Almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War. Many of those who came home chose not to talk about their experiences.

The Great Search uncovered a previously unknown story about Australian airmen who, when they ran out of bombs, decided to drop bottles on the enemy. To the distracted foe, the bottles sounded just like shells.

Another story begins with a photo of an Aussie Beaufort Bomber, minutes after being shot down over the Pacific and turns into one of the most remarkable stories of survival behind enemy lines you are ever likely to read.

HARRY DORRINGTON HATED MALAYAN CLIMATE

NAME: Harry Dorrington

DATE: 1942 - 1944

UNIT: Australian Army Personnel Depot

LOCATION: Malaya

Harry Dorrington was a private in the Australian Army Personnel Depot serving in Malaya during World War II. He was taken prisoner along with thousands of Allied troops and others and spent the rest of the war until he died on 12 September 1944, as a POW in Borneo.
 

TOUGH STOKER MOVED TO TEARS

NAME: Bill Dowse

DATE: 1945

UNIT: RAN HMAS Pirie

LOCATION: Tokyo Bay

Stokers were the tough men of the Navy during World War II. They had to work long hours in terrible conditions to keep the ships moving.
 

NURSES SURVIVE EVACUATION FROM GREECE

NAME: Sylvia Duke

DATE: 1941

UNIT: 6th Australian General Hospital

LOCATION: Greece

Sylvia Duke and Sophie Healy were good friends and colleagues. So when Sylvia was posted abroad as a Sister in the 6th Australian General Hospital in Greece it was only natural they should stay in touch.
 

A MOTHER GRIEVES FOR DEATH OF VC WINNER

NAME: John Edmondson

DATE: 1940

UNIT: 2/17th Battalion

LOCATION: Tobruk

Corporal John Hurst Edmondson, who was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the Siege of Tobruk. He was the first Australian to be awarded a VC in World War II.
 

EXPERIENCING THE AFTERMATH OF ATOMIC EXPLOSION

NAME: Brian Evans

DATE: 1946 - 1947

UNIT: BCOF 66 Australian Infantry Brigade

LOCATION: Japan

Brian Evans was 18 when he joined the AIF in May 1945 so was a bit late to take part in the fighting. Instead he volunteered for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) and found himself sailing aboard HMAS Duntroon with other volunteers in March 1946.
 

AIRCREW SURVIVED 11-DAY DESERT TREK TO SAFETY

NAME: Mick Ey

DATE: 1941 - 1944

UNIT: 14 Squadron, 454 Squadron RAAF

LOCATION: Middle East

Mick Ey could regard himself as extremely lucky while flying in the Middle East as a wireless operator/air gunner with 454 Squadron. After all, it's not many people who can say they were involved in five crashes and still lived to tell the tale.
 

PADRES TO THE RESCUE WITH HOT TEA AND COFFEE

NAME: Terry Fairbairn

DATE: 1941

UNIT: 2/1st Battalion AIF

LOCATION: Greece, Crete

The men of the 2/1 Battalion could hardly believe their eyes when they crossed the Aliakmon River in Greece in April 1941 after retreating from Veria Pass. There in the snow and ice were two Australian padres offering them a hot cup of tea or coffee.
 

BERRY FAMILY DID THEIR SHARE IN WORLD WAR II

NAME: Berry family

DATE: 1939 - 1945

UNIT: Various AIF, RAAF, WAAF

LOCATION: Australia, Middle East, New Guinea

The Berry family of West Tamar in Tasmania certainly did their fair share in World War II with five brothers and a sister all serving in the forces. They all survived, although not without a few narrow escapes, according to a newspaper article probably printed in 1944.
 

LARRIKIN SURVIVES YEARS AT SEA

NAME: Les Forrester

DATE: 1940 - 1945

UNIT: Royal Australian Navy

LOCATION: Mediterranean, Middle East, Pacific

Les Forrester was a self-confessed larrikin. He liked to have a good time but when the chips were down he was in there with the best of them.
 

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE

NAME: A. J. "Butch" Gaudry

DATE: 1944 - 1945

UNIT: POW

LOCATION: Singapore, Saigon

A. J. "Butch" Gaudry had survived working on the Burma-Thailand railway and was sent with many other troops back to Singapore where they were put to work on the wharves.