Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp's Long Tan map

-

Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp

The Society’s lecture on Saturday, 4 December 2021 at Anzac Memorial Hyde Park, Sydney, was given by Major (retd) Paul Handel RFD on the topic ‘Australian Armour at Long Tan’.

The lecture was attended by Paul Mitrovich of the Army Museum Duntroon. Paul brought with him for display the original map found on 2781465 Second Lieutenant Gordon Cameron Sharp of Tamworth, New South Wales, who was killed in action early in the Battle of Long Tan, 18 August 1966.

Gordon Sharp's original map

Second Lieutenant Sharp, a television cameraman in civilian life, was called up as part of the first national service ballot in March 1965. He received officer training at Scheyville and in June 1966 was posted to Vietnam with 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. He was in command of 11 Platoon, D Company when he was killed. It is reported that visibility was hampered by monsoonal rain when he raised himself from the ground to better observe his position and direct gunfire when he was shot. Second Lieutenant Sharp was the only Australian officer killed in the battle.

Painting of the Battle of Long Tan by Paul Fletcher, 1970

Paul Mitrovich explained that this was the first occasion on which the map was exhibited publicly. The map was donated to the Long Tan Company of the Corps of Staff Cadets by a Long Tan veteran who over time began to feel uneasy about retaining it in his private possession. It is currently in the stewardship of the Army Museum Duntroon and can be viewed by appointment.

Second Lieutenant Sharp’s body was returned to Tamworth and is buried at Lincoln Grove Memorial Gardens and Crematorium.

The Society's main website is here: www.militaryhistorynsw.com.au

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bathurst RSL Letter on Bathurst Boer War Memorial - Lt Peter Handcock

-
Image
Lt Peter Handcock O n Anzac Day this year journalist Peter FitzSimons wrote an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald calling for the removal of the name of Lieutenant Peter Handcock from the Bathurst, New South Wales, Boer War Memorial on the ground that he was a convicted war criminal, for which he was executed by firing squad alongside Lieutenant Harry "Breaker" Morant  in South Africa on 27 February 1902. Handcock was a Bathurst district local. James Unkles is an author, former naval reserve officer, military and civilian lawyer, and campaigner for a pardon for Morant, Handcock and the third convicted man, George Witton. On 30 May 2021 James posted a response to FitzSimons on his website. The response notes that on 4 May 2021 the Bathurst Sub-Branch of the RSL wrote to Bathurst Regional Council, which controls the monument, opposing the removal of any names from the Memorial. A copy of the letter is reproduced below. Bathurst Regional Council has declined to re...
Read more

Second World War Tour 2025: Anzac Day in Athens - Greece and Crete

-
Image
  On the 6 April 1941 the German Army launched its attack against the Greeks on the Metaxas Line and the Imperial Expeditionary Force at Florina. The Allied force was pushed off Greece by 28 April and so began the Battle of Crete. Join our memorial tour lead by Lt-Colonel Ron Lyons (retd), Vice President, Military History Society of NSW, in conjunction with Battlefield History Tours, to Greece and Crete visiting the battlefields where the 6th Division and the New Zealand Division confronted the German Army. This is a special tour developed for the very special purpose that we hope will, in a small way, ensure that this part of Australian and New Zealand history is not forgotten. As we visit the battle sites, each with an informative briefing, we will meet the local dignitaries who maintain our military heritage and pay our respects at the resting places of our fallen. ABOUT BATTLEFIELD HISTORY TOURS www.battlefieldhistorytours.com.au Battlefield History Tours is one of Australia’s ...
Read more

Statement on the Vandalisation of Public Monuments and War Memorials

-
Image
  STATEMENT ON THE VANDALISATION OF PUBLIC MONUMENTS AND WAR MEMORIALS The following statement was adopted by the Council of the Military History Society of New South Wales at their meeting on Monday, 28 October 2024: As a body dedicated to preserving and honouring our state’s military heritage, the Military History of New South Wales is disturbed by continuing instances of defacement, vandalism and misuse of historical public monuments, including war and veterans memorials. Acts of physical destruction as a means of political expression should be condemned unreservedly. These attacks represent an infringement of community rights. They are an illegitimate substitute for the democratic processes by which these monuments are properly managed with broad popular consent. This is true even if controversy surrounds the monument in question. In the case of war memorials, the attacks dishonour the sacrifice, and insult the relatives, of those who gave their lives for the precious freed...
Read more