The following is based on the diary of "Snow" Bradshaw of No. 1 Wireless Unit, RAAF. I would like to thank his son Simon Bradshaw for his assistance with this web page.

Snow Bradshaw

World War 2 broke out on 3rd September 1939 to the best of my remembrance and I was working with the P.M.G’s Department as a trainee Technician at the workshops in South Melbourne. During this training period, I had qualified as a Telegraphist Class 2 that means being able to read Morse code over the sounder and handle a teleprinter to acceptable standards. I enlisted in the Reserve Air Force Air Crew in March 1940 and waited and waited for my call-up. For this enlistment we were issued with a badge, to be pinned in a prominent position on our lapel, consisting of a circle of gold wherein an eagle at full stretch was suspended. Within the surrounds of the golden circle, were the words “R.A.A.F. Reserve”. That ensured I wasn’t taken by the “Man-Power “Authorities and either sent to the Militia or conscripted Co munitions or such.

Tired of waiting for my callup, I went to the recruitment Office in Elizabeth Street and signed up as a Wireless Operator. Having first passed a Trade Test to ensure that I could read Morse code over a radio. This made sure I was in camp within three weeks for they were short of people who could read Morse.

First Camp was at Laverton for my Rookies which lasted two weeks, you see we were skilled and they needed us!!! Then to Point Cook where we under went intensive training in Signals Procedure, the “Handling of Equipment” and the general application of needles, drill, etiquette and the formalities of Service life.

My first Radio course was No. 6 W/T Operator’s course and included Low Frequency Direction Finding, High Freq. the same thing, as well as the handling of our receiving and transmitting equipment. At no time during my training was I taken aloft in an aircraft for the actual thing - this was to come later. For Part of the Theory of the exercise, we were transferred into the William Anglis School of “Butchery” or something in Latrobe Street then marched down to the A.W.A. School of Radio in Queen Street. This was tough for there were no leave days at all. I used to ring a mate at Moonee Ponds and have a sound off at week ends but it wasn’t any good - we were getting our anti-cholera and anti typhoid injections then and weren’t allowed out.

This didn’t last too long and I was posted to H.Q.Laverton as an Operator with a badge on my arm ---- flying spark!!! A bolt of electricity with wings on it whereas the later badge was a handful of sparks or hot!!!!! While at the Laverton H.Q. I took my shifts at point to point communications M/F D/F H/F D/F Teleprinter xxx duties and whatever had to be done located on xxxx Laverton Air Base, was the Navigation School, No. 2 Squadron flying Lockheed Hudsons, No. 1. Aircraft Depot and a Research Unit. I, as the newest recruit got the jobs of “operator” whenever one was wanted- this led to all sorts of flying at IAD hours.

During my months at Laverton, I flew as radio operator with No.2 Squadron on anti-submarine patrols out over Bass Strait, covering the coastline from Mount Gambier to Mallacoota. Our overnight bases would be Warrnambool, Laverton, Yanakie, Bairnsdale and then to Mallacoota. My duties were general communications and the maintenance of a log book containing radio D/F bearing at half hourly intervals. The Captain of the aircraft would occasionally ask for a position and I had to have the latest ready for him. These exercises would last for the best part of a week before beginning all over again.

My duties with Navigation School were virtually the same, except there were night navigational exercises to contend with. Daytime cross country trips were alright for you could see where you were, but night time you had to be spot on with your bearings or else - clouds full of rocks and so on!!!!

I had three trips to Western Australia during this time, escorting flights of Anson’s and Fairey Battles to the flying Schools that were being established across the country. The drill was to overnight at Ceduna first night. Hotel accommodation and all second night we would be in Kalgoorlie, third night in Perth and end up at Geraldton on the western coast. The trip back to Melbourne was first class rail, and one cut rather a romantic figure, in uniform with a bag of flying gear, “carelessly tossed on the luggage rack”!!!!

My Mother and family, living in Sunshine were duly impressed too, as were the neighbours either side of her. While enjoying myself at Laverton I made the acquaintance of a couple of Officers - one then a S/Ldr. Laming and the other F/Lt. Booth. These blokes were from Southern Area Command, then located in Irving Road Toorak, to which we were connected by land line and teleprinter. I first became aware of Mum, as a set of initials NT the end of teleprinter messages, mostly during the night shifts when there would only be one operator on duty.

Due to my P.M.G training as an operator, I acquired a reputation as a “hot shot on the key, and this led to my name being known to the aforementioned Officers. There were another couple of Air Force blokes that lived in Sunshine, near my Mum’s place, of which more will be heard later. One lived opposite in Martin St. and he was an instructor at Navigation School - his name Bill Bolitho, and the other came from round the corner and he was Clem Blakeley you’ll read about him in some of the “Official” papers I sent with Dale.

Anyway, by this time my Log book looked impressive, with nearing 100 hours flying time in some five different types of aircraft. Altogether I was feeling pretty good with myself and what I was doing. I could handle any kind of communication equipment that was in use at the time and I had been promoted to Leading Aircraftsman. My right arm was beginning to look like I was doing something.

Then came a parade to the Signals Officer, and S/Ldr. Laming, F/Lt. Booth and F/Lt. Blakeley were in attendance. I was offered a “job” that would “prove both challenging and rewarding” if I accepted.

One of the other Operators from Laverton had just been posted to No. 3 Squadron in the Middle East, and I thought something similar was in the offing so I accepted. To my surprise I was posted to Victoria Barracks Melbourne, to attend a School, under the auspices of the Navy, to learn to read Japanese Morse Code. That should all be in capital letters for everything associated with this course, and I mean everything, was “Most Secret” or “Ultra Secret” until 1987, when certain freedom of information legislation was introduced which freed us from the restrictions and the provisions of the Secrets Act of the Commonwealth of Etc. “. . . . I am not aware whether or not any of you blokes knew just what I had been up to but the need for secrecy had been so impressed on us. In retrospect, who the hell would be interested anyway!!

On completion of this course, and reaching a degree of efficiency which all owed us to read this stuff “on air” we were formed into a group, I as the Senior Rank - Corporal - was in charge, so with a quick re-introduction to the 303 rifle, hand grenades, ammunition and bayonet we were posted to R.A.A.F. H.Q., Darwin, allegedly for on shipment to Palembang in Sumatra, as it was known then. The time would now be middle August 1941, and in case this following information causes you some embarrassment I will double space it so you can cut it out.

By this time I had personally met your Mum, and found I liked her and her Mum. I had won the middleweight boxing championship of the R.A.A.F Station Laverton, and the Inter Service Middleweight Championship, held at the then Stadium - now known as Festival Hall. Your Father and his opponent, one Bluey Truscott were awarded the “Fight of the Night” prize from an evening newspaper I think it was the Star, Not the Herald. I can’t remember the amount, but there was some money there. Could have been five pounds I forget. Enough of this - the trophies finished in the rubbish at Cheltenham for all that. There is some paperwork - newspaper cuttings and so on at the back of one of the photograph albums one of you fellers has regarding these exploits.

On the evening of Monday 23rd August 1941, we set forth from Melbourne, by train, armed with a letter of introduction to the Commanding Officer, R.A.A.F. Base, Darwin, - a cypher machine (Newman type), and a breast full of fervour. After an overload trip via passenger train, cattle train, and Army truck, with the final miles, 300 of them, by “Leaping Lena”, from Larimah to Darwin - a wood burning bitch of a machine with four different shaped wheels at each corner. This took the better part of two days, and on arrival we presented ourselves, letter and all to the C.O. one Group Captain Scherger. After reading our letter of introduction, he granted us accommodation, sleeping and eating, plus a place to work. This happened to be the upper floor of an old “Camera Obscura” building alongside the station Headquarters and within shouting distance, then promptly forgot about us. On the journey through the centre, we were in the company of some 300 men of the 2/24th Pioneers, who suffered our company with admirable fortitude. There are some photos here showing our “air raid” exercises from the train, our messing arrangements and living arrangements, up with which we had to put’!!!.

Our working gear consisted of one radio receiver type A.R.7., one long wine aerial, one “Newman” coding machine, and a stack of message forms and pencils. The technique was to read the traffic, code it with our machine, then hand it over to the Cypher Officer of the normal R.A.A.F. W/T/ organisation for encoding by “x” machine and on forwarding to Melbourne. As the whole of our traffic was “Most Secret” and “Priority” we were not looked upon with much favour by the by the Cypher blokes, and with active dislike by the W/T Section, due to our overloading of their limited facilities then available. Our “authority” precluded and interference or obstruction in any way by the establishment, so our efficiency was not interfered with, that we were aware of.

Original frequencies, contained in our original instructions, gradually gave way to random search techniques, with the addition of one more A.R. 7 received, borrowed from who knows where. This required two operators on duty at all times and with the encoding requirements daily, time became very short. Traffic at this time amounted to average 40 per hour from one machine, and this combined with watch keeping of 24 hours per day, plus the coding built up a work load that proved almost impossible to cope with.
The first evidence of strain or stress came when our Jim Wilson, attempted to take the head off one C.L. Hermes, with his tin helmet. Poor Jim was sent South for medical reasons and I haven’t heard a word of him since. Ted Cook was the next casualty; his physiology could not stand up to the transition from a temperate climate to a tropical one, so he had to go.

During this period, frequencies monitored were naturally restricted, although whilst traffic offered, it was copied. The Operators worked long, long hours to man the receivers, to the grateful thanks of our S.Ldr. Laming and F.Lt. Booth who paid us a visit shortly before the first raid on Darwin.

Occasionally, we would go for a trip into Darwin itself, just to have a break and to have a look at the defences that were being built round the area. The threat of action must have been becoming more obvious to those in charge for we were all issued with weapons. The other blokes got .303’s and as the N.C.O. in Charge, I was issued with one .38 Smith and Wesson revolver and a box of ammunition. Apart from the normal guards on the drome, we had to maintain our own security.

Although we had all felt the need for some direction finding facilities, due to the need for the utmost security required for OUR enterprise, only the vaguest Requests for bearings, on a certain frequency could be made to the operators at the normal R.A.A.F. D/F. Station. This was done without the authority of Darwin C.O, and/or Central Bureau in Melbourne. The risks were, we felt, justified as these bearings allowed us to identify call signs as being mobile or fixed. If They were mobile, the variation of bearing, over one hour, could lead to the identification of an aircraft or a surface vessel. Mostly it was confirmation of information already in our possession. In this way tables were drawn up, of groups of call signs belonging to certain areas, and when these were changed our own expertise in recognising certain operators’ methods assisted in confirming identification. Such was the quality of this work that tables of predictions regarding call signs were available right up to the end of hostilities.

Here I think I should mention our method of communicating our intelligence to Southern Area H.Q, Melbourne. On the beginning we had the raw intercepted traffic, written in our particular “shorthand”. This was common to all intercept stations and could be translated to the Japanese words with ease - however before this traffic could be handed to normal R.A.A.F cypher office bods, it had to be disguised, in case someone found out what we were doing, and thus added to the risks of blowing the “Servlce” wide open. Our intercepted traffic had to be coded, using a method known as “Playfair” which is a substitution method, using key words. I will lay it out for you if you would like me to but I think it would only lead to confusion if I did it here. I think I had better get it down on paper before I lose the brain I have left, and won’t be able to.

This work was then handed to the normal cypher blokes for encoding and onward transmission. As you will appreciate, a time consuming method, but we had no other.

On our travels we had acquired an “Anson” “Loop”, this is a piece of radio direction finding equipment normally fitted to Anson aircraft. This, fitted to our receiver gave us an indication of the general direction of the transmitting station, and coupled with our own guesswork, proved interesting and of value in identifying stations. This, of course added to the volumes of traffic and information to be transmitted south.

We had no way of passing any information we may have considered urgent, to our local authorities, except through one W/O Murdon, and old navy mate of our Taff Davis. This bloke was the Signals Officer at Darwin with direct access to the Commanding Officer, G/Capt Scherger. We kept him informed of reconnaissance aircraft heading our way, as we thought. Sometimes we were right and at other times there was no sign of them, submarines played a big part in our intercept traffic as they used to approach the coastline and take up a station and observe our aircraft and shipping and report.

