Today (21 September 2017) is the 100th anniversary of Patrick Francis Hogan being killed in action. He was a journalist who enlisted in the AIF in February 1915.

Albatros D.V in combat with a Spad of 23 Squadron, by Terry Jones

Charles Kingsford-Smith became a household name between and after the wars because of his record-breaking Trans-Pacific flights with Charles Ulm and P.G. Taylor, and mysterious disappearance in 1937.

Less known are his experiences as a combat pilot in 1917, where his flying career was forged in the fires of adversity.

A digital render of Sopwith Pup A7309 flown by Taylor in June 1917. Image: Panthercules, Rise of Flight forum

100 years ago Royal Flying Corps graduates contested the skies with experienced German hunting squadrons. Many flew, according to Lieutenant P.G. Taylor, ‘..appallingly makeshift aeroplanes.’

In April 1917 the average life of a pilot was only 17 hours. ‘Bill’ Taylor gives us a taste of what it was like to be in the cockpit…

Visiting Canberra? Those with an interest in Mosman’s connections with WWI are well served by the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition, Artists of the Great War.

On the 28th of October 1916, Australians were asked to vote “YES” or “NO”, in favour of military conscription or against it. It was, in the words of Official Historian C.W. Bean “one of the most acrimonious struggles Australia has ever seen.”

‘The New Southern Cross’ by Claude Marquet