Militaria Archives - Page 10 of 19

A Catalina almost bombed Cessnock

Post author:Greg Ray
Post published:February 12, 2020
Post category:Aviation History Militaria Miscellaneous Newcastle, NSW, Australia Vintage Photographs and Photography
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On April 22, 1946, some residents of Cessnock were told by police to evacuate their homes and remove their children to safety. A Catalina flying boat from Rathmines RAAF base was going to drop bombs nearby, and authorities wanted to make sure there were no accidental casualties. A Catalina flying boat from the Rathmines base at Lake Macquarie, circa 1942. The unexpected evacuation order had nothing to do with the widespread severe flooding across the Lower Hunter at the time. Instead, it was fire that prompted the demand. Earlier that week a disused portion of Cessnock…

Bevis Platt riding on a turtle on the Great Barrier Reef

In search of Bevis Platt

Post author:Greg Ray
Post published:November 3, 2019
Post category:History Militaria Vintage Photographs and Photography
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Some time ago, in an antique shop near Tamworth, NSW, I bought a collection of photographic negatives. It was an interesting and quite large collection, with some glass plates and some film negatives, as well as some magic lantern slides and prints. Collection of photographic negatives The antique dealer told me the collection had belonged to a man named Bevis Platt, who had been a British officer serving in World War 1 and then later a science teacher at Tamworth High School. Platt had married the widowed mother of noted Tamworth local historian Lyall Green, and…