Although these actions were reported and noted, there was nothing we, as a service could, do about it for we had no gear.. No aircraft, no ships, some anti-aircraft guns along the harbour edge, and some machine gun emplacements, in depth, back towards the inland to cover our retreat, when the invasion came. Very disheartening I assure you.

This situation continued until the 19th February 1942. Mind you the 7th December 1941 was celebrated in fine style for we were all then on 2/6d pence day deferred pay. No more money in our pay but 2/6d. per day was paid into a special account to drawn when we were discharged. Anyway at about 10.15 a.m. on 19th Feb. we had been copying what we reckoned were aircraft transmissions with signal strength improving every transmission, when we reckoned something special was on. Single aircraft had been active very early that morning then the volume of traffic oven all observed frequencies had increased then faded out to nothing - a fair indication that aircraft were heading our way. We passed our suspicions to Murdon and prepared our area.

The quiet was unbelievable, nothing on all observed frequencies for at least half an hour then we could hear them. In the meantime we had seen seven Kittyhawks take off and disappear to seaward, accompanied by one Hudson of 2 Squadron. One Kitty came back, landed and taxied to the hanger area, then took off again Taff Davis, Clarrie Hermes and I were outside on the upper floor balcony of our building looking for what we could see, and we saw one aircraft a Kitty, dive down on another one and fire its guns then turn and disappear into cloud. We decided it was time to hunt some cover on the ground. As we came out at ground level, we could see large volumes of smoke and aircraft diving down in the harbour area. The drome now came under heavy attack by fighters and dive bombers; you would hear the roar of the engines, then the machine guns or the noise of a bomb going off. You could see aircraft buzzing around near ground level seemingly everywhere.

With the noise of the hangers burning, our ground defence machine guns, and the screaming motors, confusion reigned Supreme. Our building and the H.Q. building weren’t hit during this initial attack which seemed to go into a lull for a while. I know we had time to look about our area before the high-level aircraft came into view. These flew above our anti-aircraft guns’ range from north to south and laid a pattern of bombs across the whole drome area, which besides making one hell of a. noise, started fires all oven the place. At this time there was no damage in the barracks area, only hangers, admin building stores and such. On the return journey, from the south, the pattern included the living quarter’s area, the hospital, and the mess halls. It was during this second high level run, that Taff Davis and I were burled by a near miss on the trench in which, we were. We were wearing gas masks and these were helpful in allowing us to breathe without much difficulty.

By the time were helped out dusted off, and checked over, most of the aircraft had disappeared, and apart from sundry fires, smoke and noise from the burning buildings things quietened down, Heading for the barracks area to check on the rest of our blokes, we were told that our C/O., had evacuated the area in his own Wirraway, between the dive bombers and the first wave of high level stuff. Great for our morale I can assure you. Our blokes were all there without problems, except where to eat, and sleep and so on. There was no power so a holiday was declared and we went to look at what we could see. No one in authority showed anywhere - it was everyone for himself, and on checking gear and finding something to eat we repaired to our own work place.

I remember the O.I.C. Stores’ asking me if I had any paperwork to get rid of for this was a golden opportunity. His store was burning and was being helped by paperwork of all description. Stores records I supposed and anything that you didn’t want to account for. There were no spare weapons or ammunition unfortunately as I fancied another weapon more substantial than my pistol. Our Barracks had been destroyed, so we decided to live and work from the one building. No one objected and we set ourselves up for the night time. Mid-afternoon there was a roundup of all able bodied personnel and a roll call from all Sections.

There were some missing so checks had to be made and then our executive Officer, one W/Commander Brian Eaton, driving in a staff car advised us - the whole assembled group of odd bods from everywhere, to evacuate the Station, and “get as far south as possible”. We decided we were better off where we were and waited. The road passing the R.A.A.F. Camp was the main road south, and by this time was crowded with all kinds of vehicle and people walking carrying what they wanted to save. One of our blokes a W/0 Swann, tried to introduce some sort on order into the R.A.A.F. personnel hanging about with moderate success. Some blokes left for places south but the majority stayed and although there was no power, roll calls were added up, bomb craters in the barracks area were searched and so on things became slightly organised.

Scratch meals were provided from the airmen’s Mess, and a guard system was organized from the blokes wandering about unattached. We were O.K. for we were of one group and had our quarters to work and live in and provided we could get some power we could get back to work. Our holiday lasted till next morning when partial power was restored. I responded to a Dental Treatment call, and was in the chair when the alarm went off next day - those fillings lasted me for thirty odd years, till they wore out. We had just begun to operate again when the Sigs bloke - Murdon - presented us with a Signal from Melbourne. Davis and Hermes were to go to Groote Island, Towers to Broome, Bradshaw to Wyndham, to man the Aeradio Station (Civilian Dept. of Air Control) and inform Darwin and Melbourne of Japanese movements - ship or air.

I was to be accompanied by a Cypher 0fficer - one Flying 0fficer Stewart, whose duty was to encypher my traffic for on-forwarding to Melbourne. The situation was incongruous to say the least. Here am I a Corporal, with an F/0 off-sider, preparing my work for transmission. He doesn’t know what the hell I doing and he works when I do. I knew it couldn’t last and so it turned out. 0n the morning of ? rd March 1942 Alf Towers boarded a Lockheed 1o of MacRobertson-Miller Airways, bound for Broome, and I climbed aboard D.H. 86 Aerial Ambulance heading for Drysdale River Mission via Wyndham. I had the Cypher bloke with me.

We saw the Lockheed take off as were making out approach to Wyndham then were all set to touch down. As we began to run along the runway our machine bucked and rattled and holes appeared through the fuselage and the engines on the starboard started smoking like hell. The Pilot yelled that were being attacked and to abandon the plane so we did as fast as possible. I reckon about 40 m.p.h. alight anyway. We threw our gear out as fast as possible and lurched out the doors. The last I remember was the plane, burning, trundling down the runway, and myself making a beeline for the scrub on the edge of the drome, about a half mile away. It may not have been as far as that but it seemed a lot further.

The Zeros, as we could see by now, were shooting up everything they could about the place. I know, I arrived in the scrub, threw myself down under the biggest bush I could find and watched. The aircraft blew up with a loud noise, the fuel dump behind the hanger was burning and a very large rhinoceros beetle crawled that should crawled, across the ground night in front of my nose. It was the first time I had ever seen one of those beetles. I could feel the heat of the fuel dump fine but I wasn’t going to move just yet. Eventually the aircraft went away and we came out from where we were to pick up our gear and see what had happened. We gathered our gear and found that there was room to live in the guard house erected near the entrance gate, the radio shack was O.K. The hanger and the fuel dump had been destroyed, the D.H.86 was destroyed, no one was seriously hurt and there was food to be had from the town. The local Volunteer Defence Commander turned up to see what had happened. He was a station manager from out back - a station named Carlton Station. He was equipped with a Thompson sub-machine gun and maps of the overland routes, and food and fuel dumps across to Hall’s Creek and the main road south. He wouldn’t give me his Thompson but the pilot of the D.H.86 and his mate went with him back out to the Station.

The Aeradio 0perator one Roger Wentworth, tried to maintain his radio schedules with Broome and Darwin, but there was no hope that afternoon. This Aeradio bloke lived in town at the Hotel and that left me, my Cypher bloke, and the two R.A.A.F. guards in occupation of the drome and the equipment. We couldn’t get a situation report away till the next morning, and although Darwin acknowledged there was nothing whatever from Broome. I didn’t catch up with Alf Towers till almost two years later in Townsville. Roger tried to keep his watches and schedules and when he wasn’t using the gear I maintained intercept watches on the main frequencies I had been given to watch.

The time taken to process my material to the stage where I could go on the air and transmit it to Darwin was such that time used to run out each day when Aeradio watches had to be opened with the result that there was a back log of traffic. These I kept, in the hope that I could get them away. One night during this period, the Sergeant in Charge of the guard came to me in the radio shack about 9 P.m. and said that there were lights blinking across the mud flats that surrounded the drome there. I had a look but couldn’t read any sense into them so it was decided that we would have to investigate!!!!

I hope you appreciate the situation - me a Corporal, with the training I had had survived - a Sergeant of the guard who was much less of a country kid than I was, and a Commissioned Officer - Cypher type - armed with one point 38 pistol, one point 303 rifle and two bayonets heading out into the dark of the Australian bush, which could have been infested with Japanese or who knows what??? To my credit, and I have no shame in claiming such, I led this mob out into the scrub, downwind, I assure you, night up to the camp of a mob of abo’s who were on walkabout, dogs and all, with a hurricane lamp tied to a bush, gently swinging in the breeze, thus giving us the intermittent flashes of light. I don’t know who was most surprised, but maintaining a brave front we left them to their own devices and came back to the drome - chastened and thankful.

The following morning, across our night time tracks, there were large crocodile tracks so that behaviour was out from then on.

Mid-day on the 11th. March 1942 I was on watch in the radio shack when the rear section collapsed in a welter of noise and falling plaster. I headed out to see three Zero’s flying away from me but banking to make a return run. I threw the power switches and started to run to where we had put a series of 44 gallon drums down in the dirt as shelter holes. As I ran I was facing these aircraft, they were at eye level it seemed, and as I saw smoke peel back over the leading edge of the wings I knew there was trouble. However I made a drum and though there was a lot of noise and dust I seemed to be alright. Later I found that I had a hole in my head above my night ear that was stitched ten days later at the Batchelor Hospital. Following the strafing, a flight of nine Betty’s - medium bombers came over and dropped a couple of sticks of bombs down the runways, blowing large holes through the tough laid surface down into the mud below. This really put the drome out of action as far as the made runways were concerned.

My Cypher bloke decided then that he was being wasted and rang the Defence Corps Commander at Carlton, who came and picked him up and took him away. I presumed at the time that there was an overland route operating for people who wanted to leave the area. This rather effectively put a finish to my operations ay Wyndham, and as I had a sore head and some other dermo problems, I sent a signal to Darwin asking for relief. Lo and behold! Black Jack Walker, in his own personal Dauntless dive bomber, came and rescued me. He saw the state of the drome and promised to relieve the two guards of ours as soon as possible and flew me back to Batchelor strip and the Hospital. There my head was stitched and the sundry, fungal areas treated, My main concern during this time, was the great stack of intercepted traffic I was ‘■’ carrying - quite a bundle I assure you, No one - but no one was allowed to even see it !!! No one in that area I could refer to - no one I could leave it with and no one I could even talk about it to.

However I was eventually, put on board another of MacRobertson-Miller aircraft and sent to Adelaide, where we went through a medical check - I was diagnosed as “dermo and Anxiety” and put on a train for Melbourne. This was via Geelong and “look after yourself”. On arrival at Spencer Street I got a Taxi out to Brunswick where Mum, lived and they put me up for the week end, I was admitted to Hospital at the Showgrounds on the Monday and underwent my treatment for a couple of weeks as far as I can remember. I still had all this intercept traffic and. was getting uptight about it and eventually through Mum and her. Job then I was given a phone number. You have no idea the disturbance this caused. Big and I mean BIG Brass came out to the hospital and talked to me. Finally in one day I was discharged from hospital, granted permission to live out at Mum’s address, and appointments made to meet my old companions F /Lt. Booth and his mob at Central Bureau, in Commercial Road Prahran.

There they took all my traffic and questioned me at great length as to the what’s and the when’s of my experiences. This debriefing, as they later called it, took a few days, and then I was released to report at a school they were setting up at the Showgrounds, to teach others the art of “intercept intelligence”.

