Footsteps of Sparrow Force

[Pablo]

Really looking forward to this release as I found out recently, when going through some family papers, my mum's cousin was a member of sparrow force. (Found his service record)
Mum says he never spoke of the war and no one really knew what he did so it was a bit of a shock when we did some reading up on sparrow force and what they got up to in timor.
He died some 30 years ago so the mystery will remain. He was never a POW luckily, that's about all we know.

Information

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[eiclan]

Just proves that the " never give up" attitude will always win.WE still owe a lot to the Timorese people for their help,it is a debt of gratitude that we can only continue to pay!

[eiclan]

just unpacked the video ,hope to watch it tonight. Cheers Ross

[jmoore]

It appears i missed boat on the DVD as well. Will try and remember to send an email this evening during the daily email check.

[eiclan]

Watched the video the other night and It was very informative and put light on a piece of Australian war history I was mainly unaware of.great job guys! Cheers Ross Ingham

[charlesderuyterII]

Hello Ian. My dad was part of the Dutch portion of Sparrow Force. Does your documentary include any dutch forces?

[Ian Skennerton]

Hi Charles,
Yes, the Dutch groups are recognised and mentioned in our production although those on West Timor surrendered promptly. The Dutch units that went with the 2nd Ind. Coy. to Dili, East Timor under van Straaten and fought on through 1942-43 did much better, distinguishing themselves after Sparrow Force was withdrawn to Australia in December 1942.

We have full nominal rolls and sub-units of the Australian and British groups but I was not able to access any of the Dutch records. Rod Beattie at the Thai Burma Railway Museum at Kanchanaburi in Thailand has records of the Dutch p-o-w's who perished on the line, but apart from that, I don't know where records of the N.E.I. forces would be. Maybe in Holland?
Cheers, Ian

[charlesderuyterII]

Thanks Ian!!

[Surpmil]

An article on Australian optical production in WWII: http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bspar...ers/mellor.htm