The Military History Society of NSW

This is the "From the Editor" column of the Spring 2019 issue of the Society's quarterly magazine, RECONNAISSANCE. The full magazine is available to Society members. Welcome to the Spring 2019 issue of Reconnaissance. We have seen many wartime centenaries and anniversaries over recent times and this year is no exception. 2019 marks the 75 th  anniversary of events during that pivotal Second World War year of 1944. For the English speaking world at least, no event of that period was bigger than D-Day. Operation Overlord may not have been as devastating for the Third Reich as the unstoppable Soviet juggernaut. But that success on the Normandy beaches was more than an indispensable condition for Nazi defeat, it was a crucial determinant of post-war history in Europe and across the world. So it is worth commemorating, even here in Australia. In that vein the Society dedicated its July lecture to a D-Day related subject. Our President stepped forward with a capt...

The world’s first military railway  was built in 1855 during the invasion of Crimea by Great Britain  and France, known subsequently as ‘Grand Central Crimean Railway’. Growing to 17 miles of track, its purpose was to supply ammunition and provisions to Allied soldiers engaged in the highly engineered siege of Sevastopol . While the invasion of Crimea is widely regarded as a disaster, this was a case of logistics undertaken by experts who knew exactly what they were doing and how to do it. Colin Kay DCM is a member of our Society and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in modern history. He served as a warrant officer class 2 in the Royal Australian Engineers of the Australian Army, during which time he was awarded the DCM. Time & Venue: Saturday, 2 November 2019, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, Goulburn Room, Level 4, City of Sydney RSL, 561-567 George Street, Sydney CBD. Admission is free of charge but a gold coin donation would be appreciated. For further information call...