The School was a. couple of rooms with blackboards and the necessary electrical equipment for teaching Morse code. The blokes were R.A.A.F. fellows from round the country and besides myself, there was Taff Davis, and (Clarrie Hermes as instructors. Taff had set the school up and was working it O.K. and within days a group of Army blokes from the Middle East came along, They were from Corps Signals and were under the Command of a Colonel Ryan. Uncle Alan knew this Colonel and a number of the blokes on the course, though I didn’t find this out till much later. Uncle Alan was a Signals Officer with Ninth Division. After this mob reached the required standard of reading this Japanese Morse, a group of W.A.A.F’s arrived and I was given the job of teaching them. There were thirteen all told and after they reached the required standard we, me as N.C.O. I/c were posted to Point Cook to work as a detachment until such time as a location up north was prepared. hum knew all these girls and despite all kinds of implications that can be read into the situation it was successful. I wrote to them all for the 45th anniversary of our association and I received some wonderful acknowledgements - of that I feel proud and humble so there!!!!!

During our sojourn at Point Cook there were some problems with security and the “boy and girl” situation, but I was able to cope mostly except for one occasion. Our operations hut was down on the beach away from all the work areas of the Station and we had a regular guard patrol. The guard house was alongside operational hut - about fifty yards away so no one could hear much anyway.
In any event, I had left the shack about 9.30 p.m. with everything under control and the girls coping with reduced traffic quite 0.K. when I got a phone call at the Mess to say that there was a party going on next door and the blokes involved were trying to coax my girls to join in. I called a guard truck and hot footed it down to the area, to be confronted by a half dozen Sergeants from the Signals School, a couple of telephonists from the H.Q. building, and a bucket of grog. They were having a party in the guard house next door to our radio shack and wanted some more female company. The situation was getting out of hand and I asked one of the girls to ring for the Orderly Officer and sound an alarm. All she reported was intruders in the area, and all hell broke loose. Troop trucks, lights, rifles pointed everywhere, and one great to-do.

The result was I was called to parade to the C.O., of the Wireless School next day and to please explain my behaviour. I explained as best I could without giving away any information as to what our duties were. I was asked the question “What exactly are you doing there Bradshaw?” to which I replied with W/Cmdr. Booth’s name and telephone number, and a request that he refer his enquiries to him. The C.0. of the Sigs. School was one S/Ldr. Austin, Bunny to his compatriots, and he made the phone call whilst I was standing at attention in front of his desk. Well!!! you would not believe the change that came over that man. Complete silence for at least five minutes solid, then a “Yessir” and a “Very Well Sin” and “Thank you Sin”. The Phone was replaced and I was told that “That would be all except that if I needed any help with any problems at all, at whatever time, to get in touch with him personally, not through the Orderly Room in future” which let me off the hook. Except that He had a notation made on me Service Record - something about arrogance, non co-operation, and a lack of “Service Spirit”, whatever that was.

This left only the Sergeants to deal with. It came to a head within a couple of days - my habit was to work through the busy hours and after nightfall take a few hours off. I was on call from the shack at any time, but during the afternoons I used to go the gym and swing about on the bars and punch a bag etc., anyway there I was when they found me. The group from Sigs. School, with the Drill Sergeant the main aggressor. Well they sorted it out that I would have in fight him first!!! So we got into it and I was doing alright, a bit of blood but nothing too bad, when the C.0. Sigs. School and the Orderly Officer arrived. I didn’t even have to make an explanation, six blokes got seven days detention, plus Confined to Barracks for a month, and transferred to northern duty- which I suspect was Darwin. From that time on my only mates in the Mess were not of the “Signals” fraternity. I think this episode had same long term effect on my subsequent career in the R.A.A.F. though. I ran into the Drill Sergeant a couple of years later in Townsville and he treated me with the utmost respect and deference. He turned out to be very circumspect in his approaches to the President of the Mess and the fellows with whom I was on good terms. This coupled with one later episode, I think marred my chances of being given a Command of anything more than a Detachment, as far as the R.A.A.F. was concerned. Mum has always reckoned I blotted my copybook by going through the 0rderley Officer and not managed it through the Signals School mob but my primary and over-riding concern was SECURITY with a capital S. . . . Why I should feel defensive abort that after all these years I don’t know -just one of my hang-ups I suppose.

There were a couple of episodes at point Cook that helped prove to myself that I was on the ball and had a good grip on what I was supposed to be doing. One night we were wiped out as far as reception was concerned, by a continued loud splatter that just drowned all frequencies for hours With the help of an “Anson Loop” a direction finding, loop from an Anson Aircraft I was able to get an indication that the source of the interference was coming from the direction of OUR Hangers.

Though no one was working there at the time all indications were that that was the direction of the problem. Eventually it was traced to the C.A.C. Complex at Fishermen's Bend, and after the installation of appropriate suppressors on the welding machines all was O.K. for our reception. The second episode was that the girls had got onto a call sign which was strange to our systems, and as efficiently as possible put the Anson Loop on it and it was moving or altering reading significantly every quarter of an hour, they rang the Mess for me, and of course that sprang ears and what not.

Anyhow, I was roused and taken down to the hut and checked it out, and rang Southern Area for advice. I was told to use my own initiative. How do you like that???? All my training and experience told me that a Japanese aircraft was heading towards Melbourne from the Sale or Bairnsdale area, and to use my own initiative was one action only, so I did IT!! I sounded an Air. Raid Alert over the Melbourne Area through of course, Point Cook, Laverton and the A.R.P. Controllers at Air Board, That was something I tell you, to hear the JAP operator reporting his position every 15 minutes, and to go outside and watch the City blank out and to finally see him as he flew Over Laverton and Point Cook and then Head South East over the Bay and finally hear him prepare to land alongside his Mother Ship near Lakes Entrance. That was something I assure you.

The girls got a great kick out of that for they knew they were doing something really important for the War effort after that. There was no resistance whatever - no searchlights, no Ack-Ack nothing, but we knew he was there. I have since learned that it was decided to give him a clear run for the value of our intelligence was underlined and proven without any damage of any description, and there was no compromise of security. The prestige, if you can use such a word, of OUR little section, was enhanced very considerably after this display, with those who knew what we were about. We had a visit from our Wing Commander with congratulations and promotions etc.., I got my fourth stripe, a couple of the girls got their third and two of them became Corporals.

All very well but there was a War on up North, and I wanted to get back to it. Some of the frequencies we were given to monitor were devoted to really high speed Morse, 4O to 45 words per minute and. we were finally told it was a figure substitution code. The figures 1 to 10 were sent as single letters of the alphabet i.e. n z s m a i r w v o representing the figures. This is about one third the normal Morse code signal for that number. Very confusing for a time but we soon got the hang of it. The concentration required was terrific and we found a half hour on this was enough for one operator. You just couldn’t keep up. Letters of commendation from C.B.H.Q. are still in my possession, and as a tribute to those girls, I reckon they should get a big, big mention in any history that is written of the organisation. The Point Cook Detachment was posted to Townsville in January 1943 whilst I was posted to Port Moresby. There was a Forward Detachment there under the control of Taff Davis, who by now was a Flying Officer. This Detachment was located at “Kilo” Strip some way out of Moresby.

On arrival, per Flying Boat from Rose Bay Sydney belonging to Qantas Empire Airways, I found that Taff had no information regarding my disposition. I joined him at the watching of Air Channels from both Rabaul and Lae, for their attacks on Moresby and Milne Bay. He (Taff) contacted Brisbane for permission to take me on strength but this was referred back to Townsville, who informed him that my services were required back there and I was to report to the Signals H.Q., Port Moresby. I did this and was given the job of N.C.0. in/charge Remote Receiving Station, Borah Heads, about seven miles east of Moresby, on the coast.
We had a bank of receivers and a power plant and my job was to see that certain receivers were tuned in certain frequencies at certain times and that was that. There was a night air raid and some bombs were jettisoned in our area. I happened to be walking from our sleeping quarters to the operating room when one bomb went off. I was thrown about by the blast and found that my legs were literally peppered with little bits of gravel and bits of the bomb they told me. Anyway it took a few days in hospital before it was decided no infection was going to set in and I returned to duty. There were spare receivers available and I always had one or two tuned to certain frequencies to give me some idea if anything seemed to be coming our way. I got into the habit of ringing Taff at Fordet (Forward Detachment) if there was any activity and conferred with him as to the importance or not of what was happening. I had met a couple of blokes I worked with in the P.M.G's Dept. Harry Kroger and John Hutchinson - they were Army blokes and I used to ring them if anything was heading our way. They came to rely on my warnings to the extent that the Signals 0fficer got to hear about it and though I denied all knowledge of it he had me transferred to signals 0ffice Milne Bay. 0f all the places I served in this was the pits - wet, muddy, hot and mosquitoes by the million, day and night.

The Coral Sea Battle was on by this time and I experienced shelling from seaward for the first time. Just as bad as High level bombing in my book - the only difference was that the shelling was at night time and you couldn't see anything. With the dive bombing and the strafing, if the aircraft wasn't pointing at you, you had a fair chance of being missed but the high level stuff was so impersonal it just came down in a carpet and that was it, If the bombs hadn't hit by the time the aircraft were directly overhead, you were O.K. I was never engaged in Squadron work - always H.Q. to H.Q., and statistics to fill and checking that nothing coded was sent in plain language - all that sort of stuff. Being fed up with my lot and rather cheesed-off at my treatment by the C.B. organisation, I wrote privately to S/Ldr. Booth at 21 Henry Street, thanking him for his co-operation whilst I worked with him and expressing regret that apparently I was of no further use to the organisation, and although I would respect the secrecy provisions I had under-taken to observe, I could not but wonder at the organization’s loyalty to me. Boy did that get a response - within days I was returned to Moresby, issued with new kit and aboard a D.C.3 headed for Brisbane. Not Townsville as I as expected.

At the debriefing session that followed my reporting in at 21 Henry Street, I learned that the complete Administration Staff of the first wireless unit based in Townsville had been replaced and a new group was taking over - of which I would be an integral part. Whilst awaiting for this to come about, I was posted back to Townsville, where by thin tine, I had something of a reputation- been Darwin during the raids, been to New Guinea for the Coral Sea Battles, taught the girls and the Army Blokes - you realise the kind of stuff that in talked about. My welcome was far from warm except from those who had known me in the past never lost their friendship - even to this day so I don’t know what went wrong.

Arriving at Townsville, per favor of the Railways and Army truck again, I was assigned quarters and told that the operations room and the Radio room were out of bounds to me, and that I had an assignment, to carry out an inspection tour of our D/F. Stations throughout Queensland. One at Rockhampton, one at Julia Creek, and one at Tolga, on the Atherton tablelands. To this end, there was a Harley Davidson motor bike and sidecar made available, a handful of authority's, for fuel and accommodation and whatever and it was anticipated that three weeks should be long enough to complete the job. In retrospect, this was a ploy to remove me from the scene for a while, as there were some members of the original "Administration" still in occupation and as they had no jurisdiction over me, ‘out of sight - out of mind" seemed to be the order of the day. I left Townsville by train on 10th July and headed for Rockhampton. My bike and sidecar were in the Guard's Van. I arrived and carried out the inspection, both Technical and Personnel wise. Quarters, water supply, rations and equipment and made out my report to carry with me. I had made up my mind that I would keep them with me and present them in person at the end of the tour. It was here in Rockhampton that I learned that Gary had been born on 13th July. There was nothing I could do about it but get on with the job, so I headed off north west, heading for Julia Creek. I had remembered that it took me a few days to make that part of the trip but I truly didn't realise just how far it was till last year when we made our trip west and north through the territory. A bloke named Don Craig was N.C.0. I/C Julia Creek Station and we have remained on good terms since, as I hear from him through various' other blokes in Victoria. From Julia Creek I was granted seven days leave in go home and see my son, so leaving my bike at Townsville I headed for Victoria and Mum and Gary. They were in the Nyah West Hospital so it was a fair way to travel. I remember I took the Smith and Wesson and some ammunition home with me and young Geoff Shaddy got a kick out of using it down in the swamp area at Vinifero trying to hit a rabbit or two. My Mother at this time was living with my sister Evelyn, at Kamarooka, near Bendigo, where she was the local school teacher. I had no way of seeing them, as leave passes etc, took to your next of kin in those days, and nowhere else. Before July was out I was once again back in Queensland and preparing to take up my "Inspection Tour" where I had left it off, but coming out from Townsville on the truck were several other people whom I had known, operators and such like from the Unit and as we pulled in at the H.Q. I got off the truck, and walked with two other operators, past the guard into the Radio Room.

