3-JANUARY-1941. While serving as a Platoon Lieutenant within the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion, Captain William Holmes Travers participated in the first major engagements of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War including the capture of Bardia, Tobruk and the disastrous campaign in Greece before becoming a Prisoner of War following the failure at Crete. In this episode, we focus on the first involvement of the Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War, the Capture of Bardia during Operation Compass and Operation Lusture, the Failed Rearguard Operation to D ..read more

4-AUGUST-1914/4-SEPTEMBER-1939. While serving as a Naval Reservist, Midshipman Richard Stanley Veale ordered the first shot fired by British Forces in the First World War. Twenty years later while in command of the same shore battery that fired the first shot in the First World War, Commander Richard Stanley Veale would order the first Australian shot fired in anger during the Second World War. Explore the remarkable life and service of Commander Richard Stanley Veale. From his early days as a naval cadet to his significant contributions during the First World War and Second World War, Command ..read more

19-MAY-1915. While serving as a soldier of the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, Sergeant William Charles Bullock Beech, horrified by the tragic loss of life of his comrades on Gallipoli, took a biscuit box, signal wire and a broken mirror to invent one of the most iconic weapons of trench warfare on Gallipoli, the Periscope Rifle. --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast ⁠ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/IWODMJ --- Linktree https://linktr.ee/iwodmj For Show Notes, transcripts and photos check out t ..read more

25-OCTOBER-1915. While serving with the 21st Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Private James Charles "Jimmy" Martin, landed on the Gallipoli peninsula and would stay until October, when he died of heart failure at the age of 14 years and 9 months, making him the youngest Australian serviceperson to die in war. --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast ⁠ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/IWODMJ --- Linktree https://linktr.ee/iwodmj For Show Notes, transcripts and photos check out the I Was Only Doing My Job Website at www.thedocnetwork.net Acce ..read more

8-AUGUST-1918. While serving as Engineers of the 8th Field Company, Australian Imperial Force, Lieutenant George Burrows, Sapper John Henry Palmer and Leslie James Strahan were attached to the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion when the Australian Corps participated in the Battle of Amiens, the start of the 100 Days Offensive. As they were deconstructing German fortifications at the old Amiens Defensive Line, they were called forward to deal with an obstacle in No Mans Land, it was the Largest War Trophy Collected by Australian forces that was brought back to Australia. --- Buy the Podcast a ..read more

27/28-JANUARY-1916, While serving as a soldier of the 5th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Private Edward Attfield did not let his diminutive stature prevent him from volunteering for overseas service. He landed at Gallipoli and despite wounds and illness served until the evacuation in December 1915. When he returned to Alexandria, he vanished, never to be seen again. His story is a murder mystery that took 100 years to solve. --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast ⁠ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/IWODMJ --- Linktree https ..read more

11-NOVEMBER-1993. To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the unidentified remains of an unknown Australian soldier, exhumed from the Adelaide Cemetery in Villers Bretonneux in France was interred within the Hall of Memory of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. Today marks the 30th Anniversary of that interment. Lest We Forget. --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast ⁠ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/IWODMJ --- Linktree https://linktr.ee/iwodmj For Show Notes, transcripts and photos check out the I Was Only Doi ..read more

25-APRIL-1915, While serving as Commanding Officer of the Royal Australian Navy's second Submarine HMAS AE2, Royal Navy Officer Lieutenant Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Dacre Stoker was faced with the challenge, to traverse the Dardanelles when the last two submarines to do so were sunk. The Stage is set, the curtain is drawn, allow I Was Only Doing My Job: An Australian Military History Podcast to introduce you to the Silent ANZAC Join us for the conclusion to our involvement in Historytoks #ShipwreckSummer --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi ⁠https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast ⁠ Join our Pate ..read more

14-SEPTEMBER-1914, While serving as Commanding Officer of the Royal Australian Navy's first Submarine HMAS AE1, Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Thomas Fleming Besant was killed in action when AE1 disappeared during a patrol following the Australian Capture of German New Guinea. The mysterious disappearance of AE1 became a haunting chapter in naval history, that was quickly overshadowed by events in the Dardanelles eight months later to the point where the whole campaign is largely unknown. Join us for Part one of the conclusion to our involvement in Historytoks #ShipwreckSummer --- Buy ..read more

9-AUGUST-1942. While serving as a Surgical Officer aboard the Royal Australian Navy Heavy Cruiser HMAS Canberra, Surgeon Lieutenant Kenneth Newman Morris MID participated in the first American counter-attack during the Pacific Campaign, the Battle of Guadalcanal and the disastrous Battle of Savo Island. In the Second World War chaos, one man apart out for his courage and resilience - Surgeon Lieutenant Kenneth Newman Morris. Morris exhibited unwavering dedication as he tended to wounded sailors amidst relentless enemy fire and blazing flames. As the ship's fate hung in the balance, Morris defi ..read more