Hilton RSL

09/06/2026

Captain Harold Armitage, 10th Battalion Australian Infantry was killed in France on 3rd April 1917.
Buried in Noreuil Australian Cemetery, he was the 22 year-old son of Henry and Martha Armitage, of Millicent, South Australia.

Lest We Forget 🌺

Lieutenant Harold Armitage, 10th Battalion Australian Infantry, recently arrived at Anzac (he was part of 5th Reinforcements), wrote to his father at Millicent, South Australia, on 9th June 1915.

“Well, I have at last arrived here, and was under fire from the very beginning, but as we are well dug in we don't take much notice of the Turks at all. They fire at us all day — but as their bullets either just hit the sandbags or else whistle overhead, nobody worries very much about them. Anyhow, while I have been here — some days — we have had a fairly hot fire put at us, yet nobody has been touched yet.

“I suppose you know as much about the landing of our boys at Gaba Tepe as I do, but I would just like to say that it was a marvellous piece of work — Spion Kop was nothing to it. We have had one or two exciting times, especially when our boys have put up dummy charges at the Turks. The Turks are very jumpy. A little ruse converts their trenches at night into sheets of flame for a few seconds, and then they gradually calm down again. We hear all kinds of rumors and yarns about the Turks, but I think very few are true. Anyhow, you get more definite news than we do concerning the whole war. In fact, the only definite news we get is from the trenches in our vicinity. We only received full particulars of the Lusitania affair on Thursday, so you see how fortunate you are with regard to war news.

“I am in very good company. Captain Shaw, my O.C., is a fine gentleman. He treats his junior officers like younger brothers, and we all think him to be Christmas. Lieutenant Stopp is another good sort, too — an old Saints' boy. You have heard me speak of Gordon Cornish before (he was our adjutant at Fort Largs), so you can realise the pleasure I had in getting into the same company as he. The men are mainly miners from Broken Hill, a lot of fine fighters with big hearts. Let me know any South Australian news that is going — re Varsity, A.H.S. old scholars, football, &c. It is all very acceptable, for we are practically desolate as regards news. Talking of old A.H.S. scholars that are here at the front, I have seen several, and heard of others. Gawler Coombe is a quartermaster-sergeant; Lion Gellert, Jack Pearce, Lewin are sergeants. McCann is a company sergeant-major, and Henwood has been promoted to second lieutenant from sergeant in the 10th. I told you about Gordon Munro. McLaren is an invalid with rheumatics. All are well. Pearce and Coombe will be back in the firing line again in a few days. They were wounded some time back. I saw Don Dowling almost as soon as I landed. He is well, and with him was Pat. Auld (late of 79th). This is my third attempt at writing this letter: Things are so busy here that one does not get the time to write. I am also very short of paper, having only seven letterettes left, so l have not only to conserve paper, but also to use my weekly letterette home to envelop this scrawl to you in. I hope before seven weeks are up to be in Constantinople, where I trust I shall be able to get a supply of stationery.” [1]

Transferred to 50th Battalion, promoted Captain, he former student was killed in France on 3rd April 1917. Buried in Noreuil Australian Cemetery, he was the 22 year-old son of Henry and Martha Armitage, of Millicent, South Australia.

[1] 'Daily Herald' (Adelaide, South Australia), 27th July 1915.

Image: “Outdoor portrait of Captain (Capt) Harold Edwin Salisbury Armitage, 50th Battalion from Millicent, South Australia. A 20 year old Adelaide University student prior to being appointed a Second Lieutenant on 24 March 1915, he embarked for overseas with the 5th Reinforcements of the 10th Battalion from Adelaide on 20 April 1915 aboard HMAT Hororata. He joined the 10th Battalion at Gallipoli on 2 June 1915 and while serving there was promoted to Lieutenant. After the 10th Battalion returned to Egypt, he transferred to the 50th Battalion and was promoted to Captain before moving on to France in June 1916. Capt Armitage was killed in action on 3 April 1917 and buried in the Noreuil Australian Cemetery, France.” AWM P09291.100.

08/06/2026

From 'The Journal' (Adelaide, South Australia), 4th September 1915.