I walked around and said “Good-day" to those I knew, and as the shifts were changing, I accompanied the off-duty blokes back out to the truck and back to the living quarters. All was 0.K., till next morning when I was paraded, under guard, before the C.O. one F/Lt. Burbidge - flanked by two more Admin Blokes. I had beer in a prohibited area - deliberately eluded the guard - and had seen and read documents of a "Most Secret" nature, to which I was not authorised. Did I have any explanation, before a decision was taken as whether or not to proceed with a Court's Martial for my offences, as detailed above. I typed an explanation, pointing out that I had been working for this organisation before this particular Wireless Unit was dreamed of - I had been in action in the Darwin Area - and the Milne Bay Area and I was authorised not only to read such documents, but to interpret them and communicate my analysis directly in Central Bureau in Brisbane, by any means possible using the highest degree of Secrecy and Urgency then in use. I was in possession of such authority above the signature of the then S/Ldr. H.R. Booth Central Bureau, and in the circumstances I pleaded not guilty to the insinuations in the statement as well as being known to the majority of the operators - keeping a copy of my reply to the order - I went about my business of preparing for the trip to Tolga.

Waiting 24 hours for some re-action from the C.0. and getting none, I saw the Signals bloke and the Station Adjutant and let them know what I was at and having got their approval I took myself off to Cairns via Rail with my trusty bike and side-car. From Cairns I headed for Mareeba. At the 36 Squadron Base in Cairns I called at the Sgt's Mess and offered them chits for rations to cover seven men for seven days in exchange for a dozen bottles of plonk and a bottle of whisky, which I loaded into the side car. The blokes at Tolga didn't want anything but beer, and I was leaving the bike for them as their transport, they didn't make any argument when I borrowed it for an afternoon and a night to try and find you’re Uncle Alan, who was camped with the ninth Divn., then. I found him in Mareeba and we went and got some beer, with my paper work, from the Army Ration Store where he knew someone. 0nly one case though, but as I had left the rest of the grog back with the W/0. of his Mess, he reckoned we had done well enough. We arrived at the Ninth Div. H.Q. just on dark and I was invited in, of course. Alan fixed it with the 0rderley W/0., and the 0rderley Officer for me to stay the night though it cost his Mess the whisky. Because I had been to New Guinea, the blokes were all interested as to what it was like and so on. I told them what I could and left next morning after breakfast.

The job at Tolga didn't take too long - the main worry was the water supply, so I took a sample into the Army Hospital at Mareeba for testing. I waited most of the day and having received the 0.K. to use it with purifiers headed back to Tolga. The N.C.0. I/C was one "Sol" Solomon, who has been a big wig with the Wireless Institute ever since. I see his name on the Board of Management on some of my publications. His 0ff-sider was one Higginbotham. Haven't heard anything of him for years. Those blokes were all D/F operators as against KANA and/or straight Morse operators. The technique was to ring them, give them a frequency and sound the call sign orally to them. Gradually they learned what the Jap Code sounded like but in the beginning it was not considered necessary for them to be proficient operators on the Kana sense. Having completed my Inspection of the installation and made my report, Sol took me into Cairns and I reported to the T.M.0. for passage to Townsville.

It was a troop train with a lot of Seventh Div. blokes going on leave south. He, the T.M.0., made me In-Charge of the carriage. A mixture of civilians, Women Service personnel, A.M.W.A.S. and A.W.A.S., W.A.A.F's and some Army Blokes. All I had to do was count them on and count them off at each stop. No deserters see!!! All went smoothly till about an hour out of Townsville, when two Seventh Div. blokes came to me and offered me their guns. 0wens, complete, their webbing - the lot. They were shooting through. I accepted their gear and that was the last I saw of them. I handed the stuff over to the M.P's at Townsville - made a report and heard no more of the incident. I might have kept one 0wen, but I couldn't think how to handle two of them so let them go. Geoff would have liked one I'm sure!! Back at Townsville Wireless Unit, I found that our Mr. Burbidge had been posted away and the C.0.was one E.C.Hattam of Hattam’s Stores and his Executive Officer one George Guiver. I met him later in charge of Hattam’s Store Chelt.

A couple of nights later, returning from a picture show in the camp area, I blacked out and came to in the Hospital in Townsville. High Temperature sweats and nightmares and all - this was my first experience of malaria though I wasn't too aware of it. I have been told since, that our W/Commander Booth came to visit me and somehow or other he ended up with a black eye. He rubbished me later on about it but there were no hard feelings as far as I knew. Sufficient to say that I was transferred to Hospital in Victoria, diagnosed as "anxiety". I have come in think that this was a deliberate ploy to give me some time away from the situation that was in existence there. Sufficient to say that I was able to see quite a bit of Mum and Gary for a while. The treatment there was rest, a good diet and psychiatric counselling. I know I went along with whatever they did, including hypnosis, until such time as I was fit and ready to get back up north. Mid December 1943 I received a posting direct from Heidelberg Hospital to No .2 Embarkation Depot Bradfield Park Sydney.

There I underwent a course of Commando training - Sten Guns, Thompson Sub-machine guns, 303 rifle's, hand grenades- the lot. We had the water jumps the ropes from the roof bit the crawling along the ground under wire while the bullets whistled overhead and all that kind of stuff there was some unarmed combat but not much - how to cut a bloke's throat from behind and so on but no actual fighting with knives or bayonets on a man to man basis. At the end of this training, I was put in charge of a squad of blokes and we were issued with tropical kit - shirts and shorts, mosquito nets and so on and eventually we were loaded into trucks early one morning and taken out to Masot air strip where we loaded on to D.C.3 and headed for New Guinea.

We re-fuelled at a strip called Iron Range, near Coen on Cape York, waited overnight and early next morning took off and eventually landed at Port Moresby about 11 a.m. There we were separated and I was told that I would be heading for Nadzab over the Owen Stanleys the next day. As I had been there before I knew who to ring to try and find out what was going on. This didn't prove very successful, so completely uninformed, I lit out for Nadzab next day. Approaching the Markham Valley, which is over the ranges from Port Moresby to the north, we were informed that Nadzab had not been secured and that we were to be landed at Lae. That is about 12 miles from where I wanted to go but as I had no option, I spent the night on the verandah of the Sergeant's Mess of the Army Port Control Authority in Command of Lae. These were all Australian troops here and I was due out at the American 5th Air Force H.Q. Nadzab. Permission was obtained later in the afternoon for myself to proceed to the Australian Detachment at 5th A.F. H.g. I was delivered there by jeep to find a working party of R.A.A.F. blokes there, putting up aerial systems, erecting tent lines, digging latrines and the whole works. The N.C.0. in Charge was one Ted Morton, a Warrant Officer. We had a good relationship for years and it is only over the past ten years or so that I have lost track of him.

However for the next few days it was all hands to the job of getting this camp into working order. There were occasional raid alerts at nights usually one or two aircraft but the days of masses of aircraft raiding and straffing seemed to be over for me anyway. The Americans were wanting radios on the air A.S.A.P. and so it was that I concentrated on the getting the intercept sets in action as quickly as possible I had knowledge of the "operating frequencies" that the Japanese Navy was using in our area, so was able to keep an ear open for any activity thereon. I needed direction finders to confirm any suspicions I may have had and as the only communications were through 5th Air Force switchboards there was not a great deal of efficiency in those first few weeks of operating in the Markham Valley.

Port Moresby and Cape Gloucester on New Britain had the D/F's and our information was for information mainly rather than for general strategic needs. That came about soon enough with the arrival of the mob from Moresby Administration staff, cooks, guards, transport drivers, Medical blokes, Equipment blokes and the lot arrived so I was able to institute shift work on the operating scene. During the time I was being shifted round the countryside away from the "Organisation" there had been sundry ranks of all descriptions posted to the Unit, and of course, I had to fit in there.

The Administration staff were all non-technical, and being very conscious of their appointments, resented my free access to all aspects of the operation. I was capable and qualified to handle the standard Signals systems as well as being similarly qualified and capable regarding the Japanese Signals side, and the Intelligence interpretation aspects. I guess, with hindsight I should have been shifted away and held separate from the newcomers, for there turned out that there was a lot of valuable work for me to do before the show ended. From this area, it became apparent that there was an increase in the activity of the Japanese Army Air Service. Most of our work had up to date been concerned with the Naval Air Service, but owing to the reverses the Naval arm had had with the Coral Sea battle and the battle of Midway, the Army had decided that it was up to them to make the effort. Much detail work had to be done what with the identification of Units, their chain of command and so on and this proved to be the major item of interest until the battle of Hollandia, on 3rd. April 1944.

As a result of our intercept work we were able to catch about 170 Japanese aircraft on the ground. Because of a shortage of fuel they were unable to offer any resistance to the American 5th Air Force. As a result of this activity, our Unit was awarded a Presidential Citation - I would guess that this was as a result of the work that had been done over the proceeding months since MacArthur arrived. The established American Units, were not MacArthur oriented and used to supply information directly to Washington and by pass him except for what they considered he should know. 0ur Administration was there on sufferance so it was in our interest to supply him all our information, regardless of the area to which it referred. This was the main reason we were treated with such kindness and consideration right up through the Philippines campaign, through Borneo and eventually to the doorstep of Japan. We were made to realise there was to be no place on the mainland of Japan for us as an Intelligence Unit for he was in complete Command there and his Units had to bow to his directives. He had won his political fight for the time being Indications were that there were night time intruder flights into the valley originating from the Wewak Area. Nuisance and observation flights at night time.

No damage being done but keeping people from proper rest time and aware that there was danger up there. It was decided to send an observation party into the area with radio equipment in an effort to contain and if possible nullify the drome there. There was an estimated 40,000 Japanese troops in the vicinity and the hinterland, for Wewak was being made a gathering point for all the stragglers and survivors from as far south as Salamau and Lae. I think the tactics were to try and convince the Japs that we maybe would invade that particular area within the foreseeable future.

From Intelligence sources it was apparent that there was a general movement of Senior Military Officers throughout the S.W.P.A. and a tour of important bases by one of the really big Generals one Yamashita from Singapore. His travel itinerary was among the mass of signals intercepted from our area. We got no credit for this involvement but rumours were around later on after he was shot down in the Solomons Area. I was N.C.O. in-Charge this Detachment and we set off from Lae in Army Barges, in company with some members of the 2/4th. Independent Company, heading up the New Guinea coast for about 300 miles to the vicinity of the Sepik River where we were put ashore under the cover of darkness and headed into the bush. We were about 50 miles south of Wewak and apparently these Commandoes had been in the country before for they knew exactly where we were headed. I have some photographs of the party including Bluey Bagnell, Rupe Fisher, Jack Bleakley and Henry Atkinson - I can't remember the names of the others - occasionally one or more will come back to me but I deliberately don't dwell on it. Most of the blokes mentioned are in the phone book, but they have just about given up hope for me, as far as doing anything about medals, benefits etc.., in I'm just not into the scheme of taking all you can get - be it right or not. Anyway we got there and set up and contacted Nadzab and the job got under way. During the time we were there, we had to move twice I think from memory, when it looked as if people were likely to come to close. Our observation and contact time was early morning for it soon became apparent that night time was the time for ferrying aircraft into the area, and or for refueling for onward travel. We had one huge success from Wewak Area when we called in our aircraft during the night to confirm that there had been an influx of some fifty to sixty of a fighter bomber mixture, seems for the purpose of catching the Fifth Air Force on the ground, for activity began before daylight.

