Research for Others.
Research
I’ve always had an interest in military technology, which I suppose was fostered by my father’s days in the Citizens Military Forces Royal Australian Artillery in the 1950s and 1960s, and my Uncle who was a regular army Captain in the Royal Australian Engineers. I have great memories of both the Swan Street Engineer Depot and the Batman Avenue Artillery Depot, playing on the various pieces of equipment whenever I got the opportunity. IMAGE 7A
More intensive research began in the early 1970s. An avid reader, I was always a little disappointed in the coverage of Australian subjects. My tertiary education introduced me to ‘primary sources’ – original documents and images – and how these could be interpreted and used. It was about that time that I discovered the National Archives of Australia through my ‘day job’. Long before the internet and ‘Recordsearch’, in those days it was a matter of attending the archives reading room, and laboriously working through ‘packing lists’ of file titles. Any title that seemed to offer an interesting subject possibility was ordered and reviewed. Items of interest were then copied and the copies indexed.
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The indexes for all the documents and images are compiled as MS WORD documents using an alpha-numeric system and keywords. This means that the ‘Find’ function can be used to locate every document number in which the same keyword is used. There are currently around 20,000 documents recorded on the indexes.
The documents and images, together with many other sources such as manuals, interviews with veterans, and research notes, are the basic tools used in writing articles and books, and for providing assistance to others in their research.
Organising the Data
But documents and images don’t tell the full story. The data that these contain needs to be organised in such a way that the inter-relationships and chronological associations become obvious. To achieve this, I started using database computer programs in the late 1980s, beginning with DBASE and progressing through various programs to MS ACCESS today. Migrating the data into the next generation of program each time certainly presented its challenges!
The main databases are organised on either of two bases:
(1) single-entry, for example those compiled by military vehicle registration number . There are several: AIF vehicles, two for AMF vehicles (1939 to 1972, and post-1972); RAN and RAAF vehicles. In these databases, a each registration number is given a single entry, recording such things as vehicle make, model, wheelbase, body configuration, chassis and engine number. There are also similarly configured databases for wartime shipping.
(2) Type-specific databases with multiple-entries by military vehicle registration number and date. These include databases for Centurion tanks, the M113A1 Family of Vehicles, Leopard Tanks, and Land Rovers. Each database contains multiple entries for each registration number, recording such details as date, location, notes regarding the event, the unit the vehicle was assigned to at the time, call sign, and so on. This allows for searches on any registration number, date, location, and so on. New information, copies of documents and images on these subjects are always welcome!
Data Sources
The places where information can be gathered are many and varied. Certainly, it is true to say that there is not a ‘one stop shop’ for finding out the history of any military vehicle or piece of equipment. Fortunately, in Australia, the Army vehicle registers have survived and are publicly accessible at the Research Centre of the Australian War Memorial.
Most data, however, is derived from laboriously leafing through pages of archival files, and extracting any relevant information which is then transferred to the relevant database. Files are held by widely scattered public institutions, including the National Archives in each state of Australia, the National Archives of New Zealand, the National Archive in the United States of America, and in the Public Records Office/National Archives in the United Kingdom. Many museums also hold relevant files and information sources. These include the various museums within the Australian Army Museum Network, the RAAF Museum, and the RAN Museum. I know ... I’ve visited them all, some many, many times!
Private collections have also yielded many pieces of information, as have interviews with veterans. One particular source worth mentioning was when many of the Centurion tanks were sold in 1989 with their ‘AB417A Permanent Record Book for A Vehicles’, commonly known as the log book. The purchaser, Combat Vehicles Australia, made the wise decision to retain the log books together, and not sell them with the tanks (or by now, many would be lost or at least scattered across the world, since tanks have been sold all over Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and not just to enthusiasts. What industrial user or movie studio would be bothered retaining the log book?)
As a result, I was able to study them in detail and add the information they contained to my Centurion database. In many ways, the log books were a disappointment. There were missing or incomplete entries, and some entries proved to be just plain wrong. They also covered a very limited period of each tank’s service with the earliest entries only starting in the mid-1960s (the tanks entered service in the early to mid-1950s). However, when the limited information that could be gleaned from them was compiled along with information from other sources, it helped to provide a picture of the history of each vehicle. There are also Centurion log books held in other private collections and in public institutions such as the AWM and the Army Tank Museum. I’ve been fortunate to have tracked down and examined many of them in detail, and transcribe the information they contain into my database.
Field observations have also been a great source of information, and I’ve had the opportunity to visit many units while on exercise, or at their depots. Being able to record call signs, registration numbers and hull/chassis numbers has provided considerable data that, in isolation, is almost meaningless, but when added to the database, helps considerably in building a picture of the history of that piece of equipment.
Using the Data
But what does all this data collecting achieve? I have used the document and image collections, and the data compiled into databases, as the basis for writing books and articles, and to assist others in their research
I’ve published 11 books, and am always working on the next one! Books currently being researched and written are:
- A biographical account of 123 members of the First AIF, whose only association is that they are commemorated on an honour board in a Victorian country church. Research is well advanced, and several biographical chapters have been drafted.
