This book, was in folder 2 of Box 2 and it contains 35 pages of handwritten notes related to Wake's work in 1941. I can tell you that some of those notes are most interesting and contain names, telephone numbers and locations. Whilst I am unable to post a lot of the content at this time, what you see above is a 'snippet', I am hopeful that they will be included in the upcoming Somerton Secrets non-fiction book.
The book wasn't the only artefact in those boxes. Another one, Bob Wake's Commonwealth Security Services ID card, turned up inside a small envelope along with some family photos:
There are literally hundreds of documents to read through, most of which reveal the the nature of the complex world of intrique and and conspiracies that were very much par for the course for Lieutenant Colonel Wake throughout his career. From the early 1930s when he infiltrated the New Guard organisation to the 1940s when he was charged with investigating and reporting on the state of preparedness of Australia to defend itself against a very possible invasion by the Japanese. I have read some of those reports and there implications are frightening. Thankfully swift action was taken to 'plug' the enormous gaps in Australia's defences that of course includes the Northern Territory where his report contributed to the formation of the NAOU, Alf Boxall being amongst its first recruits.
Whilst there were numerous reports generated that focused on Australia, there was one that had Bob's eyes firmly on Singapore. In 1941, Wake was ordered to head there and assess the readiness of the Singapore to defend itself against the rapidly advancing Japanese forces. The document itself was typed out on 'onion skin' paper, that's ths same sort of lightweight yet tough paper that was regularly used by 'Carrier Pigeon' units to send messages contained in containers attached to the leg of these amazing birds.
At one time during his service in WW2, Wake was one of the most powerful men in the country, the only person who had power over Wake was the Minister for the Army and it was he who had delegated his own level of authority to Bob Wake.
The purpose of posts like this is to illustrate the incredible work carried out by Australia's Intelligence services and just where and how the work intersected with the Somerton Man case.
True to say that there was in-house conflict and competition between these units but in the end they all put their heart and soul into defending the country they all loved. Bob Wake is a prime example of that commitment, as things turned out he paid a price, politicking raised its head, his health suffered badly and on the 4th. September 1950, he resigned form ASIO, a position to which he had only been appointed in 1949.
Bob Wake really was a man for the time.
Full transcripts and assessments will be provided to the University for their information and to supplement the Wake Archive's accessibility for future historians where it is deemed appropriate.Whilst there were numerous reports generated that focused on Australia, there was one that had Bob's eyes firmly on Singapore. In 1941, Wake was ordered to head there and assess the readiness of the Singapore to defend itself against the rapidly advancing Japanese forces. The document itself was typed out on 'onion skin' paper, that's ths same sort of lightweight yet tough paper that was regularly used by 'Carrier Pigeon' units to send messages contained in containers attached to the leg of these amazing birds.
At one time during his service in WW2, Wake was one of the most powerful men in the country, the only person who had power over Wake was the Minister for the Army and it was he who had delegated his own level of authority to Bob Wake.
The purpose of posts like this is to illustrate the incredible work carried out by Australia's Intelligence services and just where and how the work intersected with the Somerton Man case.
True to say that there was in-house conflict and competition between these units but in the end they all put their heart and soul into defending the country they all loved. Bob Wake is a prime example of that commitment, as things turned out he paid a price, politicking raised its head, his health suffered badly and on the 4th. September 1950, he resigned form ASIO, a position to which he had only been appointed in 1949.
Bob Wake really was a man for the time.
The Tamam Shud blog is dedicated to uncovering the forensic realities of the Somerton Man case. Our mission is not to speculate, but to reconstruct the events of 1948 using primary documents, scientific modelling, and expert analysis. While the man's true identity may remain a mystery, our focus is on the evidence that reveals how he died and the networks involved. To ensure the integrity of this research, we rely solely on verifiable sources and citations, strictly excluding anonymous blog comments and forum speculation from our data.
Just on 29000 page visits for this month, have well passed 1.3 million total page visits. It's humbling to see the level of interest from around the globe. There's much more to come even before the book is released.
ReplyDeleteReading on another blog that this material was released some time ago by UQ?
ReplyDeleteHI,
ReplyDeleteNo, that is untrue. The information from UQ gives you an idea od the number of boxes, the folders and at a high level, what the foders contain. I can tell you that the folders contain masses of information and photographs most of much of which has never been published.I am very careful what is published here and if you read through the posts I limit what is said. The reaon for that is that UQ has custody of that material and some of it belongs to the National Archives. And that material cannot be released without their authority to do so.
Here's an example, in this post you will see two items that have been published before, one is the Bob Wake and family photograph which has been in the public sphere for some years, I have enhanced that a little and I have seen the archive photograph. The ID card outer is another example that has been around for some years, it appears on the cover of Val Wake's book, a biography of his father's life: No Ribbons or medals. The inner part of that card contains more information and that has not been released here, neither will it be without permission from UQ. The blue book was not in a National Archive folder but I restricted that to just the outer cover of the book and a snippet, pages 32 and 33 from within it. If anyone has suggested that the information was already in the public sphere are incorrect. The material in the archive is for serious academic research purposes.