The Military History Society of NSW

by Geoffrey Ball Winston Churchill during the Boer War There is a historical connection between Sir Winston Churchill and New South Wales. In October 1899 Winston was sent to Cape Town to cover the Boer War as a war correspondent but was arrested by the Boers and incarcerated as a prisoner of war. He managed a dramatic escape and made his way to Portuguese East Africa – now called Mozambique   –  with the help of British sympathizers. He then hitched a ride back to the United Kingdom, aboard a steamer called the SS Induna . It was not long after his arrival back in the UK in July 1900 that he commenced his political life. SS Induna in its prime, around 1900 So what happened to the SS Induna ? Well she was purchased by Burns Phillip and from 1904 to 1920 worked the Pacific Islands. She was captured by the Germans during World War I in the Marshall Islands. After the war, she was purchased by New South Wales Railways in 1925 to join the Swallow as...

STATEMENT ON THE VANDALISATION OF PUBLIC MONUMENTS AND WAR MEMORIALS IN THIS WEEK'S PROTESTS As a body dedicated to preserving and honouring our state’s military heritage, the Military History of New South Wales is disturbed by the defacement, vandalisation and misuse of numerous public monuments, including war and veterans memorials, across the United States and other countries in the past week. Monuments which have had slogans spray painted on them include the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial on the National Mall, the equestrian statue of General Casimir Pulaski and the statue of Thaddeus Kościuszko in Lafayette Park, all in Washington DC, the   Shaw 54 th Regiment Memorial in Boston and the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio, Texas. In London, the Cenotaph had signs placed on it and protestors climbed the flagpoles. These were attacked gratuitously while others are the subject of longstanding local grievances. Monuments to Generals Robert E Lee and Thomas “St...