Hi Everyone,
We want your books and militaria and are currently look to buy collections or single items!
Australian military books and unit history titles – World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam War, Iraq and Afghanistan
Australian military badges, patches, war medals
Uniforms, helmets, field equipment, bayonets
If you have any unwanted items please give us a call – 07-3865-2615 or 0412-193-945.
Or email us today – info@regimental-books.com.au
We’ll give you a great deal!
Glenn
Regimental Books
Hi Everyone,
Want to know what the best selling Australian unit history books are?
Here’s the latest Regimental Books Top 10 Best Sellers – these are flying off our shelves!
1) Fighting Nineteenth – History of the 19th Battalion AIF 1915 – 1918
One of the best written unit histories of all time, this title by David Wilson and Wayne Matthews covers the story of one of the famous NSW Battalions during World War 1 – the 19th Battalion AIF.
2) Battle Scarred – The 47th Battalion in the First World War
In a tight battle for the No 1 spot, this is another easy to read and supurbly written unit history on a combined Queensland and Tasmanian unit in World War 1 – the 47th Battalion AIF.
3) Gallipoli to Tripoli – History of the 10th Light Horse Regiment AIF 1914-1919
A fantastic Light Horse unit history. This all new regimental history seeks to complement and add to Arthur Olden’s earlier history, first published in 1921.
4) “Legs-Eleven” – Being the Story of the 11th Battalion (A.I.F.) in the Great War of 1914 – 1918
Love the title! One of the best written contemporary unit histories and a must read for any more interested in this famous Western Australian battalion.
5) Leane’s Battalion – History of the 48th Battalion A.I.F.
Written by one of Australia’s prominent military historians, this is the detailed history of the battalion from its formation in Egypt in 1916 to its war service on the Western Front.
6) Hell’s Bells and Mademoiselles
Hell’s Bells and Mademoiselles is the thrilling eyewitness account of the role of 18th Battalion AIF in the First World War by one of its most decorated soldiers, the irrepressible Joe Maxwell.
7) Canister! On! Fire! Australian Tank Operations in Vietnam
Years in the writing and meticulously researched, this is unit history of Australian tanks in the jungles of South Vietnam. The author, Bruce Cameron was a decorated Troop Leader with the 1st Armoured Regiment in South Vietnam.
8) History of the 15th Battalion AIF 1914 – 1918
A contemporary account of the 15th Battalion AIF, a Queensland battalion who landed on Gallipoli on the 25th April, 1915 and later saw extensive service on the Western Front. A fascinating read!
9) The 7th Light Horse Regiment 1914-1919
A superior quality reprint of one of the scarcest and most sought after World War One Light Horse unit history books. This book has been very rare and much sought after for many years, and is now made available by Regimental Books. his is the only edition to contain a Nominal Roll – a list of all the soldiers who served in the regiment. The names of the soldiers are listed by Squadron and reinforcements.
10) The Fighting Thirteenth – History of the Thirteenth Battalion AIF
Sneaking into 10th spot is Thomas White’s contemporary account of the 13th Battalion – another famous infantry battalion which was raised in New South Wales.
Well there you go – 10 great military titles and all a jolly good read.
If your interested in a copy, just click on the link for the book, “Add to Cart” and then follow the check out process and you’ll soon enjoy reading about the cracking exploits of the men and women who made the Anzac legend!
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
It’s a quiet Friday so I thought I’d ask you all a question.
What do you think is Australia’s most important battle? And why?
Australian forces have been involved in many battles since the mid 19th Century – some have been minor skirmishes whilst others have been major battles.
Gallipoli, Kokoda, Kapyong, Long Tan, Deripat and many others!
What do you think is Australia’s most important battle? Let’s hear your thoughts.
Good Reading,
Mick
Regimental Books
Hi Everyone,
We constantly receive a lot of emails from people who are trying to do family history research on family members who served in the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy or Royal Australian Air Force during the conflicts that involved Australia (especially for World War I and II).
I thought I’d do a brief post and list some of my favourite research and picture links that I use when researching Australian soldiers.
I get asked one question a lot – where can I find pictures of an Australian serviceman?
Two of the best sites that I always recommend are:
Picture Australia – a great site setup by the National Library of Australia that searches the Australian War Memorial collection and that of the major Australian libraries.
NLA Trove – the National Library’s brilliant database that searches old newspapers, books, images etc
And don’t forget good ol’ Google – you never know what you can find using the image search.