Our Location was about a mile and a half to two miles from the floor of the Valley, and thick jungle and Kunai grass was our cover so it was not possible to see with a great deal of accuracy. Sufficient that we were able to get our people there before take off, engines running, and crews warming up machines when the Lightnings, Kitty-hawks and Bostons came in over the tree tops and opened up. Fifty-five "kills" that morning without one loss to us. We found out later on that out observations only confirmed intercept traffic that Darwin and Nadzab had been copying with a great deal of interest. Our Radio gear was British-made A.T. 1082 - A.R. 1083 receiver transmitter combination driven by a 12 Volt cell or, as we had, a 2K.V.A. power generator. Two man job to handle that damned thing.

Aerials were long wires of 100 yards or more, and with an efficient earth system spread out enough, they were not hard to tune in for the frequencies we were using. Mainly we operated on 3.9 Mhz night time and 7.9 Mhz day time. These seemed to be efficient enough for the Japanese gear available at that time. I had begun to develop ulcers on my feet and legs round the ankles and as the only disinfectant was in a powder form it was not easy to keep the infection under control. The Allied Command then had made a decision to by-pass Wewak at that time and move on another 500 miles up the coast to Hollandia.

Enemy activity - Army wise - had increased in our immediate vicinity so it was decided that we could walk out -that in, three days till the upper reaches of the Ramu Valley, then another seven into the Markham Valley, always under the protection of those 2/4th Independent Company blokes, till the Ramu Valley where we were passed down the supply lines of the Aust. Seventh Division, who were at the time working up to the assault on Shaggy Ridge inland. By the time we returned to Nadzab although sick of the iron rations and the lack of changes of clothing etc., Bluey Bagnell had an ulcer on the inner side of has night elbow that looked like the inside of a rabbit, my legs were not too bad and the various colored dyes the R.A.P. bloke painted them with must have done some good. The fresh water showers and the clean clothes plus the food cooked by someone else in the precincts of a "Mess" helped lots. I remember there was a world premier of a picture on that night, on the side of a hill I've forgotten the actress ant the name of the film but I reckon Mum would remember if I asked her. She in not impressed with this exercise in any way but I am persevering in spite!!!

Another experience at Nadzab occurred when I had taken a work party out in the bush to cut poles for telephone lines for our remote receivers when an American Concert Party, in jeeps pulled up. They had seen our Aussie hats so stopped. It was a party of Bob Hope, Frances Langford, Jerry Colona, and one other blond girl whose name I can't remember. We were treated royally that night - front row seats and all. Some treatment!!!!

We, the Unit - No.1.Wireless Unit - had a visit about this time from the Air Officer Commanding R.A.A.F. and it turned out to be Air Commodore Scherger, under whom I had served in Darwin. He had been informed that there was an Australian Wireless Unit serving in the Area with 5th. Air Force, and decided to look us over. "Was there anything he could do for us?" - Some joke for we were on American rations and had access to their P.X. and all their goodies, cigarettes and so on but he really wanted to meet the blokes who had just been in Wewak. There was some coolness when he learned that I had been in Darwin during the early days. I didn't know then that there had been a judicial enquiry into the circumstances of the raids there, and though no blame had been attached to him, his record was not really spotless.

However, later on his Chief Signals Officer, one W/Cmdr Minchin called later and I was paraded sweaty clothing and all, and he asked how it was that I was still serving in the tropic area and was still an N.C.0. ??? My C/O S/Ldr Hattam, told him that the matter was being attended to and there it rested I had served under Minchin at Laverton in 1940/41 and had run into him at Milne Bay during my short stay there. I am sure he knew what work we were doing then. It was about this time that the American Command began to show that they knew we were there working for them. Our Charter directed that our lines of Communication went directly to their 5th. Air Force H.Q. G.2. which is the Intelligence area.

To all intents and purposes we were General Kenney's own personal intercept unit. American Intercept Units had their lines of Communication, through Channels which included Washington in all information. Half the time McArthur was not getting all the information available, but from us, through Kenney's G.2. All information was his. Thus we were in favor at that time. This is why we were given space on the vessels etc., involved with the shifts he required from time to time in His island hopping strategy. Anyway the next step was Hollandia, way up on the North Eastern tip of New Guinea and there was to be a landing there - by-passing those Japanese remnants massed in the Wewak area from the Buna Gono Salamau Lae campaigns. I have maps of the escape routes through that country that were used by the Japanese Army Command when gathering their forces together in that area. 0ur next function was to be the landing after Hollandia, as it was anticipated that the by-passing of the Wewak Force would precipitate a violent reaction from the Japanese air bases, from New Guinea, through to the Western Pacific - the Darwin Timor, Halmahera and Borneo Areas.

It was not considered necessary to send a forward party of our type until the facilities necessary could be erected, manned and used to their fullest, so we waited. 0n 2nd.April, it became apparent that there was a major movement of Japanese aircraft from surrounding areas, through Sansapor to Hollandia. This was followed very closely and by the fourth April it was noted that there were over two hundred aircraft at Hollandia. All types Fighters, Bombers Recon., and the lot. The secret was that they had no fuel for Admiral Halsey or Spruance, somewhere in the Central Pacific had destroyed the tankers bound for Hollandia for refuelling purposes. Somewhere between the Marianas and Morotai I believe, the tankers were taken care of. Sufficient to say that on the 4th April through to the 6th mayhem was committed on the airfield at Hollandia, by the 5th Air Force as a result of the efforts of No.1. Wireless Unit and their allied D/F. units scattered throughout the Northern Areas. We received a Presidential Citation for that piece of work and it is on record. I have some horrific photos of the damaged aircraft on the ground at Hollandia.

We monitored the landings and the subsequent movements of Japanese aircraft which in the main were frantic withdrawals of the survivors. Mainly to Biak and Noemfoer inlands. It in on record that the last remaining W/T operator at Hollandia, in the process of destroying his code books and such, made a last transmission "Tennou Banzai". I can still hear it you know!!! There was nothing left when our blokes arrived at the Signals 0ffice. The opposition was minimal, compared with estimates. This led to the bringing forward of the landing dates for the next step Biak Island. We prepared the groups of fellows to go with the gear required, the sets, power supplies, and the hundred and one million things needed at times like that. I know I didn't have much to do with the Operations Room or the Receiving Section for a few weeks there. I was given the job of collecting the "Forward Detachment" again.

We prepared for embarkation by air, direct for Biak as soon as the air strips were declared safe for occupation. The receivers were required to be in operation as soon as possible. By this time we had our own portable masts and the technique of throwing a wire over a tree no longer had credence. Everything was cut to size and the time required to get a receiving Section on the air was cut to minutes rather than days. Anyway on the 1st June 1944 we set sail for Biak Island per D.C.3. Allegedly the place was secure enough for us to get ourselves set up and give some value for our presence. I remember landing and being hurried to get our stuff and make way for the aircraft to go and get another lot.

We were three air craft all told and we more or less arrived together so we were in contact all the time. We managed to get ourselves sorted out, under cover and set up watches. Night time was an education. Air raids, spasmodic firing from round the perimeters and heavy artillery being fined horizontally over your head whenever the Japs thought they saw something like movement out to sea. To make the situation more exciting, light tanks appeared, not in our sector but not very far away. This was when we were introduced to the American Bazooka, anti tank weapon - a beauty too.

I never fired one, but the bloke in charge of our Security in the Area did. There was a feature there called the Western Caves. We landed on Bosnek strip, and this was edged by these coral cliffs about 100 feet high to the north of us, and it was in there, outside our perimeter, that the Japs had made their preparations to resist. Our main worry those first few days was fresh water for drinking. You could go and have a bathe in the sea, but you couldn't drink it. Each Section had to report with water cans each day for your ration, and towards evening on the second day ashore, two of our blokes went to collect water from the water point. 0ne only, McColl came back. He reckoned that the other lad, I am not sure of his name, I thought for years that it was Henry Atkinson, but at the re-union at 21 Henry Street, I was told that he was still with us so I have lost the memory.

Anyway, we reported the missing man that night, and again next day without success and eventually his remains were found inside the caves where he had been butchered to be eaten. This was later one of the cases used to convict them of cannibalism. After two or three days, we were directed to leave the beach area and make way with our equipment to a prepared position. I didn't learn till later that an attempt had been made to re-inforce the troops on the island. I'm sure we would not have felt so secure had we known. The air raids gradually diminished in frequency and our Administrative mob began to arrive from Nadzab.

Apparently it had been a bit of a touch and go situation for a day or two re the re-enforcements but what we didn't know didn't worry us. 0ne thing about the Yanks there, only the best was good enough for the essential staff. We had on operations room- tent lines a kitchen, a recreation hut, and showers set up for us before we could move in. The only draw-back the first few weeks was that the perimeter was only a matter of yards, maybe a couple of hundred, but not miles, away from us. The biggest thing to register was the number of dead Japanese lying about - they must have been slaughtered at this point for they were there in their hundreds. Bulldozers were being used to get rid of them when we arrived. Between the stench and the blowflies no one was interested in food much for the first week anyway. I know I wasn't.

0ur Commanding was one Mick Richardson, a former salesperson who knew nought of what we were doing or how and/or what techniques were used to obtain the information we were dealing with. He was concerned with Administration of the Unit entirely and beyond that had not a care in the world, except when the air raid alarms used to go off. Night time saw him taking off in his jeep for parts unknown, but which we suspected was the American Hospital which was reasonably close by. The routine was that daily summaries of activities had to be written and prepared for submission to G.2. of 5th Air Force and copies readied for forwarding to Brisbane by safe hand daily. My job there was to compile the Intelligence reports of the Naval Air Activity on a daily basis while the activities of the Army Air Force was overseen by one Sgt. Arch. Turnley, and he turned out to be one of the nicest blokes one could ever know.

He was A.I. F. and was an Intelligence Clerk seconded to us from Central Bureau. 0ur system was to complete the daily summaries up until the cessation of activity, round about nightfall and then send the paperwork down to 5th. Air Force H.Q. by messenger. Usually our own transport bloke in a jeep, and we used to take turns to go with him. Pat O'Shea was an ex-taxi driver from Sydney and was awake to all sorts of lurks. 0ne night it was my turn to accompany him when on the return trip we ran into a fire fight about half an hour's run from home. This was my initiation into what went on during the night hours so close to the perimeter The American M.P’s just pulled us up and sent us to cover - Pat and me - into the drainage pits on the side of the road. 0ut of the jeep and take cover, and if you thought you saw a movement, shoot it. I used the three magazines of my Thompson in bits and pieces but I don't think I hit anything.

Next morning there were a few bodies but nothing you could identify as yours. This was when I actually saw how big a hole a .45 bullet would make - quite a sight I assure you. 0f course all of this activity put us in a state of full alert for a few nights but there was no further activity near us. We had as neighbours the American 96th Infantry Battalion all black - but they served as a good warning system for us. The bloke Turnley I mentioned earlier was the son of R.G. Turnley and Son, Hairdresser's Suppliers of Flinders Street Melbourne and he used to service all the Hairdressers in the north western Victoria region. He used to call at Nyah West, Balranald and such places so I was able to keep in touch with him for a few years after the war. He died of cancer of the stomach in about 1950 to the sorrow of his family no doubt.

We were involved in another fine fight on Biak Island when we were sent out to find the Signals Headquarters of the Japanese Army group in occupancy. The perimeter only a matter of a few yards from our location and though patrolled pretty well there was always some cause for nervousness, especially at night. However we were asked to provide a squad to search and find the Signal's H.Q. if we could and of course bring back any paperwork we could. Myself, Turnley, Bob Bevon, Bluey Bagne that should be Bagnell, a young bloke named Geoff Something or other, I can't recall his Surname, Ken Lloyd, Rupe Tinker and I think it was Bleakley, doesn't matter anyway. We had five Thompsons and two rifles and bayonets and we set off across the perimeter. The first thing were the booby traps - grenades suspended over stones or tin hats, just waiting for someone to kick 'em or pick 'em up, there were a few corpses about and I remember one on the side of the track lying on his back with his legs crossed. Bevan took his rifle and sighted up - hockey one - hockey two - and smacked the foot that was high in the air. He was smothered in a green foul smelling liquid and I've not seen someone so sick for years, he retched and retched for quite a while.

