Harold's War: Glossary of Terms

AIF
Australian Imperial Force, the volunteer army in World War II. There were four divisions which saw service, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth. (Divisions One to Five had served in World War I and were reactivated as CMF units.)

Attestation
The act of transferring from the part-time service to full-time service. The men did not necessarily transfer to the AIF by this action. (CMF soldiers could not be sent overseas for service north of the Equator; AIF soldiers could be sent anywhere.)

"blank file"
When on parade, the men formed up in three ranks, spaced from their right. If there were an odd number at the left-hand end, the one or two men who remained formed up as the penultimate group and the holes left in the ranks were called "blank files". The term "blank file" came to be a metaphor for nothing and, as Lance Corporals were the least useful of ranks, not really fulfilling any specific task, they came to be referred to as "blank files".

"five (six) bob" a day
Five (six) shillings. The Australian Pound was divided into 20 shillings. In the late thirties, the average wage was about £4, so 35 shillings a week was about half that and around the minimum wage for the period.

CMF
Citizens' Military Force, the militia or part-time army reserve. Members of the CMF attended an annual 12 weeks' camp and a weekly training evening. Members of the CMF were derogatorily referred to as "chocos" (or Chocolate soldiers).

Colonel Light
Col. William Light was the surveyor general who planned out the design of the city of Adelaide, capital of the colony (and later state) of South Australia.

Enfilading fire
An attack in which a unit is shot at from the side or flank, rather then from the front or rear.

The Fiery Phoenix
The wartime history of the 2/7 Battalion of the 2nd AIF which covers the history from the formation until the end of the war, it's written by W.P Bolger and J G Littlewood and its full title is The Fiery Phoenix: The Story of the 2/7 Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-1946 ; The edition I have is edited by F C Folkland, and published by the 2/7 Battalion Association, Parkdale.
It's ISBN is 0 9593357 0 6.

"I" section
Intelligence section, a part of the Headquarters Company of each Battalion.

night cart
In the days before flush toilets, the sanitary cans were emptied periodically by local council employees. Their conveyance was known euphemistically as a "night cart".

9 pence
As each pound was divided into 20 shillings, each shilling was divided into 12 pennies (pence). 9 pence is the equivalent of about 8 cents. It cost about 9 pence for a packet of 20 cork-tipped cigarettes in New Guinea and about 15 pence for the same quantity in Australia. The difference was tax.

Two-up
An Australian gambling game in which punters bet on whether two pennies will turn up with two heads or two tails. One of each is a null result.

Wet mess
The officers and senior non-commissioned officers each had their own "mess", a sort of private club where they gathered and ate meals. A "wet mess" was one wherein alcohol was available to members. In Port Moresby, the naval officers' mess was the only one which officially was a wet mess.

Wogs in the wound
Any sort of germ or infection was a "wog".

Specific comments about Harold's memoirs can be sent to Harold Herman.

Harold's War was written and is maintained by Jack R. Herman as a part of the history section of his website.


	Glossary
	AIF Australian Imperial Force, the volunteer army in World War II. There were four divisions which saw service, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth. (Divisions One to Five had served in World War I and were reactivated as CMF units.) Attestation The act of transferring from the part-time service to full-time service. The men did not necessarily transfer to the AIF by this action. (CMF soldiers could not be sent overseas for service north of the Equator; AIF soldiers could be sent anywhere.) "blank file" When on parade, the men formed up in three ranks, spaced from their right. If there were an odd number at the left-hand end, the one or two men who remained formed up as the penultimate group and the holes left in the ranks were called "blank files". The term "blank file" came to be a metaphor for nothing and, as Lance Corporals were the least useful of ranks, not really fulfilling any specific task, they came to be referred to as "blank files". "five (six) bob" a day Five (six) shillings. The Australian Pound was divided into 20 shillings. In the late thirties, the average wage was about £4, so 35 shillings a week was about half that and around the minimum wage for the period. CMF Citizens' Military Force, the militia or part-time army reserve. Members of the CMF attended an annual 12 weeks' camp and a weekly training evening. Members of the CMF were derogatorily referred to as "chocos" (or Chocolate soldiers). Colonel Light Col. William Light was the surveyor general who planned out the design of the city of Adelaide, capital of the colony (and later state) of South Australia. Enfilading fire An attack in which a unit is shot at from the side or flank, rather then from the front or rear.				The Fiery Phoenix The wartime history of the 2/7 Battalion of the 2nd AIF which covers the history from the formation until the end of the war, it's written by W.P Bolger and J G Littlewood and its full title is The Fiery Phoenix: The Story of the 2/7 Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-1946 ; The edition I have is edited by F C Folkland, and published by the 2/7 Battalion Association, Parkdale. It's ISBN is 0 9593357 0 6. "I" section Intelligence section, a part of the Headquarters Company of each Battalion. night cart In the days before flush toilets, the sanitary cans were emptied periodically by local council employees. Their conveyance was known euphemistically as a "night cart". 9 pence As each pound was divided into 20 shillings, each shilling was divided into 12 pennies (pence). 9 pence is the equivalent of about 8 cents. It cost about 9 pence for a packet of 20 cork-tipped cigarettes in New Guinea and about 15 pence for the same quantity in Australia. The difference was tax. Two-up An Australian gambling game in which punters bet on whether two pennies will turn up with two heads or two tails. One of each is a null result. Wet mess The officers and senior non-commissioned officers each had their own "mess", a sort of private club where they gathered and ate meals. A "wet mess" was one wherein alcohol was available to members. In Port Moresby, the naval officers' mess was the only one which officially was a wet mess. Wogs in the wound Any sort of germ or infection was a "wog".