Captain Harold William Hastings Seager, 10th Battalion Australian Infantry, wrote from Anzac on 6th June 1915.

“I have been in several minor engagements..., one lasting for two days and nights (May 18 and 19). This is a grand experience, and I would not miss it even if I have to lose my life. We have a very strenuous time of it, but it is very fascinating. Our kits have been lost, and practically all we possess is what we stand up in. Owing to the plague of vermin, my wardrobe has been reduced to one tunic, one pair of trousers, one pair socks, and a shirt. I have discarded my underclothing...

“Life in the trenches isn't all bad. We always sleep fully dressed, and with our equipment on it takes some time to get used to it (a lot of men suffer from cramp). We all stand to arms at 3 a.m. till daylight. Everybody cooks their own meals, so they eat their rations at various times. Lines are cleaned up and fatigue parties get to work digging, &c. We are not relieved from the trenches like they are in France, but platoons in each company change around each day. One digs while the other is on watch in the front fire trench. The officers do watches of four hours on and 12 hours off, besides their other duties. The food is excellent and plentiful, and officers have the same rations as the men.” [1]

The former bank teller was later promoted Major, transferred to the 50th Battalion and was awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry on the Western Front. He returned to Australia on 14th January 1919.

[1] 'The Journal' (Adelaide, South Australia), 4th September 1915.

Image: “Studio portrait of Harold William Hastings Seager MC, 50th Battalion (ex 10th Battalion).” AWM P00030.001.

08/06/2026

King’s birthday weekend

👑As we celebrate the King’s Birthday today, we recognise His Majesty King Charles III’s special connection to Australia’s veteran community as Patron of the Returned & Services League of Australia and as a veteran himself.

Continuing a royal tradition of support for those who have served, the King’s patronage honours the legacy of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and reaffirms the enduring bond between the monarchy and our veterans.

Wishing everyone a meaningful King’s Birthday long weekend as we reflect on service, sacrifice, and national pride.

📸 Photograph by Millie Pilkington 2024

08/06/2026

Today, we remember all those who served in the Syrian Campaign. 🌺

Eighty-five years ago, in the early hours of 8 June 1941, Allied forces - including Australia’s 7th Division - launched a three-pronged invasion of Syria and Lebanon against Vichy French forces.

Fierce fighting followed at the Litani River and Merdjayoun, with further advances at Sidon and the entry into Damascus. Heavy coastal fighting at Damour took place in early July. A ceasefire began on 12 July, and the armistice was signed at Saint Jean d’Acre on 14 July.

An estimated 2,400 people died in the fighting, including 416 Australians.

Today, we remember all those who served in the Syrian Campaign.

🔗 Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21x3a96

08/06/2026

Congratulations 🙌

Congratulations to all Australians who received awards in the 2026 King's Birthday Honours.
We acknowledge RSL members, Defence personnel and veteran community supporters - Dennis Oldenhove, Stefan Landherr, Janice Silby, Timothy Orders, Andrew Crook.

07/06/2026

The 55th anniversary of the Battle of Long Khanh and Operation Overlord.

Lest We Forget 🌺

06/06/2026

From the Adelaide Hills

Lest We Forget 🌺

Pte. William Henry Shoebridge, 3rd Australian Light Horse Field Ambulance, wrote to his mother at the Mount Barker Hotel from Anzac on 6th June 1915.

