Military historian Tom Lewis writes from his book “Australian Coastal Wars”: Numbers tell the story of Australia’s northern war The anniversary of the first air raid on Australia occurs every year on 19 February. The numbers associated with the 1942 attack – and beyond – give some measure of the huge extent to which northern […]
Leigh Costain passed away on Monday 12 January 2026 at 75 years of age after a relatively short illness. He is survived by his wife of 55+ years, Annette, his daughter Leeanne and son Damien, their partners Jason and Fiona, his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Leigh joined as a MOBI from Tasmania aged 16 in […]
Dear members, It is with great sadness that I advise the passing of NOA member Commander Mick Storrs RAN Ret’d on Thursday 22 January. Mick was a resident of Caloundra in Queensland and a member of the local RANOPs association. He was its unofficial coast watcher, monitoring and reporting to the group on warship movements […]
VALE – COMMANDER KEN SWAIN AM RAN Ret’d Dear members, It is with great sadness that I advise the passing of NOA member CMDR Ken Swain AM. Ken was a resident of Seaforth NSW. Ken’s naval career is noteworthy for his role as Staff Officer for the RAN 75th Anniversary celebrations in 1985/86. A Naval […]
Rear Admiral Swan passed away on 24th December 2025. He was the last of the RAN’s Cadet Midshipmen who had seen active service during the Second World War and who later rose to flag rank. Rear Admiral Rothesay ‘Ross’ Cathcart Swan was born at Orange, NSW on 1 June 1926 and entered the RAN College […]
The funeral for the late Captain John Kendall Perrett, RAN will be 1300 Friday 19 Dec 25 at the RSL ANZAC VILLAGE Chapel, 4 Coolooli Road, Narrabeen, NSW.
Dear members, It is with great sadness that I advise the passing of NOA member Captain John Perrett, RAN Ret’d. John joined the Royal Australian Navy College at HMAS Cerberus as a 13-year-old Cadet Midshipman in January 1950. After graduation, he trained with the Royal Navy in HMS Triumph and HMS Jamaica before undertaking the […]
Dear members, It is with great sadness that I advise the passing of Marcia Chalmers, the last Director of the Womens Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). Marcia served the RAN for 21 years, her posting ashore being in July 1989. For those of us who were serving during that period, Marcia was well respected for […]
Dear members, The following message has been received from the son of the late Captain Richard Arundel RAN Ret’d: It is with heavy hearts that we invite you to the funeral of our father Captain Richard Arundel on Thursday 23 October at 2pm (Qld time). His career started when he was just 13 years […]
Dear members It is with great sadness that I advise the passing on 16 September of NOA member Captain Joe Doyle AM, RAN Rtd. Funeral details will be advised when known. Regards Simon Cullen Rear Admiral RAN (Ret’d) President, Naval Officers Association of Australia
