LibGuides: Military Resources: Personal experiences

Background reading

These resources are only available for use onsite. However, if you are unable to come into the Library you can use our Ask Us service. The Ask Us service enables you to submit questions to our librarians who will attempt to provide you with helpful information. The basic research service is free although there are charges for copying.

Desert, bamboo and barbed wire : the 1939-45 story of a special detachment of Australian Army nursing sisters, fondly known as the "Angels in Grey" and their fate in war and captivity
The diary of a Rat : an account of the activities of portion 7 Division Supply Column, Australian Army Service Corps, Australian Imperial Forces up to and including the siege of Tobruk, 1941
It happened to us : the unique experiences of 20 members of the 4th anti-tank regiment
Captives : Australian army nurses in Japanese prison camps

Digitised material

You can view a selection of digitised material reflecting personal experiences and creative responses to war on South Australians at War. This includes:

For example, below you can see an image from Drawings of staff at Loveday Internment Camp and Repatriation Hospital by Jack Treloar,1946.

Archival material

These are a few of the resources available for use onsite. However, if you are unable to come into the Library you can use our Ask Us service. The Ask Us service enables you to submit questions to our librarians who will attempt to provide you with helpful information. The basic research service is free although there are charges for copying.

Bob Adams : SUMMARY RECORD
Papers comprising lists, reports, newsletters, poem, maps, photographs of the battalion memorial, correspondence, notebook and newspaper cuttings. Bob Adams collected these records while serving with the 2/3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion of the AIF and in the subsequent years until their 50th reunion
Interview with Geoff Harris [sound recording]
Geoff Harris enlisted in the Australian Army in June 1940 as a transport driver. He went to Singapore in 1941 with the 8th Division Ammunition Sub-Park and describes in detail his experiences as a prisoner of war after the fall of Singapore. Mr Harris was with one of the first parties of prisoners to be sent to work on the Burma railway
Interview with Hurtle Ray Tonkin [sound recording]
Ray left Australia with the 2/43 Battalion in December 1940. He describes the voyage to the Middle East and speaks a little about army life. The Battalion returned to Australia and then served in New Guinea where Ray became very ill and was discharged.
Interview with John Dowie [sound recording]
His enlistment and five years of service during the Second World War in North Africa, the Middle East and New Guinea; his readjustment to civilian life and determination to pursue a career as an artist.

Diaries and Personal Accounts

Personal experiences

Diaries of Colin Kerr
Go to our library catalogue to view transcripts of Colin Kerr's diaries in both New Guinea and the Philippines during WW2.
Diary of Keith Dodd
Go to our library catalogue to view the diary summary of Keith Dodd when he was a P.O.W. in WW2.
Diary of Hamilton Cummings
Go to our library catalogue to view the diary of Hamilton Cummings who worked as a radiographer with the Free French during WW2.
Diaries of Noel Creed
Go to our library catalogue to view the transcript of Noel Creed's diaries during WW2 where he was a musician in the 2/43 Infantry Battalion in the Middle East.

Military Resources: Personal experiences

Background reading

Digitised material

Archival material

Diaries and Personal Accounts

Personal experiences

Ask us