Later on we followed our map and tracks down into a small valley where we sighted a building with masts and so on and reckoned we had arrived. We dispersed about and Turnley and I went in. Looked mostly like living quarters with clothing and such scattered about - two toed shoes, slippers and such. In an inner room there was furniture with drawers and desks. We were busy working on these when the boys outside sounded alarm. Our vacating of the premises was like lightning, trying to run at full speed over rough stones and small scrub with occasional shots following. Eventually we came to American wires laid about with mortars and bazooka rockets strung up waiting for someone in trip them.

Of course we were rescued and lots of fire laid down when we pointed out where we had been. We didn't get much of value from that exercise except that the area was alerted that there were enemy troops in the vicinity. Our Admin people were on the Island in full strength by this time so the duties were evened up with everyone with a job to do and no doubling up. We had a shake up when a Padre arrived to conduct Church Parades for we Australians. 0ur neighbouring island Noemfoor had been occupied and the R.A.A.F. was in evidence with their own regiment, Airfield Construction and the whole box and dice. The Padre discovered that our Medical Orderly Cec. had been gathering the remains of Japanese and after cleaning them up in a solution of lime and I don't know what, sending them back to Australia for the use of his Medical Student buddies, or so he said. The Padre insisted on a Christian burial for all the remains he had, and we all got a smack on the knuckles for our irreverence!!!!

1st. Tactical R.A.Ari. Air Force was the controlling body there and they dearly wanted us to be under their Administration, but thanks to influential friends down south we were left alone. My driver mate Pat 0'Shea told me he had busted his windscreen and asked if I would help him find another and when I agreed we decided that a whole jeep would be a better idea and so we set out for one of the picture shows being held a fair way away from our camp site. I thought he would make the change but was not to be. Half way through the show he says "Now is the time" so we left. He had located a group of jeeps parked together and decide on one so I was it. Write hairy without lights, flat to the boards, driving madly through the dispersal areas hoping the following jeep was him. Anyway we got it home and got busy stripping it. Behind the seat was a .36 calibre Garand, while under the seat was a .45 Colt Automatic with leather holster and a first aid kit in a metal box. Standard equipment for jeeps there. I still have the box, all our private papers are kept in it - very strong and if we have to evacuate they are all together.

During one of the daytime exploration trips on Biak, when Lloyd, Rupe Fisher and I were exploring, just to see what was going on - we were all off shift till the evening, and a group of Zero's, five all told, roared over our heads and opened fine on the drome we could see at the bottom of the ridge we were on. They opened fine overhead and frightened the held out of us and we look off for lower ground looking for cover. That was when I hit this giant bird catching spider. Full speed full in the face with its stomach splattered all over me. It was my turn to be as sick as a dog. Real crook till I got back to camp and was able to clean up.

They used to build a web between low scrub trees and during the night they would wait in the centre for small birds and so on. We had a good look at them, and they didn't improve with a closer inspection - a large hairy spider is a large hairy spider. Part of my regained reading at this time was the daily "Situation Report" and it was noted that a lot of the 5th. Air Force combat reports began with the information that "fighters were met at bombing height over the target so efforts were made to find out how this advance information was getting to them. After a few days air search it was found that there was a network of spotters scattered on islands throughout the area. This part of the Pacific has thousands of islands of all sizes and shapes, some too small to live on, some large enough to support life, and some only visible at low tide.

Anyway, on those large enough to provide shelter and some kind of protection, the Japanese used to have groups of men, sometimes a dozen, sometimes more, but their main function was to man the radios and report the movement of ALL aircraft they could see, friend or foe. We got onto this network and copied their sightings. With the bearings and plots of known strikes it was soon worked out that this was the “early warning system" that was getting their defences alerted in time to meet our bombers over target. Despite some other assertions, to this time there was no evidence that the Japanese had any workable long range radar in this part of the world. Even up to the Philippine campaigns there was no evidence of radar. All aircraft warning systems was of this that should were of this spotter type. I know now that they had radar, but it was not encountered until the Allies were approaching the ''HOME ISLANDS" That evidence was found on Saipan Island later than this date, which is about the end of July 1944.

I submitted a scheme, on my daily summary, whereby these stations could be taken out of operation by using the D/F capabilities of an aircraft of a group to home in on one of the transmitting stations. They had been copied many times transmitting "treaty aircraft circling overhead" amongst their bearing sightings and I calculated that if one aircraft could read that message it would be a simple matter to drop an anti-personnel bomb during the time you were in the "cone of silence", that is directly overhead, plus 15 or 20 degrees each side, you could remove the threat they were. The outcome was that I was called on to go along to 5th. Air Force, 90th Bomb Group, and demonstrate. This was highly acceptable to me off I went.

My friend Jules Archer, the husband of a friend of Mum's and also pretty good bloke. I won't say "for a Yank" for that would be an injustice to him I've gotten a bit ahead of myself here for his name at this time was Jules Segal he changes it later by deed poll to Archer (his wife's maiden name). His Son is out here now leading an expedition into Arnhem Land on the search for fossils - he gets a mention in the news occasionally a Doctor of Science (Palaeontology) or a Professor or some such - anyway he is the son of Mum's friend Eleanor or as we knew her Len. Enough of that I've got carried away again - Jules was a Public Relations Officer with 5th Air Force and I was to meet him on and off for years He came alone on the trip as an observer, and the appropriate publicity re the co-operation between Aussie's and Yanks was featured in Stars and Stripes. I had a copy of the article but it has gone along with a lot of other stuff.

The whole exercise was a success, but not as it was presented by them - the Yanks. We read our own sighting by the Jap observation station and turned to home in and made a run over the top. This was when the cameras took over - the pilot flew a course which would bring us over the station again on a 90 degree alternate track and as we had timed the "cone of silence” the navigator knew when to give the bombardier the "go" signal. I was listening to the transmissions from the obs. station when the "go" was given and counting down to eleven he suddenly went off the air. We assumed a hit as he never resumed transmissions on that bearing while I was in the area.

This was the period when we learned to play volley ball with a 8lb. medicine hall. Daytime activity was covered by the shifts and it was too hot to sleep daytime for the blokes who worked late so the court was always in action. A bloody, bloody game that with a heavy ball but we managed to enjoy ourselves. I received a notice shortly after this that I was posted back to Townsville, our rear Echelon by then, and on enquiring from the C.0. one Richardson, I was told that my application for Administration and Special Duties School had been approved. That meant Commissioned Rank and of course I was delighted.

The only thing was that some of the blokes had learned the location of an American Bomb dump and the parachutes attached to the anti-personnel bombs and the flares were worth souveniring. S0 - I needed one to bring home - Swan Hill being on the way to Port Lincoln where the School of Admin operated - it was a foregone conclusion that there had to be a parachute (silk) in my gear before I left Link. My Ol Mate - Pat O'Shea agreed to come with me, but I had to get the information from our blokes re the location and other details such as what was there, how to identify them and so on. Well we set off, found the dump and got to work. I found Pat a flare, the parachutes were red and set him to work extracting the chute and I got to work on an anti-personnel one - they had beautiful white ones. Pat got his out without mishap and came over to where I was working on mine. I had dismantled the rear of the canister attached to the bomb and was teasing the chute out and tucking it into my shirt as I did, and getting ready to cut through the cords of the chute I put my foot in the wrong position - behind my knife instead of between it and the bomb. There was a loud “Click" as I cut and we took of across the open ground towards our jeep.

Within twelve seconds there was one hell of a bang and things began to happen - vesicles starting up - blokes shouting and a wild bash back the way we had come - no lights and expecting any moment that we would be challenged. I had my "Intelligence" arm band just in case, but the wise thing was not to be caught. We got home without any trouble and the Boss wanted to know where I'd been. He for some unknown reason had stayed in our camp that night and I had to settle on a "Show" trot we didn't want to see again and he accepted it. The next morning, hat came to nick me up and lade me down to the airdrome to catch my plane back to Bust., and let me know then that if I never came back to his part of the world it would be too soon for him.

Really accused me of leading him into trouble and him being old enough almost to be my Father. I met him again in the Philippines, but to his great relief we were never in the same location for very long. He offered me a job if I ever came to Sydney, plenty of dough, not much work a bit of worry, but a job if I even wanted one. Fortunately I never had to put him to the test. I left link early morning in company with one Doug Ferris, an operator who used to fall asleep on the job till finally they put him onto traffic handling where the rhythm of morse wasn't a factor in his ability to stay awake. We spent the first night at Born Island, just off the tip of Cape York, and went on next morning to Townsville.

On arrival at the Station, I was told that there was an Army bloke waiting to see me. He had been there since the day before, and had been using my quarters - one Private Shadbolt my father-in-law. They made him welcome in the Sergeant's Mess and gave him permission to use my quarters as they knew I was on my way home. A very strange meeting I can assure you - takes a while to know just what kind of a bloke you are meeting. I suppose he felt the same about meeting me. He said he had to get back to his camp that night, so I made arrangements for him to attend the Mess with me, everybody knew him by then, but I had to go through the formalities, and with a good supply of grog, mostly wines and a small amount of beer I sent him on his way with our safe hand run in time to get him home before curfew.

He had been to the Middle East and had been posted with his unit to New Guinea but reckoned that was no place for a man his age. Too tired and too old to take that kind of treatment so he informed the authorities of his true age and experience. They immediately had him shipped south Bar eventual discharge. I didn't see him again till after the war was over. I know he had a ball with the American cigarettes I used to send home. Traded them off for beer out at the Ryah West pub, so your grandmother Shadbolt told me. Meanwhile back at the 1W.U Rear Echelon, I was informed that I was to report to 21 Henry Street Ascot Brisbane to see one Wing Commander Booth, so set forth on the bloody train.

Mind you I still had my "Combat Gear" - jungle greens, Thompson L.M.G. and the .38 Smith and Wesson and I wasn't going to give them up without an argument. Nobody at Townsville wanted to take them off my chores anyway and if I had been going on leave I could have taken them all the way home to Vinifera. I arrived in Brisbane fully armed and set out for 21 Henry Street on the tram of all things. I can't remember how the dickens I knew where this place was or a damned thing about the little things, where did my money come from, who did I ask to direct me - in Brisbane now I am lost and can't imagine how I found my way about. Anyway I got to Henry Street and of course no one was expecting me. Wing Commander Booth was away and the best thing was to find quarters at Victoria Park - there was a truck leaving with a change of shift at four-fifteen and Lo! and Behold! there was a shift of my girls on it. From then on life became easy. They were quartered in Victoria Park and knew all the ins and outs of the place so it was a Breeze .'!! I was Someone again!!

In due time I got a call that the Wing Commander wanted to see me so I paraded - to be told that there was an important operation coming up and I was to take charge of the group going with the Headquarters Ship. Go ashore when able, collect information from the Signal Station and wait for the Landing Party to contact me when they were set up operationally. This turned out to be Morotai Island - halfway between Biak and Leyte in the Philippines. I queried the Commission Course and the Wing Commander told me in so many words "This operation in more important and you will be relieved as soon as possible" Don't worry Flight, we'll get you your Commission because there are more and more operations coming up where you are needed." With hindsight, this rates with one of the more subtle "Cons" that I had worked on me.

Enough of that! I was delighted of course, and prepared with all enthusiasm to get together with the blokes that were to go. Then "marrying up" of the team took place out at a place called Breakfast Creek, where camp facilities were - Army, Air Force, Dutch, New Zealanders, Pommies and all, were camped under strict Army discipline. Lights Out - Reveille, No fraternizing with other Ranks, all that sort of jazz which I didn't like. The camp entertainments were of top quality for that time though. This operation took, it seemed, a very short tine and then we were all set to go. I was allowed back to Victoria Park for a farewell party in the Sergeant's Mess. A couple of "my girls" had been made Sergeants by this time so the occasion was quite agreeable again, all the girls had met Mum and knew She was a W.A.A.A.F. and it was source of wonder throughout the Mess that I could have female company whenever I was back there!!!, good things don't last long in war time and we duly set forth from Brisbane again by trusty D.C.3 for parts North.

