The Minister for Defence [II] approved the formation of the Chemical Warfare Board on 19 February 1924, having accepted the recommendation of a Committee set up in 1923 to investigate the subject of chemical warfare. The chairman of this committee, Mr A.E. Leighton (Controller General, Munitions Supply Board), became the President of The Chemical Warfare Board, other members being the representatives of the three Service Boards, the Superintendent of Laboratories and a medical representative. The secretary of the Board was Mr P.R. Weldon, an officer of the Munitions Supply Laboratories, Maribyrnong, who was associated with it throughout its history.(3)

The functions of the Board were:

• to act as an advisory body on all chemical warfare matters referred to it by the Service Boards,
• to consider means for defence against chemical weapons,
• to assist in the setting up and direction of research facilities, and
• to consider suitable means of mobilising scientific and industrial resources for chemical defence (2).

A major stimulus to the setting up of the board was the desire to have an Australian agency of suitable standing to receive and circulate reports from the British Chemical Warfare Board. The British Board was regarded as a parent to the Australian agency and was frequently visited by the Australian Board's representatives. When the British agency changed its name, the Chemical Warfare Board followed suit, and in 1931 became the Chemical Defence Board (3).

The Board was, until 1939 directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. After the abolition of the Department of Defence on 30 June 1939, the Board's constitution was reviewed and it was made responsible to the Defence Committee (CA 289) under the presidency of the Controller General of Munitions Supply in the Department of Supply and Development [1] (CA 33) (4). Responsibility for executive action remained with Mr Weldon and officers of the Chemical Defence Section of the Munitions Supply Laboratories (CA 2554), and subsequently passed with that agency and its controlling body, the Factory Board (CA 140), from the Department of Supply and Development [I] to the Department of Munitions (CA 39) in 1940.

During the inter-war years it had been widely expected that gas would be a major weapon in future years. The Board's practical activities were addressed to this expectation and to the problem of Australia's inadequacy in the related industries (5). After the 1939-1945 War began, the Board expanded rapidly. As gas was not in fact widely used, it became involved in other areas of warfare-related chemical research and testing in close consultation with both British and U.S authorities.

The rapid growth of the Board caused some concern amongst the General Staff, and in early 1944 the Chief of General Staff produced proposals for its re-organisation. These proposals were not, in fact, accepted but the Defence Committee took the opportunity to amend the Board's constitution and provide it with the authority and machinery to continue the range of activities it had developed (6).

In 1944-1945, when the Board was at its most extensive, it consisted of a secretariat of about 15 and was physically independent of the Supply Laboratories and based in Collins Street, Melbourne. The secretariat was controlled by Mr. Weldon, however, due to his frequent absences, his subordinates, Mr A.J. Roennfeldt and Mr A. Hogg, shared a large measure of responsibility for the secretariat's operations. The Board had five regular committees:

1. Experimental and Research

2. Physiological

3. Gas Protection

4. Physical and Meteorological

5. Chemical

The Experimental and Research Committee controlled the Australian Chemical Warfare Research and Experimental Section, Innisfail/(from 1944) Australian Field Experimental Station Proserpine in Queensland (CA 3404).

After the war the Board's activities diminished rapidly. The Proserpine station was wound down by the end of 1945 and at the beginning of 1946 the Secretariat staff moved back to Maribyrnong and were reintegrated into the staff of the Defence Research Laboratories (formerly Munitions Supply Laboratories) (7).

During 1947 the Defence Committee examined the board and made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Defence. As a result, the Chemical Defence Board was disbanded. Its policy functions passed to a new body, the Chemical and Biological Warfare Sub-Committee of the New Weapons and Equipment Development Committee (CA 442), while the Department of Munitions was made responsible for executive action. Although Ministerial approval for these new arrangements had been given by September 1947, it appears that the Chemical Defence Board continued to operate for a time while the new structure was being organised (8).

References:

1. Chemical Warfare Board First annual Report, 30/6/24. Department of Defence AHQ (CGS Branch) file. Australian Archives B2559 (ex MP 498/2), item B12.1

2. Ibid.

3. Department of the Army, Correspondence File: Psychological Committee Australian Archives, B1841 (ex MP 729/6), item 9/401/287

4. Ibid.

5. First Annual Report, op. cit.

6. Department of the Army, op. cit.

7. Department of Munitions, Staff file: Chemical Defence Section, Munitions Supply Laboratories Australian Archives MP 661/, item ORG 30/4

8. Department of the Navy, Correspondence File: Untitled. Australian Archives MP 1049/5, item 1830/2/169.

1924- 1944: C/- Munitions Supply Laboratories, Maribyrnong, Vic

1944- 1946: 7th Floor, 401 Collins Street, Melbourne

1946-c1947: C/- Munitions Supply Laboratories, Maribyrnong, Vic