Other good sites for searching for information on Australian soldiers include:
ADFA Database – A great place to start searching for Australian World War 1 soldiers and gives brief details about each soldier.
National Archives – World War 1, World War 2 and Korean War service records (though some World War II and later records need to be requested.
It’s an Honour – a good place to look for Australian decoration and awards information.
Boer War Database – A great place to start looking for info about Australian Boer War soldiers.
AWM War Diaries – The unit diaries can give a good indication of the movements of Australian units during various conflicts.
Feel free to add any other good ones in the comments section below. I’m sure there are plenty of other good sites.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
Last year we saw the launch of Cate Clark’s history of the 1st Australian Armoured Division “To Fight and Do Our Best – The 1st Australian Armoured Division in Gunnedah 1942-1943” which covered the division’s activities in New South Wales during 1942 to 1943.
Kate has contacted Regimental Books and has advised us that she is working on a second book called “Black Soil Plains and Beyond“. And yes, I’m very excited about it as her first title was a fascinating read.
In this book she plans to tell the story of the Division around Narrabri/Moree/Wee Waa in a lot more depth as well as what happened to the veterans who comprised it after they left Narrabri; some travelling to Western Australia to act as defence against a possible invasion by the Japanese, others making their way to Queensland and on to the Torres Strait Islands.
She’s already conducted many interviews with veterans and is now actively writing the book.
What she really needs is for people to look through their old photo albums for pictures of the time or information about the 1st Armoured Division.
If you can help out contact Kate, please drop us an email.
And if you are interested in a copy, please subscribe to the Back in Stock Notification for this title. We are hoping it will be out in 2013.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
This is a shout out to everyone for information and pictures about Tasmanian Nurses during World War II.
Peter Henning, the author of “Doomed Battalion - Mateship and Leadership in War and Captivity : the Australian 2/40 Battalion 1940 – 45″ is currently researching and writing a book on Tasmanian nurses who served during World War II.
Peter stated that:
“What I’m really looking for are photos of military nurses who were Tasmanian-born and/or enlisted in Tasmania. For example quite a large number of Tasmanian nurses actually enlisted in another state, and some even joined British nursing units. I’m also including nurses born elsewhere, but who enlisted in Tasmania, for example some came from New Zealand or Scotland and so on, or were working in Tasmanian civilian hospitals but were born elsewhere – like Wilhelmina Raymont, for example, who was one the nurses who died as a POW in Sumatra.
The ms is pretty well completed, apart from editing, but there are some sections which could benefit from more first-hand material, like letters, or diaries which say things about their lives and their work, particularly for the SWPA area – New Guinea, Morotai, Borneo, Bougainville, New Britain. I have heaps on the Malaya-Singapore nurses, but I’m interested in looking at material from other theatres if it can be brought to light.
If you can assist Peter in any way with pictures of information, please contact us via email at info@regimental-books.com.au.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
We have just received copies of Frank Madill’s new title “Sanders DFC – Out Of The Darkness. The story of WWII Bomber Command as told by Lancaster navigator, Tasmanian Max Sanders”.
A must read for anyone with an interest in the activities of Bomber Command during World War II.
Their casualty rate was horrendous – six out of every ten who flew were killed. Their courage in the face of almost certain death was extraordinary.
The book tells the story of one man and the crew that flew with him. It is a story of fortitude, comradeship and the unwavering confidence each had in the other. Unable and unwilling to talk about his experiences in the night skies over Germany, Max Sanders’ story remained in the darkness of his memory until forty five years after the war when he met again the men who, in the time of greatest peril were true brothers in arms.
Max Sanders was an ordinary suburban lad who, like many others, became caught up in the great conflict that was World War II. He was born and educated in Launceston, Tasmania and, while still at school, joined the local newly formed Cadet Air Training Unit. In 1943 he volunteered to join the RAAF and was accepted into the Empire Air Training Scheme.
After courses at several training bases in Australia, he found himself on the other side of the world in the UK where he completed his training as a navigator. At 19 years of age, he flew in Lancaster bombers with the Royal Canadian Air Force 419 (Moose) Squadron and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in action.
This is the story of Max Sanders’ early life and training; and his experiences, along with those of his crewmates, during their perilous tour of duty with Bomber Command in the skies over Germany in 1944.
It is an inspiring story of endurance, courage and the bond between wartime brothers in arms.
Available now in the Regimental Books Online Store.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
With Anzac Day just around the corner, I thought I’d share our Top 10 Best Sellers with you all.