- Australian Centurion, about the fleet of 150 vehicles purchased by the Australian Government. Of these, 143 were assigned Australian registration numbers, while the other seven were cannabalised for parts. The book will follow a similar layout and content to my Leopard AS1 book published in mid-2015. To date, many images have been selected and the bulk of the text drafted.
- M113A1 Family of Vehicles in Australian Service, about the 814 vehicles purchased by Australia between 1965 and 1974. The book will follow a similar format to the Leopard AS1 book published in mid-2015. Images have been scanned, research is well advanced, and a draft outline completed.
- Australia’s Military Vehicles of the Second World War, this book is being co-authored with Keith Webb, and will provide information about the majority of vehicle types used by Australian Forces during the Second World War. Images have been scanned and a significant portion of text drafted.
I’ve also been consistently writing articles since the late 1980s, and have had around 200 published in various journals and magazines. Magazines include:
- Khaki Vehicle Enthusiasts (KVE) Newsletter
- Army Motors, the magazine of the MVPA.
- Ironsides, the annual journal of the RAAC
- Command Reconnaissance, the magazine of the Military Jeep Club of Queensland
Assisting Others
I have been approached many times for information about particular military vehicles and equipment, and I’m generally happy to assist. One particular example was that of a lady who called me wanting to know the registration number of the M113A1 that her partner had driven while on operations in South Vietnam. She later published the story in the 3 Cav Association newsletter, some of which is reproduced here:
‘Avid readers of SITREP will recall an appeal for help I made in 1999 as part of my search for the Armoured Personnel Carrier that my partner, Vic .... , drove in Vietnam 29 years ago. ......Armed with only a small amount of information I quickly realised that the essential fact I needed to discover about “The Ugly” was its ARN (Army Registration Number). .... As I began telephoning around a pattern developed in the conversations I was having with people ... “you want to do what??” and then “Sorry, I can’t help but try phoning ....”
Ten months and a few hundred dollars worth of phone calls later I was given the phone number of the author of a book ‘Australian Military Equipment Profiles’ all about APCs, especially in Vietnam (thanks Paul Anderson).
Michael Cecil didn’t think I was crazy and within 3 days had not only found the APCs ARN, but had located it at 5th/7th Battalion RAR in palmerston, NT. All it took was the right person with the right information! ... Thanks to Mike Cecil for his invaluable information’
I’d actually identified the APC for her during the initial phone call, but, being just a little incredulous it had been so ‘easy’, she needed confirmation which took a couple of days! When she and her partner visited the vehicle at the unit, Vic quickly confirmed it was ‘his’ carrier. It was certainly a ‘feel-good’ situation for me, and vindication of the many hours of research that went into compiling the database.
Identifying 169064
Another instance where there was mutual assistance was that of positively identifying Centurion tank registered 169064. The tank had been purchased by Paul Scott, and the ‘strip-down’ phase of the restoration was well underway when Paul and I made contact. Paul had purchased the tank under the impression that it was 169091, that being the registration number painted on the front. He had little idea of the history of the vehicle, and at that stage, was primarily interested only in its restoration. However, it became obvious to me early on that something was not quite ‘right’ – the combat damage Paul was uncovering was not consistent with the history of 169091 as I knew it from my database. We discussed it at some length by email, and when I was next in Australia, I visited Paul. Between his now intimate knowledge of all the scrapes, bumps, gouges and external repairs on the tank, and my knowledge of the history of the Centurion fleet, it soon became obvious that Paul actually had Centurion tank 169064 – one that had a particularly interesting history including combat service in South Vietnam.
It was quite a surprise, as the available records all indicated that 169064 had ended its days as a range target, yet here it undoubtedly was! Further investigation revealed that there had been a switch of registration numbers in the early 1970s when the vehicle was being refurbished at 4th Base Workshop at Bandiana. A tank with registration number 169064 had certainly gone to a firing range and been destroyed, but not the ‘original’ 169064, which had survived under another registration number!
Consequently, Paul’s interest in the vehicle’s history deepened. Fortuitously I had been in contact with two former crew members some years before, and was able to put Paul in contact with them. One, together with members of the crew he served with, have since visited Paul and 169064. He is doing a superb restoration, and as he is happy to admit, he’s now much more interested in the tank’s history thanks to our discussions.
The interest in 169064 has also extended internationally to the UK and New Zealand! Master Modeller Stephen White is in the advanced stages of super-detailing an Armortek 1/6 scale model of a Centurion tank. He chose to model the Australian Mk.5/1 tank 169064, as it was in South Vietnam in 1969-1970. I have been one of a ‘triumvirate’ of people assisting Stephen: Paul Scott with detailed images and measurements, Allan Bowers in New Zealand with superb scale drawings, and me in the United States with historical data. The discussions between us has resulted in all of us learning new things about Centurion tanks. Stephen’s superb modelling skills can be seen on the Armortek Forum thread ‘My Beaut Aussie Cent’ at www.armortek.co.uk/forum3b/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3931
IMAGES 9 & 10 064 Image & 064 model image
These are just a few instances where the use of the database has helped veterans and current owners of historic military vehicles. I’ve also provided vehicle histories to many owners, restorers and museums, such as the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns. In the latter’s case, the markings on their Centurion were a direct result of the information I provided the museum soon after the tank arrived there.
