Valentine George Gardner as a lieutenant, 2/14th Battalion, New Guinea, 1940-1943, interviewed by Andrew Jack

TAPE 1: Early life; joined 7 Militia Battalion in 1936 aged sixteen; training in the militia; in 1940 promoted to corporal and became instructor of new recruits into the AIF; transferred from militia to AIF and selected for officer training; after posting to training battalion for eight months posted to 2/8th Battalion in January 1942; battalion sent to Selheim in Queensland; posted to 2/14th Battalion at Yandeena in Queensland; battalion sent to Port Moresby in July 1942; given instruction on edible native fruits in New Guinea; given false information that Japanese troops were short sighted, very short and had inferior equipment; relieving 39th Battalion at Isurava on the Kokoda Track; first action at Isurava; uniform, ration and equipment issue; air re-supply at Myola; TAPE 2: Relieving 39th Battalion at Isurava; lack of knowledge of Japanese fighting tactics; Australian tactics to disguise identity of officers from Japanese; many members of the 2/14th Battalion were veterans of the Middle East campaigns; heavy fighting at Isurava; in one of three platoons cut off from the battalion and under constant attack; wounded by grenade shrapnel; after several days escaped with eight others by crossing stream; spent several more days in jungle before finding Australian lines; wounds treated and evacuated south to Port Moresby; describes journey with native carriers; describes incident whilst on a stretcher when he was filmed by Damien Parer as he was being given a cigarette by Padre Albert Moore; returned to Australia and sent to 115th Australian General Hospital (AGH) in Melbourne for recuperation; relates the story of getting a copy of the photograph from the Department of Information in 1943. END OF INTERVIEW.