We made Moresby the first day then departed for Hollandia on the North Coast. They weren’t able to get in there because of weather so carried on for link. There we joined the Headquarters Ship "Rocky Mount" and set up watches on the frequencies necessary. We sailed from Biak on 12th September with Turnley, of previous mention entertaining us with a beautiful rendition of a hymn of which I can remember little except "0h Lord above, we pray to Thee, for those in peril on the sea". He had a trained voice in the John Charles Thomas style, very strong baritone and the only time we could get him to sing was if he was three parts on the wind or special occasions such as we departing on a mission. There was never enough beer available to fuel him up for a full concert but a beautiful voice (to me).

We sailed from Biak for a landing on Morotai on the morning of the14th September and were soon ashore and setting up Command tents and aerials and getting the radios warming. We were some hundred yards in from the beach itself, beautiful white sand coconut trees, no low growth as the natives used to keep it cut down - we even had an eight holer set up on the top of the sand ridge from the beach where we could in comfort watch the sea and the birds and accomplish the basic reason for being there.
Things took their course on board, shifts were maintained and observations made on the general air activity, but nothing of importance came up till the morning of the 14th when before daylight the bombardment opened up. The usual ship to shore heavy bombardment, followed by landing craft close in laying down a barrage of rocket fire. Very, Very impressive when sighted for the first time I can assure you. In the early light they look like streams of fire leaving the front of the barges and heading inland to erupt somewhere back in the bush. I have an idea there are thirty two rockets in the single loading on the frames they use. It takes a few minutes to re-load and then they let them go in a series, one row at a time. Most effective too!!!

We came ashore the following morning to a fairly safe area, already cleared of the Japs and the camp areas being allotted for the support groups such as we, next door to the American Nurses bivouac for the first few days till the Field Hospital was fully operational. The use of the eight-holer- open to the beach provided some embarrassment when occasionally visited by visiting nurses, wandering around on a rest period. We had a marvellous view of the reef and soon in the off duty periods, some of the blokes were fishing and trying out the used belly tanks from aircraft as boats. Cut a hole in the top and then you had to get rid of the baffles inside to get your legs straight out in front of you, your backside acted as bedfast on the bottom and they were quite manageable. I have a photo somewhere.

Some of the blokes got some demolition charges - look like a cake of sandsoap - a block about three inches high, four by three on the bottom and about two by three on the top. The bottom was hollowed sufficiently to put a coil of fuse and a detonator in. The blokes used to tie this to a hand grenade and drop them overboard and then work like hell to pick up the fish before they were eaten by bigger fish. I remember being out over the reef at night in my boat with a fishing line when the whole thing rose up out of the water about six feet I reckon then drop straight down again. Something very large come up under me and lifted me and my boat wholly out of the water and then either I slipped off his back or he or it submerged again. That was my last time fishing over the reef.
The next morning a Boston made a forced landing in the water, within sight of us, but too far to swim out and we saw the crew release two rafts which inflated. Before they could get to the rafts they were dragged under by whatever, but they just disappeared and though the Americans got the aircraft to the beach with boats, there was no further sign of the crew. No one went fishing again out on that reef. That was where I first saw Bonito, a fighting fish jumping out of the water to about ten feet or more before diving back again. In literally hundreds, being chased by other bigger fish for when I saw it up here I knew immediately what they were.
Morotai is a long narrow island and the air strips were made towards the centre, while the villages were to the north of us. We were on the southern end about a hundred yards back off the beach camped in the middle of a grove of Coconut trees. I remember the moonlight there. The moon so big and you could really read a book by it outside. I hadn't seen a moon so large till we were in Goodnight. Guess it was the time of the year and so on. I know I sent Mum home some photo’s taken at night with a normal exposure.

During this idyllic time there was very, very little air activity, or naval activity that immediately concerned us. Our routine watches were maintained and there was only an occasional reconnaissance plane over. There were three night attempts at harassment but only by fighters who came in low, made one run and then disappeared out to sea. From our location we could see on the horizon the Halmahera's and we all knew that there were Japs there. Night time guard duty was a must and all lights to seaward were screened. With the accumulating number of ships that was going on there we all knew that another trip was in the offing so there was not much apprehension at night. Not like what was to come.

We got word to prepare for another embarkation so it was pack up the gear and stow it where we knew to find it and wait for further information. As I said before these good times never last long in the Services. Instruction courses again in the use of the weapons, down to the firing ranges, lots of rounds through the Thompsons and the 303's, the use of grenades, and this time a Bazooka. The Sergeant of the Guard got to carry that one and we all enjoyed letting one go from it. Awesome is the word for the damage trey can do. We duly found our way on board L.S.T.729 and were quartered on the tank deck. No provision made for our accommodation so it is all hands on the scrounge. I managed to find a camp stretcher and set up “home” between the tracks of a monster of a machine with a great gun barrel straight over my head. I can remember thinking about what would happen if there was a direct hit somewhere!!!

We had no word as to our destination but in the evening of the 17th October 1944 we were paraded on deck and given a briefing by the Captain, a Lieutenant of the American Navy and told that we were heading for the island of Leyte in the Lingayen Gulf of the Philippines. 0ur point of reference was a town called Tacloban and from there we were on our own. Each of us had a job to do and so on so "Good Luck" "God Bless" and all that stuff and we closed down for the night. During the night we pulled the anchor and set forth. There was a group of our fellows on the Headquarters Ship of our Group who kept watch on the relevant aircraft frequencies for the trip.

Very boring on the L.S.T. we, as Australians, had no duties on board. Salt water showers once a day, your water bottle filled morning and night and except for meal times, that was the only liquid to drink. Card games, books went the rounds until the early morning of the 20th October. The early bombardment woke everyone of course and this went on for hours. We couldn't get ashore for the first day, just sitting at anchor in the bay waiting for something to happen. Of course we had a grandstand view of all the activity aircraft buzzing around, landing barges shuttling back and forth, plenty of noise and smoke. The main fleet was further our in the bay beyond our sight and they kept up a continuous bombardment of targets as the situation called for. There were quite a few Jap aircraft about but they were searching for the big ships of the convoy thank goodness, not us. 0ur size was not significant for this operation so we didn't rate too much attention. We landed the second day in the afternoon and immediately set about setting up the station.

All the gear, now comprising a mobile Signals Station, was easily handled but the aerials still had to go up. It started raining and the wind came up and we had a hell of a problem keeping things under control. Sleeping space was a problem for everyone wanted wanted to have shelter and be inside the perimeter, small though it was. The, first days ashore in a new location are the worst. There was a village a few hundred yards away, but the Americans told us that the locals were tribesmen, meaning the equivalent of our abo's, and would be loyal to the person who was looking at them, so we were doubly wary.

Eventually the storm cleared and we were able to become operational. Things were normal until early December when an intercepted message indicated that our whereabouts were known to the Japanese and they were organising a paratroop operation to hunt us out. Needless to say there was an immediate evacuation and we were shipped out to a place called San Migual on Luzon Island, just north, 80 miles, of Manila in Lingayen Gulf. There was no landing to take part in here for the Americans had come in a few weeks before and had advanced south towards Manila and had spread out throughout the countryside in all directions. The operation for us was merely landing our gear, moving to ready sites and setting up operations.

I only made one trip to Manila on a sightseeing look-see. There were lots of "out of bounds" areas and on the eastern outskirts there was still routing out of Japs and the sympathetic Philippino's. One thing I vividly remember are the cages in which the "good time" girls used to live and operate from. There were no occupants while I was there but information given to us was that from twelve years of age, the girls were put to work for the pleasure of the troops - a fact that didn’t go 'down too well with anyone. We learned while here that someone on the Staff of the publicity machine had found out and had broadcast over our ^ ^si ^nd sisi^ (a) that there were Australians in the Philippines and (b) given them our names and occupations as "Specialist Communication Troops". I understand that there was hell to pay back at 21 Henry Street. Later I was led to believe that this happened before the paratroop scare, so we were well out of that area.

Just after Christmas I was called to the H.O. and informed that I was posted back to Brisbane, once again “for further training and re-assignment". My mate Turnley reckoned that “this was it" - back to Brisbane a spat of leave then over to Port Lincoln S.A. to the School of Administration far Officer Training. I had no information from my own C.O. except for the posting but ever hopeful I set off, arriving back in Brisbane the second week in January. After a couple of weeks waiting, my old mate Wing Commander (by this time) Booth saw me and gave me the story again - my Commission had been recommended and was in the pipeline, however in the meantime there was an operation being prepared for the Borneo area and I was to meet the team chosen out at Breakfast Creek - go through their training with them and in three weeks leave with them for Morotai Island to join a convoy that was gathering ready for the Borneo Operations. Such a trusting fool I did as I was told.

This self criticism is I assure you a result of growing older and seeing the situation with much older end wiser eyes. In those days I was as eager to do the job, as well as please those in authority above me as I was when first chosen for this work back in 1941. I believed them for I wanted to believe them and all that kind of thing. The thing is that we arrived back on Morotai Island on 5th March 1945 and began to get ready for operations. I was senior N.C.0. in Charge, and we had no Officers as yet, so there was only a receiving station set up in our own tents purely for training purposes and to give the blokes something to do while waiting. We had no communication with Operations and no set up to actually use any information we may have gathered. I kept all the priority traffic that the blokes copied but there was nothing we could do with it, except for record purposes.

The real war had moved away from us for the time being. We learned and practiced driving four by fours up and down ramps, and in convoy line astern, and to stop and evacuate them in a hurry, all that stuff that we might need to be able to do. On 25th April we want aboard the Headquarters Ship the "Rocky Mount" with the O.I.C. Aust. Seventh Division; I think it was General Wootton, and Lo. and behold, A.V.M. Scherger and his staff of R.A.A.F.1st. Tactical Air Force. This was the first time I had served under R.A.A.F. Control since 1942. We were only a group of eight operators and our job was to pass all traffic to a F/Lt. Bryce, a Liaison Officer, who then passed it to the Intelligence Staff of 7th. Div. Our group were not coming as a group - just operators to man the listening watches while the operation was in progress. We learned then that we were heading for Tarakan, off the East Coast of Borneo.

The next two days passed at anchor and during the second night we left, arriving off shore in the early morning hours of the 1st May. During the trip there were a couple of aircraft warnings but nothing of consequence come about, the main gist of the signals we intercepted was that most of the "fighting" troops had been taken to the Philippines during the last few weeks leaving mostly garrison and oil field maintenance troops in the area. The landing went without much opposition, we had two aircraft approach and then it seemed turn and leave the area fortunately!!! The main job of this occupation was to secure the oil installations and create an airfield suitable for long range fighters and medium bombers, and besides elements of the Aust. 7th. Divn there was the R.A.A.F. No 3. Airfield Construction Squadron (I think).

I know I was still on board when I heard that a F.Sgt Bradshaw had been killed in action during the night. First time I had come across the name during my whole service, found out he was a Tasmanian from Ulverstone - no relation tho'. Met another of that family back at Central Bureau during change over from Borneo to Okinawa. Wasn't a pleasant meeting for I told him when I was introduced that he had a hell of a reputation to live up to, which pleased no one, particularly the ''top brass". However back to Tarakan - word filtered back from the troops ashore that the area occupied was proving unsuitable for the construction of a suitable airfield and the operation was to be abandoned.

Holding troops of the 7th. Divn. were to be left to secure the oilfields and the port facilities and F/Sgt. Bradshaw (me) was detailed to carry out an "on field" inspection with a view to reporting on the suitability or not of the terrain under control, for the establishment of a Radio D/F Station. This meant spending a couple of nights ashore so away we went. First night after walking miles and miles - all transport was Army and full, all hell broke loose round the early hours and of course everybody on the alert. Stayed that way till daylight when we found the corpses of some ourang-at-angs that had been on a forage just before daylight. Poor bloody things nobody told them about the war!!!! Second night went off 0.K. with just the usual night noises. This was where I really learned to look askance at night - out of the corner of your eye if you want to see what's in front of you. Everything moves and in the morning it's still there.

