| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3162 | KING, Norm. Memoirs of a Reluctant Warrior, 1936–1955: An Autobiography. xii, 149p., illus. Adelaide: Judith King, 1999.
An autobiography. A narrative of almost nineteen years of service with the RAN and all but three at sea, which earned the author numerous decorations, among them the Atlantic Star, Africa Star, Burma Star with Pacific Clasp, the Greek Service Medal, 1942 Maltese Cross and 1942 Liberation of the Philippines. |
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| 3163 | LEGGOE, John. Trying to be Sailors. x, 230p., illus., index. Perth, W.A.: St. George Books, 1983. ISBN: 0867780150.
He was called up in August 1942 and after brief training went to Darwin where he equally briefly commanded a boom patrol boat. He spent the war in and around Darwin on a variety of local vessels and corvettes. |
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| 3164 | LEVETT, Robin. The Girls. vi, 264p. Hawthorn, Vic.: Hudson, 1997. ISBN: 0949873659.
The autobiography of a rebel. She had a brief sojourn in the navy, working with the fledgling Signals Intelligence organisation in Albert Park, before service with WAS(B) in Burma at the end of WW2. Several editions. |
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| 3165 | LONEY, Jack. The Sea War in Bass Strait. 71p., bibliog., illus. Portarlington, Vic.: Marine History, 1993. ISBN: 0909191514.
A brief account of raider and submarine action in the Bass Strait in two world wars. |
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| 3166 | MCGUIRE, Frances M. The Royal Australian Navy: Its Origin, Development and Organisation. xxvii, 406p., illus., index. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1948.
A useful general history, much of it devoted to WWII. |
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| 3167 | MANNING, David. One Sailor's War: An Oral History. 56p., illus. Ballarat, Vic.: Goodenia Rise, 1999. ISBN: 0959028331.
A personal memoir. No copy seen. |
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| 3168 | MARCUS, Alex. DEMS What's DEMS? The Story of the Men of the Royal Australian Navy Who Manned Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships During World War II. xiii, 209p., bibliog., illus., index. Brisbane: Boolarong, 1986. ISBN: 0864390122.
Based on the memories of those who served. |
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| 3169 | McDONALD, Ean. Flip Side War. x, 169p., illus. Carlisle, WA: Hesperian, 2005. ISBN: 0859053539.
A member of the Reserve, he was called up in 1939. His war began with Sydney then served on each of the Scrap Iron destroyers in the Mediterranean in the worst of the battles, before being sunk in Waterhen. He joined Perth briefly late in 1941, then went for officer training. Then he joined the corvette Echuca and in early 1943 the survey corvette Shepparton where his specialised survey skills kept him until war's end. |
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| 3170 | MILL, Lorna. Been There – Done That. 106 p., illus. [Eaglemount, Vic.: L. Mill, 1984].
A biographical account of the work of the WRANS. |
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| 3171 | MOYES, John. Mighty Midgets. v, 189p. Sydney: NSW Bookstall Co., 1946.
Tales of the small ships of the RAN including anecdotes of trawlers, minesweepers, and corvettes. Two of the tales concern New Zealand corvettes and an Indian sloop. |
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| 3172 | NATION, Andy. A Stoker's Journey: From the Med to Korea in HMAS's Waterhen, Nizam, Warramunga & Sydney. 212p., illus. McCrae: Slouch Hat, 2005. ISBN: 0975835300.
His edited wartime diaries. It begins in 1940 with his passage to Egypt to join Waterhen and covers her busy war until sunk in June 1941. He was then drafted to Nizam and saw more Mediterranean action before she moved east. In late 1942 he received a draft home and after leave joined the new Warramunga. After more hard service in the Pacific he was given a shore job at Milne Bay in the oiling party. At the end of 1944 he moved on to Oro Bay, now as a driver where he stayed until war's end. The final quarter of the book covers the Korean War. |
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| 3173 | NELSON, Annette. A History of HMAS Harman and Its People: 1943-1993. 40p., illus. Canberra: HMAS Harman, 1993. The RAN Wireless/Transmitting Station, Canberra, began operations on April 20, 1939 and was commissioned in 1943. During WW2, the Canberra station provided communications services for ships and allied navies working in the Pacific theatre. It was staffed by members of the WRANS. An earlier anonymous edition with the same title was published in 1983, q.v. A second edition of this title was published in 2003, and a third edition in 2013 by the same author. |
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| 3174 | NESDALE, Iris. Spin Me a Dit: Tales of the Royal Australian Navy. xi, 259p., bibliog., illus., index. Adelaide: [author], 1984. ISBN: 0949552062.
A pot–pourri of tall tales and tragedies, mainly from WWII. |
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| 3175 | PFENNIGWERTH, Ian. In Good Hands: The Life of Dr Sam Stening, POW. xviii, 334p., bibliog., illus., index. Woollahra, N.S.W.: Bellona, 2012. ISBN: 9780987227836.
Stening served in Waterhen in the Mediterranean but was captured when Perth was sunk in the Java Sea. He then looked after and led men in some eight POW camps before war's end.. |
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| 3176 | PFENNIGWERTH, Ian. A Man of Intelligence: The Life of Captain Eric Nave, Australian Codebreaker Extraordinary. 304p., bibliog., illus., index. Dural: Rosenberg, 2006. ISBN: 1877058416.
The biography of the naval officer who was the first to unravel Japanese naval telegraphy and break their codes. A fascinating tale. |
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| 3177 | PITT, David Buxton. War Letters from Frank Buxton, RANVR. xxi, 95p., illus. Brighton, Vic.: Tom Buxton, 2002. ISBN: 0958013403.
A selection of seventy-six letters and cables home. He travelled to the UK in 1940 and after training served on Kashmir, Trinidad and Howe, surviving the sinking of the first two. In 1944 he returned to Australia serving on Orara then in a shore job. The letters are fresh and innocent and give a lively depiction of his world. |
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| 3178 | REID, Richard. Royal Australian Navy 1939-1945: Australians in the Pacific War.112p., bibliog., illus. Canberra: Dept. of Veterans' Affairs, 2005. ISBN: 1920720308.
Looks at seven stories of the bravery and determination of the RAN in the Pacific in WWII. They include the convoy escorts along Australia's east coast, where the first Australian ship to be sunk by an enemy submarine in Australian waters was lost. |
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| 3179 | RICKARD, D.R. The Royal Australian Navy – The First 100 Years. A 365 Day Almanac of Notable Events. xiv, 140p., bibliog., illus., index. Brighton, SA: author, 2005. ISBN: 0646451162. Follows the style of The Royal Navy Day By Day. Fact filled and interesting. |
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| 3180 | ROSS, W. H. Lucky Ross: An RAN Officer 1934–1951. vii, 280p., illus. Carlisle, W.A.: Hesperian, 1994. ISBN: 0859052036.
A career officer who served on the cruisers Australia, Canberra and Sydney. |
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| 3181 | SHEAN, Max. Corvette and Submarine. 275p., bibliog., illus. Claremont, W.A.: [author], 1992. ISBN: 0646091719.
Shean joined the RANVR halfway through an engineering degree at the University of Western Australia. After training at HMAS Rushcutter in New South Wales he moved to the UK and 15 exciting months in Bluebell in the Battle of the Atlantic. He then switched to midget submarines where he had a distinguished career including attacks on the harbours of Bergen and Saigon. An excellent tale. |
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