"H" detachment Sparrow Force at Viqueque, 1942
Within days of the outbreak of the Pacific war in December 1941, the largely Australian “Sparrow Force” was sent to Timor.
Author: 
Australian War Memorial
Private Leslie Albert Allen, 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion
Leslie “Barney” Allen was born at Sisters Creek, Tasmania on 24 September 1918, the eldest son of Albert and Ruby Allen.
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Australian War Memorial
Private William Michael Walsh, 9th Battalion, AIF
William Michael Walsh was born in 1894 to Michael and Mary Walsh of Ramornie, near Grafton in northern New South Wales.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Vincent Henry Walsh, 41st Battalion, AIF
Vincent Walsh was born in 1887 to Michael and Mary Walsh of South Grafton in northern New South Wales.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Charles Dunn, 42nd Battalion AIF
Charles Dunn was born on 10 March 1898 in Caterham Valley, Surrey, England, to William and Emily Dunn.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Ernie Coyle, 33rd Battalion & Corporal Joe Coyle, 19th Battalion
Ernie Coyle was born in 1891 to Dominick and Charlotte Coyle.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Thomas Percy Laintoll, 113th Convalescent Depot, Second Australian Imperial Force
Thomas Laintoll was born on 22 January 1912 to James and Catherine Laintoll in Kapunda in South Australia’s Barossa Valley region.
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Australian War Memorial
Corporal Alfred James Davidge, 15th Battalion
Alfred Davidge was born in 1885 in Harrow, England, to James and Harriet Davidge. He attended school locally, and in 1905 came to Australia aboard the Afric.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Henry St Eloy D'Alton, 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
Known to friends and family as “Harry”, Henry D'Alton was born on the 10th of April 1888 at Nhill, Victoria.
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Australian War Memorial
Corporal Roy Ernest Andrews, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force
Roy Andrews was born on 25 March 1916, to Ernest and Myrtle Andrews of Portland, Victoria.
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Australian War Memorial
Private Joseph Thomas Young, 25th Battalion, AIF
Joseph Young, known as “Joe”, was born in 1897, the eldest child in the large family of Tom and Jessie Young.
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Australian War Memorial
Flight Sergeant John McAulay Morrison, No. 75 Squadron, RAAF
John “Jack” Morrison was born on the 1st of February 1918 in Lismore, New South Wales, the son of Daniel and Margaret Morrison.
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Australian War Memorial
Flight Sergeant Arthur Hedley Jenkins, No. 467 Squadron
Arthur Hedley Jenkins was born on 25 February 1924 in Ulmarra, near Grafton in New South Wales.
Author:
Australian War Memorial
Private Claude Anthony Skimmings, 55/53rd Australian Infantry Battalion
Claude Skimmings was born in 1919, the eldest child of seven children to Charles Andrew and Mary Eva Skimmings.
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Australian War Memorial
A Mother and Her Seven Soldier Sons
In 2013, two remarkable badges were offered for donation.
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Australian War Memorial
Sergeant Matthew Farrelly, 6th Battalion, AIF
Matthew “Ted” Farrelly was born in 1891, one of 13 children to Thomas and Julia Farrelly of Porepunkah in north-eastern Victoria.
Author:
Australian War Memorial
Gunner Edwin Henry Stanhope Sautelle, 4th Field Artillery Brigade
Fondly known as “Eddy”, Edwin Sautelle was born in 1897, the eldest son of Edwin Sautelle and his wife Lizzie, who was known as “Pearl”.
Author:
Australian War Memorial
Brothers in arms
Harold West and George Leonard were best mates who did everything together.
Author:
Australian War Memorial
Private John Henry Sharpe, 2/1st Guard Regiment
Erin Vink’s great-uncle John Henry Sharpe was a remarkable man.
Author:
Australian War Memorial
Behind Yininmadyemi
Erected by the City of Sydney in 2015, Yininmadyemi – Thou didst let fall, honours the bravery and sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have
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Australian War Memorial
Ngarrindjeri Anzacs, Raukkan
More than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served their country in the First World War.
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Australian War Memorial
The remarkable Lockyer brothers
When the Second World War broke out, five Aboriginal brothers from Western Australia enlisted but only three would come home.
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Australian War Memorial
Matthias Ullungura, Bathurst Island
On 19 February 1942, Japanese forces launched their first attack on Australia with two air raids on Darwin.
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Australian War Memorial
Private William Allan Irwin DCM, 33rd Battalion
William Allan Irwin was a remarkable man. A gun shearer, a crack shot, and a much loved son and brother, he went off to the war at the age of 37.
Author:
Australian War Memorial