CAMOUFLEURS
DEPARTMENT OF HOME SECURITY
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2

 

C.S. Ballantyne (H.S. 1800) was a Camouflage Officer employed by the Department of Home Security from 16 December 1941 until 31 July 1944. During this period he served in Darwin from 30 April 1942 to 1 May 1944. He was accredited to the RAAF as Camoufleur by Certificate No. 18 on 6 July 1943. He was attached to No. 21 Works Wing from 6 July 1943 until the remainder of his service in the Darwin area.

Some famous Australian artists and photographers were employed by the Department of Home Security, as Camoufleurs and seconded out to the Navy, Army and Air Force as Camouflage Officers. Their ranks included such Australian artists as Russell Drysdale, Peter Barnes, Ewert Collings, Frank Hinder, Joshua Smith, Huxtable, Clement Seale, Rod Shaw, John Moore, Douglas Annand, Joshua Smith, William Dobell, and Robert Emerson-Curtis, who from January 1942 to January 1945 was seconded to the RAAF as a Camouflage Officer, and in the final year occupying the position of Officer-in-Charge of Camouflage in the New Guinea area. Eric Jolliffe, famous for his cartoons of “Saltbush Bill” and “Witchetty's Tribe”, also served with the unit as did the noted photographer Max Dupain.

Some of the Camoufleurs were based at Bankstown Airfield near Sydney.


AWM Heraldry Collection

Camoufleur Service Dress hat badge and two collar badges

 

Professor A.D. Ross was the Deputy Director of Camouflage, State Defence Camouflage Committee (W.A.), University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA where a Camouflage School, WA was located in the Department of Physics. One of the courses was on 26 and 27th May 1942.

There was a Camouflage Research Section in the Department of Home Security.

The Australian Army had a Camouflage Wing at St George's Heights. Lieutenant Frank Hinder was seconded to the Camouflage Section of the Department of the Army in January 1943.

The National Security (Camouflage) Regulations were administered by the Minister of State for Home Security. The Regulations established the Defence Central Camouflage Committee which comprised:-

Each State had its own State Defence Camouflage Committee comprising the following membership one of whom would fulfil the role of Chairman:-

An Experimental Camouflage Station was established at Middle Head, Sydney to work under the direction of the Central Camouflage Committee and administered by the Army. The function of the Experimental Station was to investigate camouflage problems submitted by the Central Camouflage Committee and to instruct selected personnel.

The Camouflage Wing, School of Military Engineering, Mosman ran the Georges Heights Camouflage School.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Ian Jenkins for his assistance with this web page.

 

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This page first produced 31 October 2010

This page last updated 16 January 2020