The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in Darwin Harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.
Harold Edward James Aldridge was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, including war and adventure novels and books for children.
The Overlanders is a 1946 British-Australian Western film about drovers driving a large herd of cattle 1,600 miles overland from Wyndham, Western Australia through the Northern Territory outback of Australia to pastures north of Brisbane, Queensland during World War II.
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from production, to distribution and exhibition.
Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM was an Australian writer and playwright.
Keith William "Bluey" Truscott, was a World War II ace fighter pilot and Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club. After joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1940, he became the second-highest-scoring Australian World War II ace, credited with 20 confirmed victories and 5 unconfirmed victories.
Damien Peter Parer was an Australian war photographer. He became famous for his war photography of the Second World War, and was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire at Peleliu, Palau. He was cinematographer for Australia's first Oscar-winning film, Kokoda Front Line!, an edition of the weekly newsreel, Cinesound Review, which was produced by Ken G. Hall.
Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war, and second only to Harry Cobby in the AFC. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1939 until his death.
Target for Tonight is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The film is about the crew of a Wellington bomber taking part in a bombing mission over Nazi Germany. The film won an honorary Academy Award in 1942 as Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. Despite purporting to be a documentary there are multiple indicators that it is not quite as such: film shots include studio shots taken from the exterior of the aircraft looking into the cockpit whilst "in flight"; several stilted sections of dialogue are clearly scripted; on the ground shots of bombing are done using model trains; and several actors appear. The film does give a unique insight into the confined nature of the Wellington's interior and some of the nuances of day to day operation such as ground crew holding a blanket over the engine while it starts to regulate oxygen intake.
Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes, was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, and the longest-serving wartime commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron RAAF. He was officially credited with 10¼ aerial victories, although his score is often reported as 12, including two shared; Gibbes was also credited with five aircraft probably destroyed, and a further 16 damaged. He commanded No. 3 Squadron in North Africa from February 1942 to April 1943, apart from a brief period when he was wounded.
Wilfred Stanley Arthur, was a fighter ace and senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Commonly known as "Woof", he was officially credited with ten aerial victories. As a commander, he led combat formations at squadron and wing level, becoming at twenty-four the youngest group captain in the history of the RAAF.
The Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. An abridged version was released in the United States in 1951 as The Fighting Rats of Tobruk. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommel's Afrika Korps. The largely Australian defenders held the city for 250 days before being relieved by British forces.
Stuart Patrick King was an Australian sportsman who played first-class cricket for Victoria and Australian rules football for Victorian Football League club St Kilda.
Peter Stuart Isaacson, AM, DFC, AFC, DFM was an Australian publisher and decorated military pilot. He was the owner of Peter Isaacson Publications, publisher of various trade journals and suburban newspapers including the Southern Cross and the Sunday Observer in Melbourne. During World War II, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a pilot with RAF Bomber Command and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Force Cross and the Distinguished Flying Medal.
Wilfred George Atkinson was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, and was killed in action when his bomber was shot down over the Aegean Sea in 1943. He was serving as a Pilot Officer in No. 232 Squadron RAF.
Alfred William Hedge was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and for Sandringham Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
The Man from Down Under is an American 1943 drama film starring Charles Laughton as a man who raises two war orphans.
Ioannis Agorastos "John" Plagis, DSO, DFC & Bar (1919–1974) was a Southern Rhodesian flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War, noted especially for his part in the defence of Malta during 1942. The son of Greek immigrants, he was accepted by recruiters only after Greece joined the Allies in late 1940. Following spells with No. 65 Squadron and No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron, he joined No. 249 Squadron in Malta in March 1942. Flying Spitfire Mk Vs, Plagis was part of the multinational group of Allied pilots that successfully defended the strategically important island against numerically superior Axis forces over the next few months. Flying with No. 185 Squadron from early June, he was withdrawn to England in early July 1942.
John James "Jack" Quinn was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Alan Charles Rawlinson, was an Australian airman who became a fighter ace in World War II. He was credited with at least eight aerial victories, as well as two aircraft probably destroyed, and another eight damaged.
