Graham McKenzie-Smith

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Graham Robert McKenzie-Smith, AM is an Australian historian and forester.

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Military historian

McKenzie-Smith has written books about Australian Second World War army units and movements. [1] [2] He has been a regular contributor to Sabretache, the journal of the Military Historical Society of Australia.

McKenzie Smith spent some 35 years working on The Unit Guide – a six-volume box set which gives profiles of all 5,700 units that made up the Australian Army in the Second World War.

The trove summary for the set states that:

725,000 Australian men and women joined the Australian Army in World War Two and served in one or more of the 5,700 separate units which were formed in the AIF and AMF... (there were) 5,500 units in the Australian Army during the war (which between them had over 13,700 unit names)...Only 409 (7%) of the units have any published unit history.

Each unit profile covers what is known of the unit's formation, role, organisation, movements, operations and place in the army's hierarchy, including references to the unit's war diary at the Australian War Memorial. [3] The series was published in 2018, [4] and led to the Chief of Army awarding Graham a Gold Level Commendation presented at the Army Museum of Western Australia in Fremantle in November 2018. [5] In the 2020 Australia Day Honours McKenzie-Smith was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to military history preservation, and to forestry". [6]

Western Australia

McKenzie-Smith's recent works include a book about the coastal defences of Albany, Bunbury, and Fremantle in the Second World War, [7] and the Royal Australian Engineers in Western Australia. [8] [9]

Forester

In the 1980s and 1990s McKenzie-Smith was a forester in Western Australia. [10] [11] When resident in Canberra in the mid-1990s, he was CEO of ACT Forests. [12] [13] He was also a member of the ACT Bush Fire Council in 1998–2000. [14]

McKenzie-Smith is currently resident in Perth, Western Australia.

Sabretache articles

Related Research Articles

Second Australian Imperial Force Australian Army expeditionary force during World War II

The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act (1903), neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force (PMF) could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so. The Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, Italy, Vichy France and Japan. After the war, Australia's wartime military structures were demobilised and the 2nd AIF was disbanded, although a small cadre of its personnel became part of the Interim Army that was established in 1947, and from which the Australian Regular Army was formed in 1948.

7th Brigade (Australia) Formation of the Australian Army

7th Brigade is a combined arms formation or brigade of the Australian Army. The brigade was first raised in 1912 as a Militia formation, although it was re-formed as part of the First Australian Imperial Force in early 1915 for service during World War I. It subsequently saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during the war. Following the end of the war the brigade was disbanded in 1919 before being re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force. During World War II the brigade took part in the fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and on Bougainville. Today, the 7th Brigade is part of Forces Command and is based in Brisbane, Queensland and is composed mainly of units of the Regular Army. While the brigade has not deployed as a whole unit since World War II, component units have deployed on operations to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

III Corps (Australia) Australian Army corps

III Corps was an Australian Army unit during World War II. It was responsible for the defence of Western Australia in 1942–1944. The corps was formed in April 1942 from Western Command, which had been established in October 1939. Throughout the war, the formation's size expanded and contracted as available manpower, and the strategic situation, dictated. At its height, the corps consisted of two infantry divisions and one armoured division, which were deployed to defend against a Japanese invasion threat, which ultimately never eventuated. The corps ceased to exist in June 1944 when it was converted back into Western Command, which remained until the end of the war in 1945.

3rd Battalion (Australia) Australian Army infantry battalion

The 3rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the battalion formed part of the 1st Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. It was formed shortly after the war broke out and was among the first Australian units to be sent overseas, arriving in Egypt in December 1914. In April 1915 the battalion participated in the Landing at Anzac Cove, coming ashore in the second and third waves. In December 1915 the 3rd Battalion was evacuated from the Gallipoli peninsula and withdrawn to Egypt again, where it took part in the defence of the Suez Canal before being sent to France to fight on the Western Front in March 1916. For the next two and a half years the unit would serve in the trenches in France and Belgium and would take part in many of the major battles fought during that time. In May 1919, following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel repatriated back to Australia.

17th Battalion (Australia) Australian Army infantry battalion

The 17th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although its numerical designation was bestowed upon it during World War I, the 17th Battalion can trace its lineage back to 1860, when a unit of the New South Wales Volunteer Rifles was raised in St Leonards, New South Wales. This unit has since been disbanded and reformed a number times. Through its links with the units of the colonial New South Wales defence force, the battalion's history includes service in the Sudan and South Africa. During World War I, the 17th Battalion was raised for overseas service as part of the Australian Imperial Force. Attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division, the battalion was raised in 1915 and sent to Egypt initially, before taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli against the Turks. Later the battalion was sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where it served in the trenches as part of the Australian Corps. Throughout the course of the war, the battalion won numerous battle honours and its members received many individual awards, however, at the end of the war the battalion was disbanded in April 1919.

