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Australian Intelligence Corps Association – NSW (Inc)
The Australian Intelligence Corps Association – NSW is an Association for current and past members of the Defence Intelligence services.
HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN INTELLIGENCE CORPS
Formation
The need for an intelligence gathering organisation was apparent in 1890 during the Boer War Australian troops were introduced to the Corps of Scouts and Guides, which the British Field Intelligence Department operated. The bush craft of the Australian mounted troops made them ideal for this task a1 various Australian officers were appointed as intelligence officers to British units.
After the creation of the Australian Commonwealth, intelligence became a role for the Assistant Quartermaster General and the officer to fill it was an artillery major from NSW, Major W.T. Bridges. I January 1905 Lt Col W.T. Bridges was named Chief of Intelligence. For the next two years Bridges pursued his proposal to create an Intelligence Department without much success.
On 2 December 1907, Bridges was informed by the Minister of Defence that his suggestion for an Intelligence Corps was approved. On 3 December 1907, Bridges recommended the Corps be raised with Colonel The Honourable J.V. McCay (later Major General The Hon. J.V. McCay KCMG, KBE, CB, VD MID) as head of the Corps.
On 6 December 1907 the Military Board agreed to the formation of the Corps and McCay's appointment and both were signed by the Governor General Military Order 305/1907 on 6 December 1907.
History
The Australian first chief of Intelligence was Colonel W.T. Bridges, later Major General W.T. Bridges who became Australia's first Chief of the General Staff, the creator and first commandant of the Royal Military College, commanded the first Australian Imperial Forces and died from wounds at Gallipoli in 1915.
Other prominent soldiers to serve with the Corps in its early days were Lieutenant-Colonel, later General, Sir John Monash KCMG, KCB, CB, VD, MID, one of Australia's greatest soldiers. Major General The Honourable Sir H.J. Moore KCMG, CMC, VD, MID and Major (later Field Marshall) Sir Thomas Blamey was GSO3 Intelligence on the staff of the First Australian Division at Gallipoli.
During World War I, the Corps personnel were represented in all Australian Imperial Force campaigns and intelligence sections carried out a variety of tasks, including conducting intelligence staff work, field security, reconnaissance patrols and psychological warfare.
World War II again saw Corps personnel in heavy demand conducting similar tasks developed during World War I, with the additional responsibility for interrogation of prisoners of war, translation and interpretation, censorship and counter-intelligence.
Since World War II, the Corps has seen action in the Korean War, the Malaysian emergency, Vietnam and virtually every theatre of operations that the Australian Defence Force has been committed to including Namibia, Western Sahara, Somalia, Rwanda, Bougainville, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq with Corps soldiers often operating intimately with combat units.
On Saturday, 7 August 2004, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffrey AC, CVO, MC, Governor General of Australia at Kokoda Barracks, Canungra presented to the Australian Intelligence Corps the Governor-General's Banner in recognition of the enormous collective and individual contribution of both past and present members since the Corps' establishment in 1907.
During 2007 the Corps celebrated its centenary. On 6 December 2007 a memorial plaque was unveiled in the Australian War Memorial grounds recognizing the 100th anniversary of the raising of the Corps.
HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION
A Potted History
At the end of World War II, a small group of Regular and Citizen Military Forces (CMF) Intelligence Officers met at Victoria Barracks Paddington and discussed the merits of forming an Australia Intelligence Association. Especially interested were COL John Prentice and MAJ J. C. McGowan.
An inaugural meeting was held at Victoria Barracks in 1946 attended by approximately sixty serving and former serving members of the Corps. The Association was established as an unincorporated body. Elected, among others, were LTCOL R. K. Powell (President) and MAJ J. C. McGowan (Secretary).
Branches were started in all States. However, through lack of contact or control the branch associations were only active for a short period , then faded out. It was suggested at the time that this was due to the lack of a National Council or HQ organisation to maintain contact between the branches.
During the 1950s it was difficult to maintain membership and attendance at meetings. Contact with the other States was lost. In the late 1950s the then current President Bill Clinton was requested by an officer in Army Office (presumably the Director of Military Intelligence) to change the name of the Association. The new name adopted was the “Australian Intelligence Corps Association”. A number of years later during the presidency of Paul Denny a meeting was held at the Intelligence Centre at Middle Head where the Chief Instructor, LTCOL Stan Hobbs, requested the name of the Association again be changed and the word “Corps” omitted.
1962 saw the first edition of the Association’s magazine, initially titled the A.I.C.M., but soon after the meeting at Middle Head the magazine was renamed A.I.M. As at the end of 2010, 175 issues of A.I.M. have been published.
