Inspiring stories - Expert insights

Last updated:

Read

Read more
Portrait of Flight Sergeant Keith Mills in his uniform

Australian airmen at Buchenwald

Downed Australian airmen were sent to a concentration camp, instead of to a military prison.

By Emily Hyles

Second World War
Portrait of Krystyna Skarbek. Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

Behind Enemy Lines

In the Second World War, a number of women served as agents amid the dangers of occupied Europe.

By Clare Mulley

Second World War
Three members of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), confer with a North Korean interpreter (left) who is serving with the battalion. Saunders is second from the right, smoking a pipe.

The fighting Gunditjmara

Indigenous people have fought for Country and for nation, from frontier wars to world wars.

By Dr Lachlan Grant

Vibrant painting showing a man eating with a Nazi soldier, with other green uniformed soldiers brandishing weapons outside to search haystacks.

Stories of Survival

An immigrant artist left a record of her wartime story.

By Ally Roche

Second World War
Four men stand against a brick wall, in front are seven men sitting on the ground.

Fit for Purpose

An airframe fitter was an essential job in Bomber Command.

By Chris Goddard

Second World War
Charles Wheeler, Charge of the 2nd Infantry Brigade at Krithia, oil on canvas, 1927.

The Second Battle of Krithia

The Anzacs’ first offensive at Krithia was doomed - and the cost was devastating.

By Mat McLachlan

First World War
Squadron Leader Raymond Thorold-Smith, DFC

Missing in action

An ace fighter pilot vanished while defending Darwin against the town’s 53rd Japanese air raid.

By Dr Kristen Alexander

Second World War
Neil Davis leaps through the jungles of South Vietnam with his hand held Bell and Howell camera c. 1967

The crowded hours

Neil Davis lived on his instincts to produce startling footage of wars in Asia.

By Tim Bowden

Vietnam War
Aerial photograph of an area of Berlin showing the extensive damage caused by allied bombing

The Race for Berlin

After years of relentless fighting, the victorious Allied vied for control of Hitler’s capital.

By Dr David Sutton

Second World War
Painting by John Singer Sergeant of 22 General Officers of the First World War in military dress.

Learning to command

Leaders on the Western Front were more open to learning modern warfare than often assumed.

By Dr Aimee Fox

First World War
Pilots Major Jason Duggan (left) and Captain Jason Otter, C Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment in the cockpit of Chinook A15-201

Final Mission

How Sean Hobbs' photography became the cornerstone of the Memorial’s Afghanistan collection.

By Kate Dethridge

Afghanistan
Members of the ski school line up to practice the kick turn.

Ascending the Summit

In December 1941, the 1 Australian Corps Ski School opened in Lebanon.

By Amanda Swadling

Second World War

Watch

Watch more
Front side view of a Caribou aircraft on an airstrip with snow capped mountains in the background

Not your standard milk run

Super 8 footage of a peacekeeping operation in India and Pakistan during the mid 70s.

By Rebecca Forster-Osbourne

Peacekeeping
A group of seven Australians standing around a microphrone. Squadron Leader James Catanach is in the centre.

The Great Escape

The Great Escape, the largest Allied prisoner of war breakout of the Second World War.

Second World War

Listen

Listen to more
Lawrence H. Cecil of the ABC, recording messages home on board HMAS Perth, 1941.

Dust in the grooves

During WW2 the ABC sent out units to record audio for radio broadcast.

By Jennifer Selby

Second World War
Trapped podcast cover

Trapped

Trapped is a six part series about a group of Australian airmen stranded on Timor during WW2.

By Tom Trumble

Second World War