Chapters in Books
Occasionally, I’ve been asked to write a specific chapter or article to be included in a book being edited by another author. There have been several, including:
Peter Branagan, et al, ‘Contact Tank ... Wait Out’, a compendium of articles tracing the history of 1st Armoured Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps.
John Baines, et al ‘The AFV School. 70 Years of Training Australian Armour’, a compendium of articles tracing the history of the School of Armour, Royal Australian Armoured Corps.
Lloyd White ‘The Evolution of the Willys Overland MB Jeep’, where I provided Chapter 10: ‘The Trucks ¼ ton (USA) in Australia’.
Max Carmichael et al ‘With Skill and Fighting. Craftsmen of the Australian Army 1942-2014’, a history of the Royal Australian mechanical and Electrical Engineers.
Acknowledgements from Other Authors
Usually, though, the assistance to other authors has been through answering their questions or providing information or images. There have been quite a number of instances of this, which usually results in being acknowledged in their publication.
Acknowledgements in books by other authors include:
Peter Stanley’s ‘Men of Mont St Quentin’
John Myszka’s ‘ASLAV – Australian Light Armoured Vehicle’ and ‘Australian Fire Support Vehicles’.
Shane Lovell’s ‘Australian Centurions in Vietnam’
Michael Shackleton’s ‘Leopard Trilogy’
David Finlayson’s ‘Green Field Beyond’
Michael Nelmes’s ‘A Unique Flight’
Rebecca Britt’s ‘Stories of Love and War’
Ian McNeil and Ashley Ekin’s ‘ On the Offensive’
Ashley Ekins with Ian McNeil: ‘Fighting to the Finish’
Bruce Cameron’s ‘Canister! On! Fire!’
A few words about ‘Canister! On! Fire!’ by Bruce Cameron
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While most assistance to other authors has been answering a few specific questions or providing small blocks of data, in the case of ‘Canister! On! Fire!’ by Lt Col Bruce Cameron, MC (rtd), the collaboration stands out as it was an unusually long one of some 10 years.
During that time, Bruce was given access to my research collection including taped interviews, images, and the information contained in databases, documents, and Centurion log books. I also read many drafts of each chapter, making suggestions for improvement, correcting factual errors, and ‘value adding’ to facts already in the text. We exchanged many, many emails over the years he was writing the book, saw each other fairly regularly to discuss progress, and went on a research trip together to the School of Armour at Puckapunyal. For the penultimate draft, I provided some 50 pages of comments, corrections and suggestions, a number of which were incorporated into the final text. IMAGE 11A
Just one example of the value of this effort to the final book can be gathered from the story behind 169013, a tank that had sustained two mine attacks in 1968. On 31 March 2003, Bruce Cameron emailed me that ‘... there is a signal on file [at the AWM] referring to 169013 being in 106 Wksps from 14-21 Oct (and likely to be there another two weeks) with a distorted RBJ from a mine incident. This fits with your OPDAM entry [Operational Damage entry in my Centurion database] for 33Bravo. Would you be able to check the log book for 169013 and see if there is any mention of repair work at this time?’
I looked at the log book and other documents I had copies of and provided the following answer on 3 April 2003 ‘...Re 169013: I looked at the data last evening when I got home, and this is an interesting tank. The following dates are relevant: 10/11/1968: RBJ modified as hull was bent. Entry in log book, at 106FdWks. 11/11/68: 2 left suspension stations fitted, also 106Fdwks; 30/9/1968: listed as battleworthy....... 22/2/70: issued to Peter Rosamond, but tank rejected due to hull mine damage. This was a pers comm from Peter when I spoke to him some years ago: he stuck his neck out and refused to use the tank due to cracks in the floor, and eventually they provided a replacement tank. 1/6/70: RTA BLR [ Return to Australia Beyond Local Repair] due to cracks in hull floor.’
The above resulted in the following footnote 117, page 254 of Canister! On! Fire!’:
‘117: J. M. Atkins (Corporal), letter, September 1968. Damage to the hull (which may have been responsible for cracks found later) is evidenced by the following entry in ARN 169013's logbook: '10/11/68: RBJ modified as hull is bent'. M. K. Cecil, personal communication., 3 April 2003.’.
I am proud of my close and long-term association with this publication, an association which was acknowledged by Bruce Cameron in the book when he wrote ‘Mike Cecil was Head of Military Heraldry and Technology Section at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) for most of the time the draft was being written; his extensive knowledge of military equipment was invaluable. He also generously provided access to his personal records and interviews.’
I was later honoured to be presented with a signed copy of this book by 1st Armoured Regiment.
These days, Bruce Cameron writes an on-going blog called ‘Armoured Advocates’.