Some of the fellows who could not accept that would get up at daylight and grub around chopping down small bushes that had been moving around all night. That had bothered me for a bit but mostly I was there only to pass a night then be on my way to somewhere more comfortable. On Tarakan that was back to the H.Q. Ship and comfort. My conclusions were that there was no advantage to be obtained by trying to install a H.F. D F. station there the worst weather and ground surrounds I had come across so far, besides we had D/F at Tacloban in the Philippines and Nadzab in the Markham Valley and at Darwin so I wasn't too enthusiastic about the project anyway - my view coloured by the speed with which these stations could be established with a Warrant Officer in charge of a group of four operators. All senior in rank to me - enough said.

Anyway Tarakan was a "no go" operation for Wireless Units and I was recalled to Morotai to prepare for the next operation on the west coast of Borneo - Operation 0boe 6. This time we had mobile radio in the form of 4 by 4 trucks complete with power plants - the only thing was we had to rig aerials before we could operate. That was o.k. for they were only long wires and they went anywhere as long as it was up!!!! I will type directly from my diary from here on (with suitable deletions) for things did get a bit blubbery here and there about this time:

31st May 1945: Two letters from home. Jimmy Moare is one of us now; his application for aircrew has been knocked back so he is now one of us for good. We moved from camp to the assembly area for loading onto the ship. We have full packs - our kits were handed into 9 T.M.0 and we were left with two changes of clothes, water-proofs, one blanket and two towels. Pockets are filled with tins and bottles of pills of various colors. Looks like rain so we are trying to rig some shelter. I am Duty Officer from midnight to 2 a.m. so my hip will probably not have a chance to become sore. (H0W OBVIOUS THIS IN HINDSIGHT). The night is cold and already we are tired and dirty. Worried about letter from home. Thank God Lesley is at home with her Mum. Human nature being what it is, her being there is just another added protection.

1st. June 1945: I managed to have a bit of broken rest after knocking off at 2a.m. We moved out to the loading point, about a mile and a half march. Hugh Melinsky, English Lieut. attached to us for experience, tried to march his group full pack and all at attention for the trip. It lasted about 5 minutes and the blokes sat down on the side of the road and told him where to go so he went. A rather arrogant Pom. On board L.S.T. 696 at 1010 a.m. and in need of a feed. Breakfast was at 0430 a.m. and the blokes are hungry and thirsty. We are quartered on the tank deck. Pretty hot and dirty. I counted 110 ships altogether before a meal line was formed and we got coffee and sandwiches of beans and spam. Alright to fill a space. My feet are pretty badly infected, five ulcers on the right foot and four on the left. The Yank Doctor treated them and gave me some sulpha drugs to take. I have to go back daily for dressing. Fortunately I was able to scrounge a stretcher to sleep on. The Halmaheras are only five miles out on the port side. Coming aboard I was photographed with groups twice, by the Army Official History bloke and by the "Wings" representative. The boys all have wet feet after the catwalk to the L.S.T

2nd June 1945: Still at anchor - breakfast at 0615. The crew of the ship is Yank and look no tougher than our blokes - more picturesque with bandannas round their heads and large knives at their waist and so on. I had my legs dressed by an A.I.F. medic this morning. Plenty of colors in the paint he used - told me to keep on taking the drugs and walk bare foot where possible till we get there. During the night it rained heavily - I was good and dry. Watching the Yank signallers I can’t help noting what a lousy lot of operators they are. Rough and quick training I guess. I must realise I have been reading morse code now for ten years so shouldn't be critical. Read “The Pay-Off" a murder mystery paper backs that there seems to be an abundance of on board. The convoy at night reminds me of an ordinary waterfront. I wish it was Melbourne and I was with Lesley. Lights out at dusk so I'm off to the cot early.

3rd. June 1945: Still at anchor. Raining all day today. My right leg is improving Mango and Tapp (Mango Myers and Don Tapper) came over from the "Rocky haunt" our H.Q. Ship. Plenty of games of "Two-up" and dice everywhere. I can't join in far I am a poor gambler and hate to lose. I kept bank for one of our blokes Ron Warlow and he seems to be doing alright for a while. He asks me for the bank and I leave for I'm not interested. Worrying about Lesley and home and what she is doing. Maybe it would help if I knew what was going to happen within the next week or two. Perhaps - I don't know. I can only hope. There are some strange people on board that's for sure. Don't wash, don't shower tho' it is salt water, don't clean their teeth, smell to all heaven. “Say Aussie, got any "whorey" books down there? If so lemme know and I'll change 'em with you". (Don't you dare Laugh Simon or I won't quote any more of this)

4th June 1945: We "up-anchored" and "a-weighed" at 0400 - the 110 ships are in convoy position - two great lines - spaced well apart. We are heading west. We went through the submarine and air alert procedures, and the drills a couple oh times. From where I am I'd have to fly through the top deck to get out but I'll take that in my stride when necessary. I learn that some oh the boys have busted their ‘emergency rations’ which means trouble later on. Our oil boat is rocking and rolling like a beaut but there is hardly any swell. Tom Davis and Alex Watkins were a bit Squeamish and not able to eat any tea. Hugh Melinsky is causing Tony Carson (another Pom attached to us for experienced) a bit of trouble for his consistent superior attitude on board. Thinking of Lesley and Gary and read "Magnificent Obsession" by Lloyd C. Douglas.

5th June 1945: It rained heavily again today - all the boys camped on deck were flooded out. Breakfast in the rain - cold and windy and there is quite a sea running. The lifebelts are a nuisance and everyone in dirty. I am wearing a pair of shorts and sandals on account of my feet. The showers were made available today. They are salt water and so far none of us has any salt water soap. Won't take long for a trade of something takes place I reckon. At night we are not allowed any lights down below - hot and sweaty. How do people fail to appreciate the stupidity and the emptiness of these war operations? To all intents and purposes this is simply a cruise for most of the boys. I see no signs of strain, Aircraft cover us all day. No one has a care for what lies ahead for everyone else but ME. Bless you both and keep you safe please God.

6th June1945: Raining heavily again and our ship in rolling heavily. Yesterday we passed the Talaud Islands from which we should have been spotted and undoubtedly were, for there is a Jap 0.P. located there. At 1800 tonight we were joined by a large whale about thirty feet long. I couldn't sleep so went up on deck to watch the sea with the thousands of little lights. It is nice and cool up here but my imagination plays up too much. A year ago today the invasion of Europe took place Our L.S.T. took place in that invasion at Normandy. They tell us that these ships are U/s after one invasion trip, but so far we haven't been stressed with hits or groundings so here's Luck!!!!

7th June 1945: At 0530 we passed Zamboanga and suffered a pang of jealousy for the place was all lit up. We are within a few minutes of a civilisation - the first since leaving Australia two thousand miles behind and still going further. Our convoy was joined by more destroyers and a couple of cruisers. There are a few birds about but I haven't any idea how far away land is. I read a selection of adventure stories by Peter Russell. I managed to scrounge a bucket and spent an hour and a half washing. Feel much brighter and easier for it. Read "An Island in the sun" by Ernest Gann. The Yanks aboard are beginning to show a little apprehension over what may be ahead. All kinds of rumours are floating about. The usual bout of hunger is making itself felt. I managed to acquire a box of “K" rations. (I've blocked out the next five lines in my diary - must have been feeling too up-tight for anyone else to read it huh!!!)

8th June 1945: Borneo is on the Port Bow (gone all Navy now) has been all day, Afternoon we had a fighter escort of P.38’s (Lightnings). From 1700 we have been swinging round past Palawan. A good meal at tea time but I'm not having much success sleeping. I planned a pedal car for Gary, and the injustices of my position continued to take over. (He never did get the pedal car but he got a 1927 Baby Austin) My mind would not focus on anything else.

9th June 1945: All alerted at 0500 this morning. Everyone is busy packing up and cleaning guns. Ron Barlow gave me 500 Guilders to mind. We heard heavy gunfire at 0400 but couldn't see anything. We were briefed at 1500. I have a party of eight men - two Tommy guns and six rifles -we are to land tomorrow. Once on the beach we must move round to the right and keep going till we find the Assembly Area. Everyone is a bit keyed up tonight.

10th June 1945: We dropped anchor in Brunie Bay at 0430. The shoreline is alight and the Lighthouse is working. At 0615 a “Nick" dropped a bomb close to the "Rocky Mount". We are there miles off shore waiting for the bombardment to begin. At 0730 the rocket barges and the Destroyers opened up. I would hate to have been on the receiving end of that lot. At 0915 the first wave of infantry hit the beach. A Jap Tanker opened fire on a destroyer but was blown in half for its trouble. Some mortar fire came BACK and wrecked two L.C.I’s.

The Liberators gave a grand display of bombing from where we are. I can't help thinking that it is quite a good position for me, after having to take it for so long. We landed at 1700 and moved through the township and through to a coco-nut plantation. The only thing wrong is that Melinsky insisted we move through to the left. The ground is wet and the bugs are thick. The road ahead is out of bounds because of snipers. An unexpected land mine alongside does not keep us very comfortable. Our water supply is light so we have to scrounge coco-nuts. Mortar fine and grenades are heavy all night. I am on guard 3.a.m. to 5.a.m. and during my stint I hear sounds across from us. In touch with an Army Unit next door, I report in and am told "We will take care of it". Just as daylight I hear some automatic weapon fire and on going to have a "look see" I find that there is a trench of women who have been gunned down." On protesting about it I am told to mind my business and if I don't want to, can I spare men and medical supplies to care for them - they were the remnants of the Japanese "Joy" houses and are rotten with disease for which we have neither the facilities nor the equipment to care for them. We are in the front Line of an offensive action and this is a very minor matter and please 'Buzz off" and get on with my job. Most of the township in wrecked. The "Poor show" of it is that a small party of Americans, as Port Director's Staff, came in second ashore in "Buffaloes" and looted the whole place. Bulldozers are working on most of the roads.

11th June l945: Breakfast at daylight on hard rations. We went over to have a look at the remains of the women in the trench but they had been mostly covered up and tho' a couple of the blokes were a bit green, there was nothing to be done about it Tony Carson, John Hucker and I set out to find the assembly area .The M.P's said that snipers are on the road - they had taken out five before we began to move out. After about an hour we located our assembly area and found the rest of our mob. F/ Lt. Bamage and I went back to bring up the rest of our team. We had a mid-day meal of rare rations - no water - coconuts and with relief loaded our kit bags and extras onto the weapons carrier. In column of route!!!! We marched up past the old Government House and in what used to be a bit of a public park, we set up shelters for the night. I had dawn guard duty - midnight to 0400 so with an early tea and a shower from the roadside drain, I changed trousers had to wear the same shirt for it was the only green one I had and I didn't feel like wearing my faded khaki at night with all the activity going on after dark. Heard there is mail on the beach but there is no way of reaching it tonight. We'll send someone down in the morning. If you're game enough you can smoke on guard duty tonight - it is supposed to be so safe. None of us reckoned we'd take the chance anyway. All quiet till after I had taken over at 2250. There was a single shot and I heard one of our blokes yell. Yelling back to shut up, I moved to where they were sleeping and found Roy Tanner and Roy Ward busy. Ward had been shot in the left elbow; the bullet had entered his left arm just above the elbow and exited at the wrist. He had been laying on his back with his hands under his head and we reckoned that if this had not been so the bullet would have gone through his left temple.

He and Roy Tanner were under a blanket with a torch and they were trying to stop the bleeding and the noise. I yelled to everyone to grab weapons and be alert, you know Australia needs Lerts, then helped Wardie get dressed, wrapped a blanket round him and took him out to the weapons carrier. I remember it was pitch black and you could just distinguish things against the skyline. The C/0 and F/0 Magnus crawled round the guard posts, came back to the Carrier and began to talk about the situation. Ward asked if he was going to be left here all night without medical attention, and when no one answered, I asked him if he would walk with me down to the R.A.P. about a half a mile behind us in the direction from which the shot had come. He said he would