In Korea the broad brim of the Australian slouch hat covers a variety of accents. Geordies and ...

In Korea the broad brim of the Australian slouch hat covers a variety of accents. Geordies and Scots, Welsh and Irish, men from almost every county in the United Kingdom are serving with the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) under the UK Enlistment Scheme. However the only South African with the Australian forces in Korea is Private (Pte) Bill 'Zulu' Gibson, of Headquarters Company, the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). Pte Gibson is 28 years old and was born in Cape Provence, but his home is now Bunbury, WA. He left South Africa in 1939 and joined the American Merchant Marine. He served a merchant seaman until 1946, when he returned to South Africa and joined the army. After three years in a garrison force in the Transvaal, he decided to have a look at Australia. He took his discharge from the South African Army, and signed on as a stoker in a merchantman (cargo ship), bound for Western Australia. After a year or two travelling around the west, Pte Gibson began to hanker after army life, so he signed on to the Australian Army. He has been in Korea for three months as a bulk storeman with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). (Original British Commonwealth Forces Korea (BCFK) caption).