RSL Wanneroo

11/09/2026

We will remember them.

On 11 September 2001, the world changed. The terrorist attacks on the United States killed 2,977 people, including ten Australians, and profoundly altered the international security landscape. For Australia, the attacks also marked the beginning of a new chapter in our military history. Prime Minister John Howard was in Washington when the attacks occurred and, in their aftermath, invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time, committing Australia to support the United States. Within weeks, Australian forces were deploying to Afghanistan as part of the international response to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Australia remained involved in Afghanistan for two decades, with more than 39,000 Australians serving in or supporting operations there. Australian forces took part in combat, reconstruction, training and mentoring missions, particularly in Uruzgan Province. Forty-nine Australians were killed during the conflict, while many others returned home carrying physical and psychological wounds. The withdrawal of coalition forces and the fall of Kabul in 2021 brought the war to an end, but not the questions surrounding its legacy.

Twenty-five years on, the legacy of September 11 is complex. The War on Terror reshaped Australia's defence policy, its relationship with the United States and the experiences of a generation of Australian service veterans. Alongside these difficult chapters are the stories of courage, sacrifice, service and mateship. Australia's longest war is now part of our history, and remembering it means recognising both the reasons Australians went to Afghanistan and the experiences of those who served.

Read about those killed in the Afghanistan War here: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people?died_in_service%3F=true&history_events.conflict_id=18&t=1787113512801

11/09/2026

Thank you for your Service. We will remember them.

10/09/2026

Lest we Forget

🇦🇺 WWII uncovered: Honouring the Nursing Sisters of the 2/11th Australian General Hospital in Aitape, Papua New Guinea

"Four nursing sisters of the 2/11th Australian General Hospital, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) standing knee deep in water outside a tent. The Aitape River had flooded during the night while the women slept, and they awoke to discover deep water running through their tents under their stretchers." - The Australian War Memorial Collection

Back row, left to right: Sister Mollie Withers, Sister Jo Allingham. Front row: Sister Ron Williams and Sister Angela Corcoran. Aitape, Papua New Guinea. 1945.



Original description and photo sourced from the Australian War Memorial Collection/P02749.001 (Donor M. Mulhearn)

10/09/2026

Had a special visit this week to our clubroom/museum from Lorraine Mucciarone with Susan & Kyle.
Lorraine was a committee member ( which included being Secretarya and Treasurer) for Wanneroo RSL Sub branch 2015-2019. Thank you .

07/09/2026

Another great sundowner (Soup night), with lots of different yummy soups and desserts supplied by members, and a special cake baked by Wally Fry OAM to celebrate Jack LeCras OAM 100th Birthday. Thank you everyone 😀

07/09/2026

Always have always will.

04/09/2026

Did you know that as of July 1 a new veteran and family wellbeing agency commenced operations?

The Agency brings services, information and connections together in a more coordinated and practical way, making it easier to find, understand and access wellbeing support.

At its core, the Agency is about helping people connect to the right support at the right time, through clearer navigation, stronger links between services and more consistent access to information and community support.

Learn more: veteranwellbeing.gov.au

04/09/2026

Thank you for your Service. Lest we forget.

🇦🇺 WWII uncovered: Honouring the 2/2nd Cavalry (Commando) Squadron: The men in the famous photo

"The 2/2nd Cavalry (Commando) Squadron’s Trooper Francis Thorpe, Corporal John ‘Jack’ or ‘Chook’ Fowler (rear) and Troopers Jack Prior (front) and Roy ‘Duck’ Watson, 7 October 1943. These men had just returned to Dumpu after a 12-day patrol in the Ramu Valley." - The Australian War Memorial Collection

Jack Prior is probably Signalman George John Prior NX118477, a member of the Special Wireless Group. He was on detached duties to ANGAU at the time the men were on patrol so he was possibly the Wireless Operator on the patrol.

Prior was a 28 year old married man when he enlisted in the 2/AIF in September 1942. He served in New Guinea from October 1942 until January 1944 when he was returned to Australia with Malaria. He discharged from the AIF in December 1945.

Roy (Duck) William Watson was born in 1920 in Wyalkatchem in WA. Roy was a single man when he joined the 2/AIF in May 1941. After initial training he was allocated to the 2nd Independent Company.

He was landed on Timor in May1942 and for a number of months he was reported as missing whilst his unit was out of communication with Australia. He was evacuated from Timor in January 1943 and admitted to Hospital with Malaria.

Roy was obviously bored when away from the battlefield as over the next few months he was charged a number of times for leave breaking offences and once for failing to obey a lawful command.

In September 1944 he embarked for New Guinea with his unit. He served in New Guinea until January 1946 when he returned to Australia for discharge.

Post war Roy married and lived in Collie Western Australia working as a miner. He passed away on the 10th of July 1998 at the age of 78.

John (Jack) Frederick Fowler WX11366 was born in 1912 and he was a single farmhand from Woodenanning in Western Australia when he enlisted in the 2/AIF in April 1941.

Jack was landed in Timor in mid 1942 and for a number of months was reported as Missing when his unit lost communications with Australia. He was evacuated from Timor in January and promoted to Corporal spending time in hospital with Malaria. He was later "Mentioned in Despatches" for his work in the SW Pacific Theatre. He would serve in New Guinea from mid 1943 until May 1944. In November 1944 he married Winifred Hewitt in Western Australia. Jack discharged from the AIF in August 1945.

Jack passed away in Western Australia in January 2005 at the grand age of 92.

Trooper Francis James Thorpe NX37195 was a 19 year old single man from Greta in NSW when he enlisted in the 2/AIF in June 1941. His brother Jack served in the Royal Australian Navy as a Stoker. Francis embarked for overseas service in September 1941 and was evacuated from Timor in late 1942.

Francis later served in New Guinea and New Britain. He returned to Australia in January 1946 discharging two months later.

He returned to Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley, marrying Patricia Chasling. The couple lived in Branxton where Francis worked as a Labourer. Patricia passed away in 1986 and Francis later remarried. Francis passed away in 2001 at the age of 79, and is buried in the Greta Cemetery.



Many thanks go to Tony Vine for his substantial contribution to this post. His biography information is exceptional and very much appreciated.

Original description and photos sourced by the Australian War Memorial Collection\ AWM058781 with biography detail contributed by Tony Vine

03/09/2026

Lest we Forget

Merchant Navy Day remembers the civilians who served on merchant ships in the First and Second World Wars, and is commemorated annually on 3 September. This is the anniversary of the first attack on an Allied merchant ship, which happened within hours of the start of World War II in 1939.

Albany's Merchant Navy Memorial ⚓

The Merchant Navy Memorial was unveiled at the Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum on 11 October 1996 by Major General Michael Jeffery AC MC, Governor of Western Australia.

On the plaque it reads ‘Dedicated to the memory of those men and women of the World’s Merchant Navies. To those wholes lives were lost in peace and war. And whose only grave is the sea.’

Lest We Forget

Photograph of the Merchant Navy Memorial, 3 September 2025. Copyright City of Albany

03/09/2026

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF OUR NATIONAL FLAG 🇦🇺