"Well if you were ill, fellas would do everything they could for you. If a bloke was dying then we always in most cases somebody would stay with him or stay talking to him or being with him.

"If a chap was on the job and you were working with a bloke and he was crook, well you'd do your best to cover up for him. Mateship was very strong. And I'd say the mateship in our unit was magnificent."

CORPORAL BOB CHRISTIE