Roden Cutler, V. C.

Roden Cutler, V. C. PDF Author: Colleen McCullough
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781740511049
Category : Diplomats
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
The first non-fiction work from the author of The Thorn Birds. A portrait of an extraordinary Australian. Roden Cutler, V.C. is the story of Sir Roden Cutler, war hero, diplomat and former Governor of New South Wales. Born in 1916 and educated at Sydney University, he joined the AIF in 1940, serving in Syria and Lebanon. In Syria his courage in capturing enemy positions won him a Victoria Cross and, in another battle, a machine gun injury led to a leg being amputated. After the war he served as a diplomat in Ceylon, Egypt, Pakistan, New York and the Netherlands. He was Australian delegate to the United Nationals General Assembly in 1963 and 1964. In 1966 he returned to Australia to become Governor of New South Wales, a position he held until 1981. Sir Roden Cutler is a widely respected -- and widely loved -- figure whose life encompasses major moments in Australian and international history.

Roden Cutler, V. C.

Roden Cutler, V. C. PDF Author: Colleen McCullough
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781740511049
Category : Diplomats
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
The first non-fiction work from the author of The Thorn Birds. A portrait of an extraordinary Australian. Roden Cutler, V.C. is the story of Sir Roden Cutler, war hero, diplomat and former Governor of New South Wales. Born in 1916 and educated at Sydney University, he joined the AIF in 1940, serving in Syria and Lebanon. In Syria his courage in capturing enemy positions won him a Victoria Cross and, in another battle, a machine gun injury led to a leg being amputated. After the war he served as a diplomat in Ceylon, Egypt, Pakistan, New York and the Netherlands. He was Australian delegate to the United Nationals General Assembly in 1963 and 1964. In 1966 he returned to Australia to become Governor of New South Wales, a position he held until 1981. Sir Roden Cutler is a widely respected -- and widely loved -- figure whose life encompasses major moments in Australian and international history.

The Courage and the Will

The Courage and the Will PDF Author: Colleen McCullough
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780297643920
Category : Diplomats
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Roden Cutler's list of honours is long and impressive, but it is his sole decoration, the Victoria Cross, that marks him as a hero. Over 800,000 men and women served in the Australian armed forces during the Second World War, but only twenty were awarded the V.C. Colleen McCullough vividly shows us the life and times of the young soldier with the dashing good looks, the laconic humour and dislike of pretension who came back from the war determined to continue to support his mother, but, having lost a leg, with no idea how to do so. Yet by the age of 29 he was the Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand. His diplomatic career was to include stints to Ceylon, Egypt during the Suez crisis of 1956, Pakistan and New York. In 1966 he was appointed Governor of New South Wales; during his 15 years in that office he shared with Captain Arthur Phillip and Lachlan Macquarie, he earned his own niche among them as the people's governor'. Much loved, still remembered as a man equally at home in the company of royalty or trade unionists. His story is embedded in Australian history, and part of it. But it is also the story of a man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to serve his country with courage and dignity in the face of all obstacles. In an age accustomed to public idols with feet of clay, Roden Cutler is the exception: a man whose integrity is as formidable as his humility is astonishing.

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front PDF Author: Paul Oldfield
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1473884926
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
In the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front: Second Battle of Bapaume is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all: parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

The Desert VCs

The Desert VCs PDF Author: Brian Best
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526721074
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
It was not just the searing heat of the day, hot enough to boil an egg on the bonnet of a lorry, or the sand that nestled in every crevice of the body, or the shivering cold of the starlit nights, that the British and Commonwealth troops had to battle in the North African desert it was also the tough and determined Axis forces under their brilliant leader, Erwin Rommel.The actions which resulted in the awarding of twenty-nine VCs in the Desert War included that of stretcher bearer Private Anderson walking alone into the gunfire of the enemy to rescue wounded comrades, not once, but time and time again until he too was shot and killed. Lieutenant George Gunn, who, at Sidi Rezegh, found his troop of the Royal Horse Artillery facing the onslaught of sixty German tanks. One by one the guns were put out of action, the crews killed or wounded. Eventually, only one gun was left, manned by the twenty-nine-year-old lieutenant and his sergeant. Regardless of the odds, Gunn fought on until he too was killed, shot through the head.The fighting in North Africa was not just in the harsh extremes of the rolling desert, but also the barren mountains of Tunisia, and the coastal strips of Libya. In every battle, every maneuver, the terrain was the limiting or enabling feature and it was over that unforgiving ground that twenty-nine men distinguished themselves and were awarded the highest of all gallantry medals, the Victoria Cross.