These are amongst the best written unit history books and will make for a fascinating read for anyone interested in Australian Military History.
No 1
Battle Scarred – The 47th Battalion in the First World War by Craig Deayton
No 2
Fighting Nineteenth – History of the 19th Battalion AIF 1915 – 1918 by David Wilson and Wayne Mathews
No 3
Leane’s Battalion – History of the 48th Battalion A.I.F. by Neville Browning
No 4
“Legs-Eleven” – Being the Story of the 11th Battalion (A.I.F.) in the Great War of 1914 – 1918 by Walter C Bedford
No 5
The 7th Light Horse Regiment 1914-1919 by John Dalyell Richardson
No 6
A Thousand Men at War – The Story of the 2/16th Battalion, A.I.F. by Malcolm Uren
No 7
History of the 15th Battalion AIF 1914 – 1918 by Thomas Percival Chataway
No 8
The Story of the Twenty-First – Being the Official History of the 21st Battalion AIF by A R MacNeil
No 9
The Thirty-Ninth – The History of the 39th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force by Alexander Thomas Paterson
No 10
The Fighting Thirteenth – History of the Thirteenth Battalion AIF by Thomas Alexander White
Are you interested in any of these?
They are all available from the Regimental Books Online Store but be quick! They are all selling fast.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
An exciting new militia battalion unit history is now out and will be shortly available from Regimental Books. Toowoomba’s military historian Bob Doneley has written an exciting new title on the 25th Battalion (Darling Downs Regiment).
Toowoomba to Torokina – The 25th Battalion in peace and war, 1918–45
In 1942 Australia faced its greatest peril as Japanese forces advanced rapidly southward. The philippines, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Indonesia had all fallen and the only land mass of significance between the Japanese and Australia was the island of Papua and New Guinea. If it fell, Australia, too, would eventually fall, effectively delivering the entire south-west Pacific into Japanese hands.
With the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) fighting in North Africa or entering captivity in Singapore, the defence of New Guinea fell to a handful of Militia units. These units, a mix of pre-war volunteers and conscripts, were given the task of defending the approaches to Port Moresby, New Guinea’s capital city. While most Australians are aware of the defence of the northern approach to Port Moresby over the Kokoda Track, few are familiar with the earlier battle to defend the eastern approach through Milne Bay. Without the battles of Kokoda and Milne Bay, Port Moresby would have fallen and with it, New Guinea.
Like Kokoda, the initial Japanese thrust at Milne Bay was met and halted by untried Militia troops. Experienced AIF battalions then counter-attacked and drove the Japanese back, securing Port Moresby, New Guinea — and Australia itself. One of the Militia units that held the Japanese at Milne Bay was the 25th Battalion from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, originally raised prior to the First World War. From Milne Bay, the 25th Battalion went on to fight in Bougainville, clearing the Japanese from one of their last strongholds north of Australia. Toowoomba to Torokina traces the proud history of the 25th Battalion from the end of one war to end of the next.
It tells the story of the men from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs who answered the call to fight a war that would threaten their country’s very existence. Like their First World War predecessors, they fought a determined foe in hellish conditions with, as the Battalion’s motto decrees, ‘Never a Backwards Step’.
Available from the Regimental Books Online store.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team
Hi Everyone,
Cate Clark, the author of “To Fight and Do Our Best – The 1st Australian Armoured Division in Gunnedah 1942-1943” is seeking your assistance and is after information about the 1st Australian Armoured Division from 1942 to 1945.
General Stuart tank and crew near Narrabri 1942
Having recently published To Fight and Do Our Best – a book devoted to dealing with the Armoured Division during its stay in the region of Gunnedah NSW in 1942/43 – Cate is now looking to expand on the Division’s story.
In 1942 units of this elite Division took part in the most extensive land exercises (manoeuvres) that Australia had ever witnessed. In November of that same year the 20,000 men of the Division were then reorganised with half of the soldiers going to Western Australia to guard Australia’s ‘back door’ and the remaining sent onto Queensland and to a new Division – the 3rd Australian Armoured Division. Cate intends to follow the soldiers and to recount their story.
Some 1st Australian Armoured Division memorabilia
Cate is seeking any veterans that have not already been contacted by her and also any residents of the many towns that the Units passed through, or called ‘home’, who would be interested in contributing their recollections or photographs of that time.
Cate can be contacted on 0408 425564 or via email at info@writerightmedia.com.au
Alternatively, information can be sent to Regimental Books.
Good Reading,
Glenn and the Regimental Books Team