Our Wartime Heroes: firsthand stories from men and women who were there

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In Gaza, the Turks had strengthened their position with added trenches, machine guns and barbed wire.

On the 19th April, George called upon all his experience and ability to lead men in the Second Battle of Gaza.

The regiment travelled over rough ground towards the enemy fire.

The citation for his Military Cross in part reads; "He displayed great coolness...and was responsible in a great degree in re-organizing the Regiment and meeting the counter attack of the enemy."<...

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At Gallipoli, the Australian 10th Light Horse were parted from their beloved horses. They didn't shirk their duty, but joined the fighting as foot soldiers.

George was a career solider who was appointed Sergeant Major of the regiment which was to gain fame for its actions at the Nek and Hill 60,

Narration Jennifer Kain. Voice of George, Ron Tait.

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Midwife Kate Bruton ran her own private hospital in country Western Australia. In 1914, she needed respite and sailed for London.

WWI was in the early stages of the conflict but the call for nurses was urgent. Matron Bruton enlisted and was posted to Antwerp. She soon experienced the difficulties of nursing in makeshift hospital.

She and her fellow nurses quickly showed their capabilities.

Narration Rhys Hughes. Voice of Kate Jennifer Kain. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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In WWI, the Australian nurses gained a reputation for their selflessness and adaptability. Beatrice was one.

Assigned to the hospital ships, she coped with lack of water, inadequate supplies and had to take on more responsibility than she would have assumed in peacetime.

Narration Andrew Robinson. Voice of Beatrice, Adele Peirce. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Dick faced rehabilitation with the same bravery and determination as he had conducted himself during the four years of WWI.

Life had a few more surprises in store for him.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Having been wounded in the battles for Pozieres and Ypres in WWI, Dick awaited news of his future. Would he rejoin his 11th Battalion mates at the front? Would he be sent back home to the farm he loved?

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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In the third Battle to take Ypres, the Australians fought side by side. Dick of the 11th Battalion was hopeful that the war would soon end if all went well for the Allies in Belgium. He was again wounded.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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The Battle for Pozieres during WWI was not the hoped for respite by the Australians after the fighting on Gallipoli. It turned out to be bloodiest of battles.

For Dick, the respite came later when he was billeted on a farm. It was a moment of peace and he longed for the war to be over quickly.

Narrator Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

The group photo is of a contingent of recruits to...

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Dick was a very bright boy who could have chosen any number of futures for himself. Instead, he followed the call of King and country and enlisted in the 11th Battalion Australian Infantry Forces as soon as Australia declared war in 1914.

Perhaps because of his farming background, Dick was a crack shot, a skill in demand on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Narrator Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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George was wounded in his leg and went from hospital to hospital. He had a miraculous escape while sailing to Crete. Eventually, he was taken prisoner of war.

April Fools Day, 1945 but there was no joke.

Narration Jennifer Kain. Original interview Bunbury Oral History Group.

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While fighting during WWII, in Piraeus, a Greek port, George and his Battalion were subjected to constant bombing and strafing.

He discovered that an airfield was not a good place to parked by when the Germans paid a visit. The bullets were flying and some came very, very close.

Later wounded, he came to admire the wonderful, calm care of the nurses as he recovered in hospital.

Narration Jennifer Kain. Original recording The Bunbury Oral History Group.

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Trevor was persuaded by his wife Maureen to revisit Vietnam. He learned an invaluable lesson.

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One minute in Vietnam, the next back home. Trevor had difficulty adjusting to civilian life. Joining the Returned Soldiers League helped. Then came the Welcome Home March when Australia finally thanked its Vietnam veterans.

Tears, beers and reunions, Trevor said.

Frankie who kicked the mine is the inspiration for the Redgum's song, A Walk in the Light Green, also known as I Was Only 19.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original interview, Bunbury Oral History Group

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In May 1968, the experience of the Vietnamese war was taking its toll on Trevor. At home on R&R, all seemed surreal. He didn't want to go back.

Upon return to his Mobile Training Unit, he was informed that he was moving on, leaving the South Vietnamese with whom he had become close.

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Minefields were the bane of the Australians. They had to be patrolled so that the Vietcong couldn't dig them up. It was an almost impossible task, Trevor said.

His scariest moment though, might have been when he had to jump the barbed wire. His mates thought it was funny...

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original interview, Bunbury Oral History Group.

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Trevor won the lottery that no young person wanted. In the late 1960s, the Australian government ran a birth date ballot lottery for young men turning 20. If your birth date came up you were conscripted.

End prize - fighting in Vietnam.

Trevor was sent for training and discovered his couldn't tell his left from his right. No good for marching! He turned 21 while on training.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original interview, Bunbury Oral History Group.

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Olive faced the same heartbreaking and back breaking work of all the Australian nurses during WWII.

Narration Andrew Robinson. Voice of Olive, Michelle Durrant. Written Jeffrey Peirce.

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While in Egypt, Olive caught sight of a very famous person. Her assessment was a trifle unflattering.

She was a calm and assured nurse to whom patients responded. One in particular.

Narration Andrew Robinson. Voice of Olive, Michelle Durrant. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Tom was unlucky enough to be wounded and convalescence dragged on. He was eager to get back to his battalion.

Narrator Ron Tait. Voice of Tom, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Four of the eight Shaw brothers volunteered for WWI. Their fates were varied.

After the war, Tom continued a life of service, helped other returned soldiers and sailors.

