Because history is usually painted with a very broad brush the following item that appeared in The Army News of September 1, 1944, contains information that may still come as news to some Canberrans.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"Wing Commander Fairbairn, commanding officer of the wireless air gunners' school at Ballarat, Victoria, is to return to civilian life soon.
"More than 3000 wireless air gunners for service in all parts of the world have passed through the school since it was established in 1940.
"A brother of the late Mr J.V. Fairbairn, former minister for air (in the Menzies Government until he was killed in a plane crash near Mt Ainslie in the early years of the war), Wing Commander Fairbairn was a pilot in the last war.
"He is a well-known breeder of racehorses and for several years has flown his own plane."
RAAF Fairbairn honours Wing Commander Fairbairn's brother.
On a more controversial note, The Army News appears to have verballed General Eisenhower by quoting him as saying that 'Monty' - Britain's General Sir Bernard Montgomery - was the greatest soldier in the history of the world.
Leaving aside the obvious claims to this fame by Alexander, several Egyptian pharaohs, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Napoleon and others, it seems unlikely Ike would have set the cat among the pigeons in such a blatant fashion.
While Monty was a capable leader with an incredible degree of self-belief, his ego was more than matched by General Patton, General Douglas MacArthur and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley (to name but a few).
My belief is almost all (western) assessments of the abilities of WWII generals tend to undervalue the discipline, strength of character and sheer bloody-minded ruthlessness of the Russian leaders who raced each other to Berlin in the closing months of 1944 and 1945.
The Army News reported that the Nazis were adding insult to injury by adding propaganda leaflets to the weapons loads of the V1 flying bombs that were raining down on southern England.
The content of the propaganda leaflets was not disclosed.
Meanwhile, closer to home Robert Menzies was taking the Prime Minister, John Curtin, to task for not taking a stronger line with striking coal miners. He said a "militant and traitorous" minority were leading their fellows astray.