13th Brigade (Australia) Brigade of the Australian Army

The 13th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army. Originally formed in 1912 as a Militia formation in Victoria, the brigade was re-raised as a First Australian Imperial Force unit during World War I and fought on the Western Front. In the interwar years, the brigade was re-raised as a part-time formation based in Western Australia and later fought in the New Britain Campaign during World War II.

2/12th Field Ambulance Australian military medical unit

The 2/12th Field Ambulance was an Australian military unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force, serving during World War II. During their six years of service, over 200 soldiers were killed, the highest figure for a non-combatant unit in Australian history. The majority of the unit's casualties were suffered during the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur in May 1943. During the war, the 2/12th deployed personnel in support of Australian combat operations against the Japanese on Ambon, Timor and in Borneo before being disbanded in 1946.

16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment Military unit

The 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment is an Australian Army reserve infantry battalion located in Western Australia and one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment. The battalion was first formed during the First World War, during which it fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the Australian Imperial Force. It was re-formed as a part-time unit in Western Australia during the inter-war years, and served in the New Britain Campaign against the Japanese during the Second World War. In the post war years, the battalion became part of the Royal Western Australia Regiment and currently forms part of the 13th Brigade.

Merauke Force Military unit

Merauke Force was an Australian-led military force of World War II which was responsible for defending Merauke in Dutch New Guinea from Japanese attack amidst the Pacific War. The force was established in late 1942 and was disbanded at the end of the war, having never seen combat. The Japanese attack did not eventuate and from mid-1944 the force was progressively drawn down and its assigned units redeployed to Australia or elsewhere in the Pacific. At its height, Merauke Force included troops from Australia, the Netherlands East Indies and the United States, as well as several squadrons of aircraft, including a joint Australian-Dutch fighter unit.

8th Brigade (Australia) Formation of the Australian Army

8th Brigade is an Australian Army Reserve training formation. It is headquartered in Sydney, and has subordinate units in various locations around New South Wales and the rest of Australia. These units are tasked with delivering basic and initial employment training to Reserve soldiers.

The Royal Australian Army Service Corps (RAASC) was a corps within the Australian Army. Formed on 1 July 1903, in the aftermath of the Federation of Australia, it was initially known as the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) and subsumed the functions that had been undertaken by various organisations within the colonial forces. In 1948, the Royal prefix was bestowed upon the corps. The corps served in World War I, World War II, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, Korean War, Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The RAASC was disbanded on 31 May 1973.

1st Armoured Brigade (Australia) Formation of the Australian Army

The 1st Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Greta, New South Wales from volunteers for the Second Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division. Raised initially for service in the Middle East, following Japan's entry into the war, the brigade was assigned to the defence of Australia in case of an invasion. After garrison duties in New South Wales and Western Australia, it was disbanded in November 1944 without seeing active service, although some of its former units saw action later with other formations.

14th Brigade (Australia) Formation of the Australian Army

The 14th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1912 as a Militia formation, it was later re-raised in 1916 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the brigade was assigned to the 5th Division and served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 before being disbanded. It was later re-raised as part of the Australia's part-time military forces during the inter-war years. During World War II, the brigade was a Militia formation and it took part briefly in the New Guinea campaign with elements of the brigade undertaking defensive duties around Port Moresby before taking part in the fighting along the Kokoda Track and around the Japanese beachheads at Buna–Gona. The brigade was disbanded in mid-1943 as part of a rationalisation of Australian military forces as a result of manpower shortages.

23rd Brigade (Australia) Infantry brigade of the Australian Army during World War II

The 23rd Brigade was a brigade of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Militia formation providing training as part of the compulsory training scheme. Later, it was re-formed in July 1940 for service during the Second World War, the brigade was initially a formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force assigned to the 8th Division; however, after its sub units were captured by the Japanese in 1942 it was reformed with Militia battalions and was mainly used in a garrison role around Darwin, in the Northern Territory, until late in the war when it was committed to the fighting against the Japanese on Bougainville. It was disbanded in 1946.

22nd Brigade (Australia) Infantry brigade of the Australian Army during World War II

The 22nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Militia formation providing training as part of the compulsory training scheme. Later, during World War II, the brigade was raised as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force in April 1940. Assigned to the 8th Division, in early 1941 the brigade was deployed to British Malaya where it formed part of the defensive garrison that was established there by the British, eventually establishing its headquarters in the Mersing–Endau area.