Narration Jennifer Kain. Voice of Tom, Lachlan Kelly. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Tom rubbed shoulders with some of the most influential people of both the First and Second World Wars.

He and his five brothers all volunteered which must have been heart breaking for their parents. He survived some close encounters, including scrapes with the officers.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Tom, Lachlan Kelly. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Kevin was young man who had the job of converting cars to run on gas during WWII. Occasionally, It interfered with his love life. Kevin tells the story of the night the gas went phoof.

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Bunbury was a quiet country town during WWII. Imagine the panic one night when Spitfires flew over. No one knew what was happening or what to do.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original recording May 1999, Norm Flynn

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Neville was thrilled to be able to visit the Sydney while she was in Bunbury port. He and the other young boys were fascinated by the aircraft on board. How did they get off, they wondered.

Bunbury was to be one of Sydney's last ports of call.

Narration Michelle Durrant. Original recording, Bunbury Oral History Group.

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Jessie was running her own private hospital in country WA when war broke out. The Australian Army very quickly made use of her skills and assigned her to a troop transport ship.

The nurses coped with not just with injuries but also with other debilitating diseases afflicting the soldiers. The conditions were difficult to say the least.

Narration Rhys Hughes. Voice of Jessie Adele Peirce. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Towards the end of WWII, Norm and other prisoners in Germany were forced to march ahead of the liberators, Their young guards were afraid of the advancing Americans.

Once back home, Norm became an essential part of the Bunbury community.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Norm, Andrew Robinson. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Norm and his brother went to extreme measures in order to sign up during WWII. If he'd known what lay ahead, he might not have been so keen.

During the voyage to Palestine to join the 11th Battalion, the men weren't impressed with the food and conditions on board. When they complained, they were soon told what was what in the army! Norm laughed about it later in life.

However, it was an early lesson of what was to come on...

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Jack was an excellent leader of men. He needed all his courage and skill as he was part of one of the bloodiest battles in which Australians fought in France.

His letters home describe the hell and noise of the battle.

Back in Bunbury, he again accepted leadership in his profession and made far reaching changes.

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Jack Blair was a teacher. When WWI broke out, he was torn between his students and his duty. He wrote careful letters to his students to prepare them for what might lie ahead.

Narration Adele Peirce. Voice of Jack, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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A former Mayor of Bunbury, Western Australia, Dick flew daring and dangerous missions at low level altitude in Burma (now Myanmar) against the Japanese in WWII.

The Bunbury populace of the time recognised that Dick suffered from the effects of his hazardous war service.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Voice of Dick McKenzie, Ron Tait, citation read by Kris Csillag. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Elma faced unsanitary conditions in Lemnos where she helped set up the hospital to better treat the many cases coming from Gallipoli.

Later she nursed in Egypt and France. She was a dedicated and highly skilled nurse who, along with other nurses, coped with the large numbers of men in her care.

Narration Ron Tait. Voice off Elma, Adele Peirce. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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John thought that beginning his new assignment with the corvette HMAS Bunbury would be an easy walk up the gangplank.

Instead he traversed from one side of Australia to the other, with a few detours in between.

The story has a very happy and unexpected ending.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Peter Hopkins recorded his father's story with the Bunbury Oral History Group.

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In 1941, HMAS Napier was tasked with picking up a passenger in Scotland. It all had to be hush, hush. John's first impression of this important personage wasn't entirely complimentary.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Peter Hopkins recorded his father's story with the Bunbury Oral History Group.

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Leading Seaman John Hopkin's first ship during WWII was the flagship of the Australian fleet. The Australia was patrolling near the Arctic Circle when a call came to rescue the crew of the Short Sunderland flying boat.

Conditions were difficult for both rescuers and the stricken airmen. John could swim so he was roped over the side. He had to be careful not to fall into the freezing water.

That wasn't the end of the excitement for John on board HMAS...

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During WWI, Edward was wounded then taken prisoner. It fell to his mother to discover what then happened to him.

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After nursing in Gaza, Rose sailed homeward south. It was a perilous journey.

Her account of nursing in New Guinea and Bougainville is typical of the skill with which the women saved many lives. Their story is not often told.

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Lord Hawhaw was an English traitor during WWII. His radio broadcasts on behalf of the Germans were designed to demoralise.

Rose was subjected to his frightening lies even before she even reached the battle grounds.

She nursed in Gaza and on overcrowded troop ships, at times in fear of her life.

Narration Jennifer Kain. Original interview with Rose by Audrey Jacques in December 1986.

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One of the first from Western Australia to enlist in WWI, Stan was also one of the first to land on Gallipoli soil on the 25th of April, 1915.

Early on, Stan took a bullet in the back, just next to his spine. He was given up for dead. But...

Narration, Adele Peirce. Voice of Stan, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Plague, head wounds, shell shock, surgical nursing. The skilled women who cared for the wounded men in WWI faced them all.

Very Paisley was no different. She was posted to India at first where the occasional snake was was a change from the oppressive heat.

After the war, again she was among those Australian Army Nurses who put their fine skills to use in the community.

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Percy was welcomed with open arms at the 75th Gallipoli Anzac landing commemoration despite not being part of the official contingent.

Before listening to his account of the moving service, you'll hear an excerpt of the last episode as he received help to get through the crowds heading to the service.

Percy was 95 at the time.

This is the final part of Percy's war. We leave him standing again on the Suvla beach.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original...