“We are about 15 miles up from the point Cape Hellas. [sic] All the Australians and New Zealanders are here. I suppose there are about 25,000 of us altogether. Our fellows have lost very heavily, but the Turks have suffered about six times as much as we have. It is all trench fighting, with plenty of artillery thrown in. We have to hold this position until the allied forces further down south come up to us. We have to beat off repeated attacks. In these attacks the Turks lose heavily. When one sees the hills our fellows took one can hardly imagine how our fellows ever did the work. Still, they did it. Our boys are not disciplined soldiers, but honestly, without skite, I think they really rank with, and are perhaps the best fighters in the world. They have gained unstinted praise. Well, before the forces from the south can advance they have to capture a hill which is considered to be impregnable. They are mining it, intending to blow it up. Our 2nd Brigade had to go down there the other day, and they led a bayonet charge, they just stop at nothing. They went with over 3000 men and came back with 1600, so that will give you some idea of the fighting. The gunboats and warships are doing wonderful work. It is great to hear the boom and echo of their big guns. We had five 9.2 lyddite shells lob in our camp today, luckily they hit no one. They evidently came from the Goeben, [1] about 9 miles away in the Narrows. We have taken thousands [sic] of Turkish prisoners. It is frequently rumored, and I believe it to be true, that the Turks will not be able to hold out much longer, as they are short of ammunition and coal. They are good fighters, but have no heart in this affair. We, as a corps, have not done any work yet, we hold ourselves in readiness. We get peppered with shrapnel, lyddite and snipers, and we have to keep low pretty often. Still we have been pretty lucky, none of us has been outed yet. It is a beautiful climate, and the Army service is good. The sunset is lovely just now, I wish you could see it. The Aegean Sea touches Gallipoli Peninsula. One of the islands [Samothrace] St. Paul touched at on his travels is alongside us, about 12 miles off and it makes a lovely foreground to the sunset.” [2]

The former student was evacuated aboard Minnewaska on 2nd July 1915, diagnosed with heart trouble. After treatment in Egypt, he returned to Australia, leaving Suez on 17th September 1915.

[1] It was a common belief that the Goeben was involved in bombarding allied positions at Gallipoli but it never did.

[2] 'The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser' (South Australia), 23rd July 1915.

Image: “The 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance near No 3 Post.” AWM C01740.

06/06/2026

Fact Slap 👋

Tonight in 1944, the people of southern England are struggling to sleep.

Across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, the air is filled with the constant rumble of engines as the greatest invasion force ever assembled makes its final preparations.

At sea, 6,939 vessels are gathering for the crossing to Normandy. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, corvettes, minesweepers, landing craft, tugs and merchant ships crowd the Solent and the Channel approaches.

The assembly areas are so congested that sailors nickname one of the largest holding areas “Piccadilly Circus”. There, ships steam in carefully controlled circles awaiting their turn to head south towards France.

Only one major type of warship is absent.

Aircraft carriers.

With southern England only a short distance away, the Allied air forces can provide all the fighter cover required, allowing every available carrier to be used elsewhere.

Above the fleet, the skies are equally crowded.

Thousands of aircraft are preparing for the opening moves of Operation Overlord. Transport aircraft carrying airborne troops form up across southern England while hundreds of gliders wait to be towed into the night sky.

Before dawn, around 1,200 transport aircraft and 867 gliders will carry American and British airborne troops towards Normandy. Above them and behind them, bombers, fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and support aircraft stack up at different altitudes, each waiting for its allotted moment.

To those living on the Isle of Wight, the sound is unforgettable.

Aircraft drone overhead hour after hour.

Ships fill the horizon.

Searchlights flicker across the darkness.

Everyone knows something enormous is happening.

What few can fully comprehend is the scale.

By sunrise, the greatest amphibious invasion in history will be underway.

And as the morning wind carries the distant thunder of naval gunfire across the Channel, many on England’s south coast will wake to the sound of Europe beginning to be liberated.

06/06/2026

It’s D Day !
82 years later, we still remember.

D-Day - June 6 1944 - Allied Invasion of Europe - Normandy

The Allied invasion of Europe was undertaken as the greatest single operation in military history in terms of scale scope and risk. It was the beginning of the end of the domination of western Europe by the N***s of Germany, and complemented the massive land operations of the Eastern (or Russian) front.

Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings.

The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. The target 80 km stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks.

The Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five beachheads were not connected until 12 June; however, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year.

From an Australian perspective, our major contribution was in the air with thousands of RAAF aircrew, posted to RAF and RAAF Squadrons, taking part in a massive array of operations in the lead up, during the initial phases of the invasion and in the break out that followed. The graves of aircrew are scattered in small villages across NW France and Belgium, testament to the intensity of the air operations that were critical to success, disrupting re-supply, interdicting reinforcements, and in some cases destroying armoured formations.