The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Mr Bob Taylor worked in the Post Office in 1942 when he was 13 years old. His work there involved shredding documents, receiving telegrams and operating as a bicycle messenger. He tells a number of stories about delivering telegrams and also describes his feelings of nervousness delivering POW telegrams and telegrams informing people of a relative's death. Mr Taylor mentions blackouts. Mr Taylor also worked as a Boy Scout Police Observer when he was twelve. He talks about the community's shared fear of invasion and air raids. He comments on the general feeling against the Japanese and notes that the soldiers were viewed as 'great heroes'. Mr Taylor discusses American servicemen in Adelaide and attitudes towards them. He mentions celebrating VE and VP day. Mr Taylor talks of the patriotic spirit the community felt when the war broke out, yet his father was a World War One veteran and a pacifist. Mr Taylor was involved in fundraising activities at school. Mr Taylor joined the Air Training Corps and was asked to teach Morse code which he had learnt at the Post Office. He recognises that they must have been very short of trained personnel since he was around sixteen at the time. He discusses rationing - clothing and petrol. Mr Taylor recounts a story of his parents visiting a medium in order to find out what had happened to a relative and his friend from the 24 Machine Gun Company who had been captured and held as POWs.
Mr Tony Polverino was a school boy and member of the Boy Scouts during the war. He worked as a bicycle messenger with the National Emergency Services (NES). Mr Polverino talks about carrying messages
Mr John Drennan was seven years old when the war broke out and describes his experiences while living near munitions plants and army camps in Adelaide. Mr Drennan remembers his school work which was
Mr Jack Crawley is shown wearing a gas mask and helmet while he gives the traditional Boy Scout salute. Mr Crawley was a school boy and member of the Boy Scouts during the war. He worked as a bicycle
Interview with 39467 Sergeant Renfrey Curgenven De Garis. Mr De Garis talks about a Dad's Army which was created in Millicent after the war broke out. It was intended for people waiting to be called u
Mr Fields was a boy of twelve when war broke out. He discusses the knowledge of war gained by the civilian population: the phoney war; knowledge of the Nazis from refugees; heard the Nuremburg rally o
Bud Loughry was a young boy growing up in Manly during the war, in his interview he talks about many aspects of life as a young boy growing up in Sydney during these times. He discusses the bombing o