Noir, Ploegsteert Wood and Reninghelst Churchyard Extension, all of which contain a single Australian. The lone Australian buried in Reninghelst Churchyard Extension is Fr Michael Bergin SJ MC, the Irish-born Jesuit priest who served as Catholic Chaplain to the 5th Light Horse on Gallipoli and 13th Brigade on the Western Front. (See Graham Wilson and Joe Crumlin's article 'Trooper Bergin SJ' for more detail on the fascinating story of this Trooper/Chaplain 4th Class. Sabretache, October-December 1997,p3: Joe.) (Intrep, ACT Branch Monthly Newsletter, August 2000).

WA Branch member Ian Gill is seeking assistance for a book he is writing on all members of the 11th Bn First AIF who were decorated (from VC to MID). Can anyone help with letters, photos, diaries, unit or personal records, or references to publications? Contact Ian via the WA Branch Secretary (address on second-last page of Sabretache).

Any member with information on VX38315 Private T W Curry, 1 st AA BDGE Coy (sic) AASC, 2nd AIF? Les May of 20 Chamberlain Ave, Clarence Gardens, South Australia, 5039 has his Australian Soldier's Pocket Book and is looking for the owner or interested relatives. Ring [phone] (Vetaffairs, June 2000).

Les Mcfadzen of 6 Ackworth Place, Alexandra Hills, Queensland, 4161 is looking for information on the 4th Queensland Contingent Imperial Bushmen; also on the disbanded African Veterans Association and their involvement in the Boer War. Call Les on [phone] (Vetaffairs, June 2000).

And one for our Navel (Naval)-oriented members. National Archives has a comprehensive guide `Cockatoo Island Dockyard: A Guide to the Records'. It describes the records in the Archives collection documenting the dockyard's history, facilities, ships, aircraft and fast boats. It also covers docking and launching records, administrative records, photographs and lots of design and engineering information. $10 (plus postage and now possibly plus GST) from Archives by phoning [phone] or through any Archives office. (Memento, Bulletin of National Archives of Australia, May 2000).

In Water Cart of June 2000, I mentioned R F Hadlow's interest in variants of the Australian GS horse-drawn wagon. Mr W A Palmer of Wandin North, Victoria has now written to Vetaffairs to say that he believes he was the only wheelwright to serve in WW2 in the SW Pacific. He was a member of 1st Australian Pack Transport Company, made up of horsemen from every State and was responsible for servicing the unit's horse-drawn vehicles. Among these was a square box-type wagon with two wheels. Two horses drew it, one ridden. A second wagon could be hooked on behind the first one. The unit's main task was to use packhorses to carry all sorts of goods mainly around the Kokoda Track area. (Vetaffairs, June 2000).

From the Newsletter of the Queensland Branch for May-June 2000 comes news of a publication by Branch member Mr Dave Radford. He has recorded his pre-WW2 and WW2 service for posterity in `The 9th Bn, AMF (The Moreton Regiment) in WW2: The Memories of an `Original' 1939 to 1945'. Dave fought at Milne Bay as 2IC of C Company 9th Bn and was Company Commander of B Company on Bougainville. Copies from D Radford, phone [phone].