Series number
AWM107
Series title
Department of Defence, Army Office, military history transcripts (includes Vietnam period)
Series contents range
1 May 1962 – 26 Jun 1980
Extent
0.8 m
Access conditions
Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)
Agency controlling
Department of Defence
Australian War Memorial
Custodial Agency
Australian War Memorial
Function and Provenance
Series AWM107 consists of transcripts of interviews with senior Army commanders and personnel in significant roles during the Vietnam conflict. The series is the result of the first official attempt by the Department of Defence's Army History Section to gather historical information through the techniques of oral history. There were two sets of interviews. The first comprised interviews conducted by the Army Historical Research Section during the early 1970's (initially by Lieutenant Colonel R F Morison, and then by Major Ian McNeill) in anticipation of the preparation of the official history of the Australian Army's involvement in the Vietnam War. These interviews were also required for internal military history purposes by Army Office. The second set of interviews was conducted by Ian McNeill (or, in some cases, on his behalf) specifically in connection with the writing of "The Team: Australian Army advisers in Vietnam 1962-1972". The sets have since been integrated into this single series. The whole series has subsequently also been used as source material in McNeill's two volumes of the official history of Australia's involvement in Vietnam.The transcripts were transferred from the Department of Defence (Army Office) to the Australian War Memorial in May 1982 together with the original tapes. The tapes have since been digitised and are held in the Memorial's Photographs, Sound and Film collection.
Content
The Series consists of paper transcripts of interviews conducted with all commanders of the Australian Army Force Vietnam (AAFV), Australian Force Vietnam (AFV), 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1ALSG), Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), Battalion commanders, and other Army personnel who held relevant miscellaneous appointments.The transcripts have been consolidated into groups, based on the role, formation or unit of the interviewee, as follows:
Item 1 Parts 1 and 2 - Commanders Australian Army Force Vietnam and Australian Force Vietnam
Item 2 - Commanders 1st Australian Task Force
Item 3 - Commanders 1st Australian Logistics Support Group
Item 4 - Battalion Commanders
Item 5 Parts 1 and 2 - Unit and miscellaneous appointments
Item 6 - Commanders Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
Item 7 - Commanders Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
Item 8 - Australian Army Training Team Vietnam Personnel
Item 9 - Australian Army Training Team Vietnam Personnel
Item 10 - Australian Army Training Team Vietnam Personnel
Item 11 - Miscellaneous appointments
Item 12 - Units and Battles
Item 13 - Unregistered interview transcripts
System of Arrangement and Control
The transcripts are grouped by parent organisation of the person interviewed, as described above, with the groups having been given a single sequential number [1 to 13] by the AWM. Items [1] and [5] have each been split into two Parts due to physical size.
Using the Series
The series has an access status of "OPEN" except for two items; [Item 5 Pt 2] has not yet been examined and [Item 9] has an access restriction on one portion of the contents. The Open Records are available to be viewed in the Reading Room at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra and more information can be found at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/research-at-the-memorial
Sources
AWM107 Series Dossier
McNeill, Ian. “The Team: Australian Army advisers in Vietnam 1962-1972’, Australian War Memorial, 1984
McNeill, Ian. “To Long Tan: the Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950-1966”, Allen and Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial, 1993
Ekins, Ashley & McNeill, Ian “Fighting to the Finish: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1968 - 1975”, Allen and Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial, 2012
Frost, Frank. “Australia’s war in Vietnam”, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1987
Ham, Paul. “Vietnam: the Australian War”, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2007
Lockhart, Greg. “The Minefield: An Australian Tragedy in Vietnam”, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2007