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – Battles of the Hindenburg Line - St Quentin, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918 and the Pursuit to the Selle

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – Battles of the Hindenburg Line - St Quentin, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918 and the Pursuit to the Selle PDF Author: Paul Oldfield
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526735768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 776

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Book Description
In the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front: Battles of the Hindenburg Line - St Quentin, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918 and the Pursuit to the Selle is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front, 31st July 1917–6th November 1917

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front, 31st July 1917–6th November 1917 PDF Author: Paul Oldfield
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473884853
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1303

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Book Description
In the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted.Victoria Crosses on the Western Front Third Ypres 1917 is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

The Battle of Long Tan

The Battle of Long Tan PDF Author: Harry Smith
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 192226556X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
On the afternoon of 18 August 1966, just five kilometres from the main Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, a group of Viet Cong soldiers walked into the right flank of Delta Company, 6 RAR. Under a blanket of mist and heavy monsoon rain, amid the mud and shattered rubber trees, a dispersed Company of 108 men held its ground with courage and grim determination against a three-sided attack from a force of 2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. When the battle subsided, 18 Australian soldiers lay dead and 24 had been wounded. Battlefield clearance revealed 245 enemy bodies with captured documents later confirming the count at over 500 enemy killed and 800 wounded. These men were led by a gruff and gusty perfectionist, Major Harry Smith. Now, some 53 years after the battle, Harry tells his story. The Battle of Long Tan is more than just an account of a historic battle. Harry Smith takes his readers on an extraordinary journey — one that ultimately reveals a remarkable cover-up at the highest military and political echelons. The Battle of Long Tan is also Harry’s life story and portrays his many personal battles, from failed marriages to commando-style killing; from a horrific parachute accident through to his modern-day struggles with bureaucracy for recognition for his soldiers. Harry’s battles are tempered by his love of sailing, where he has at last found some peace. The Battle of Long Tan portrays the wrenching, visceral experience of a man who has fought lifelong battles, in a story that he is only now able to tell. Harry can still hear the gunfire and smell the blood spilt at Long Tan. For him, the fight continues.

Resting Places

Resting Places PDF Author: Scott Wilson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476625999
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 887

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Book Description
In its third edition, this massive reference work lists the final resting places of more than 14,000 people from a wide range of fields, including politics, the military, the arts, crime, sports and popular culture. Many entries are new to this edition. Each listing provides birth and death dates, a brief summary of the subject's claim to fame and their burial site location or as much as is known. Grave location within a cemetery is provided in many cases, as well as places of cremation and sites where ashes were scattered. Source information is provided.

Facing Asia

Facing Asia PDF Author: Daniel Oakman
Publisher: ANU E Press
ISBN: 1921666935
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
'No nation can escape its geography', warned Percy Spender, Australia's Minister for External Affairs, in 1950. With the immediate turmoil of World War II over, communism and decolonisation had ended any possibility that Asia could continue to be ignored by Australia. In the early 1950s, Australia embarked on its most ambitious attempt to engage with Asia: the Colombo Plan. This book examines the public and private agendas behind Australia's foreign aid diplomacy and reveals the strategic, political and cultural aims that drove the Colombo Plan. It examines the legacy of WWII, how foreign aid was seen as crucial to achieving regional security, how the plan was sold to Australian and Asian audiences, and the changing nature of Australia's relationship with Britain and the United States. Above all this is the question of how Australia sought to project itself into the region, and how Asia was introduced into the Australian consciousness. In answering these questions, this book tells the story of how an insular society, deeply scarred by the turbulence of war, chose to face its regional future.

The Statesman's Year-Book 1973-74

The Statesman's Year-Book 1973-74 PDF Author: J. Paxton
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230271022
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1585

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Book Description
The classic reference work that provides annually updated information on the countries of the world.