1965 witnessed a renewal of interest in the Association and new members were attracted.
From 1973 BRIG Keith Stringfellow (a veteran of Z Special Force) built up strong and friendly contacts with 2 Div Int Unit, which resulted in a number of CMF/Army Reserve (ARes) members becoming members of the Australian Intelligence Association (A.I.A).
On 25 July 1990 the Association became incorporated under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act, changing its name to the Australian Intelligence Association (NSW) Inc.
In 1993 after twenty years as President, BRIG Keith Stringfellow did not seek re-election as President. The late CAPT Bill Robinson was elected President. Bill Robinson endeavoured to generate interest in other States amongst those who had served in the Intelligence Corps or who had held intelligence postings. In Victoria interest was re-established and a Victorian chapter began to flourish. Likewise in Western Australia under the guidance of Neil Chaplin and Eric Crump there was a resurgence of interest from former Corps members. The Association in Western Australia adopted a similar set of rules to the NSW Association, incorporated and adopted the name “Australian Intelligence Association (WA) Inc.”
Over the weekend of 5 – 7 December 1997 a National Convention of Intelligence Associations was held in Canberra. The Convenor was LTCOL Brett Peppler (ARA). The Conference was well attended and successful. A second Convention was held in Melbourne over the weekend 1 – 3 December 2000. The Conference was again successful, however not as well attended as the first. A third Convention was held in Sydney over the weekend 6 – 8 December 2002. The conference was attended by 39 delegates from the ACT, VIC, and WA as well as NSW. The delegates voted the conference worthwhile and rewarding.
In 2002 the Australian Intelligence Corps Association was formed in Queensland as a non-profit organisation to foster camaraderie and esprit de corps within the Australian Intelligence Corps by providing a vehicle for serving and former members of the Corps to have pride in its achievements and a greater understanding of history, progress and customs. The Queensland-based Association is currently the largest of the Associations and has members from all States.
In April 2007 the Association made a donation to the Australian Intelligence Corps Association of $500 towards the Corps Centenary Memorial Fund. In June 2009 the Association made a donation to the Museum of Australian Military Intelligence of $750 to be applied towards the general purposes of the Museum. The Association at its November 2010 meeting resolved to make a further donation to the Museum of $500.
In 2010 the NSW Association had 64 members. The Association President (LTCOL Peter Court RFD ED) was elected to that position in 1998.
The main activities of the Association each year are:
25 April
ANZAC Day Dawn Service Sydney
ANZAC Day Dawn Service Georges Heights
ANZAC Day March (Sydney)
ANZAC Day Lunch
6 December
Corps Day Lunch/Dinner
Publication of 4 issues of AIM.
The Association has marched in every Sydney ANZAC Day march since its inception in 1946.
The Association changed its name to the Australian Intelligence Corps Association (NSW) Inc. on 3 May 2011.
HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION (NSW) INC
The badge depicted on the banner of the Australian Intelligence Association (NSW) Inc. was designed before Australian Intelligence Corps was incorporated into the Australian Army in 1948. It is probable that the badge was developed in 1945 or 1946, as the Association participated in the 1946 Anzac Day march.
The Association badge features a Tudor rose, surmounted by a “Queen’s Crown” and flanked by laurel wreaths. Beneath the Tudor rose are two crossed swords. The laurel wreaths are for remembrance. It is thought that the crossed swords possibly relate to an old English emblem for either infantry or cavalry as intelligence gatherers. Beneath the crossed swords is a scroll containing the letters “A.I.A”, which stand for “Australian Intelligence Association”. The Australian Intelligence Association was a predecessor of the current organisation.
Interestingly, the original association was known as the “Australian Intelligence Corps Association”, so the letters in the scroll should have been “AICA” rather than AIA!
Association member John Anderson advises that the original banner did in fact feature the letters “A.I.C.A.” within the scroll, but that when LTCOL Hobbs was the Assistant Director of Military Intelligence (ADMI) and Commanding Officer of the School of Military Intelligence at Middle Head, he took offence at the Association using the word “Corps” in the Association’s badge. As a result, the word “Corps” was removed from the Association banner to pacify him. However the Association was registered as the “Australian Intelligence Corp Association.”
The badge of the Australian Intelligence Corps was used from 1948, when the Australian Intelligence Corps was raised within the Australian Army. The Australian Intelligence Corps badge features a Tudor rose within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown. Beneath the Tudor rose the words “Australian Intelligence Corps” appear within two scrolls. The current crown is the “Queen’s Crown”, which would have been adopted at some time after Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952.