5th Military District (Australia)

The 5th Military District was an administrative district of the Australian Army. Formed shortly after the Federation of Australia, the 5th Military District covered all of Western Australia except the Kimberley region, with its headquarters at Swan Barracks in Perth. Following the First World War, the area's designation was changed to the 5th District Base. In October 1939, it was re-designated as Western Command when the Army moved towards a geographic command structure. In April 1942, the Army was reorganised and Western Command became III Corps in April 1942.

The 43rd Battalion was an Australian Army infantry unit that was originally formed during the First World War as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force. Raised in early 1916, the battalion subsequently fought in the trenches of the Western Front from late 1916 until the end of the war in November 1918. After the war, the 43rd was re-raised as a part-time unit in South Australia, serving until 1930 when it was merged with the 48th Battalion. During the Second World War, the 43rd was briefly re-raised between 1942 and 1944, but did not see action before it was disbanded. After the war, the 43rd and 48th were once again merged, existing until 1960 when they became part of the Royal South Australia Regiment.

The Australian Staff Corps was a small corps of Regular Army officers who were trained in staff duties and who were largely responsible for the training of the Militia, Australia’s part-time military force, during the inter-war period and in the early years following the Second World War. Members of the corps were largely graduates of the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

The 6th Machine Gun Battalion was a battalion of the Australian Army that was raised for service during World War II. Formed in late 1942 from the machine gun companies of several infantry battalions, the 6th Machine Gun Battalion undertook training on the New South Wales south coast before being deployed to New Guinea where they took part in the Markham and Ramu Valley – Finisterre Range campaign, defending the airfield at Gusap, and undertaking patrols. In early 1944, the battalion returned to Australia and over the course of the year was disbanded, with its personnel being sent to other units as reinforcements. Many of these personnel then saw combat in Borneo in 1945.

The 7th Machine Gun Battalion was a battalion of the Australian Army that was raised for service during World War II. Formed in late 1942 from the machine gun companies of several infantry battalions, the 7th Machine Gun Battalion undertook defensive duties around Port Moresby and Milne Bay during the New Guinea campaign before taking part in the defence of Wau airfield during the Battle of Wau in early 1943. The battalion was returned to Australia in late 1943 and subsequently disbanded in mid-1944.

References

  1. McKenzie-Smith, G (1994), The ebb and flow of the Australian Army in Western Australia, 1941 to 1945, Grimwade Publications, ISBN   978-0-646-17768-7
  2. McKenzie-Smith, G (1995), Defending the northern gateways: Northern Territory & Torres Strait - 1938 to 1945, Grimwade Publications, ISBN   978-0-646-24404-4
  3. Trove summary at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/230608187?q&versionId=255327945
  4. McKenzie-Smith, Graham (2018). The Unit Guide: The Australian Army 1939–1945. Mount Pleasant, Western Australia: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN   978-1-925675-14-6.
  5. Grant, Steve (17 November 2018). "Rare honour for civvy". Fremantle Herald.
  6. "Graham Robert McKenzie-Smith". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  7. McKenzie-Smith, G (2009), Defending Fremantle, Albany and Bunbury, 1939 to 1945, Grimwade Publications, ISBN   978-0-9806291-0-1
  8. McKenzie-Smith, G; Royal Australian Engineers Association of Western Australia (issuing body.) (2015), Sappers in the West: Army Engineers in Western Australia, Balga, WA Engineers Association of Western Australia Inc, ISBN   978-0-646-93060-2
  9. Gunn, Gail (2015), "Sappers in the west: Army engineers in Western Australia [Book Review]", Sabretache, 56 (3): 55–56, ISSN   0048-8933
  10. McKenzie-Smith, Graham R; Softwood Products (W.A.) Pty Ltd (1986), Submission to Dept of Conservation and Land Management on their draft proposal for the re-adjustment of log prices: prepared for Softwood Products (W.A.) Pty Ltd, The Co, retrieved 27 December 2013
  11. Thomson, A. B; McKenzie-Smith, G; Wood Utilisation Research Centre (W.A.); Thomson, A (1990), Sawn recoveries from crown logs of radiata pine, Wood Utilisation Research Centre, Dept. of Conservation and Land Management, ISBN   978-0-646-01123-3
  12. "Drought puts an end to ACT tree-planting plan". The Canberra Times . 69 (21, 676). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 August 1994. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Pine pilferers to pay the price this season". The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926–1995) . ACT: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1994. p. 6. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  14. "The A.C.T. Bush Fire Council (1998–2000)". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 4 February 2019 via Pandora: Australia's Web Archive.