Oh boy! When the Americans Came to Town!

A number of  recordings included residents' anecdotes of  U.S marines:  their larger than life reputation for  nylon stocking supplies, Australian women,  better  uniforms,  superior food rations and  a predisposition  towards brawling and disorderly behaviour. Not all accounts were so lively, but here's  Maidie on an encounter with a cheeky U.S Marine on the steps of Coles in Melbourne:
http://www.archive.org/details/BumpingIntoCheekyU.sMarineC1946
To view an amusing extract from an Australia propaganda film circa 1944 with its underlying subtext of encouraging restraint amongst US troops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm_CjWTKvI0

Unfolding Stories

Often unknown interests, passions and achievements came to light as the participants' stories unfolded...

Northern Exposure

"Do I remember the 'Air Chief'?" asks George with  widened eyes and raised eyebrows,"How could you ever forget it!!!"

Listen to George's account of  working below decks keeping  engines running on highly combustible high octane fuel, while in northern waters on rescue and retrieval missions.

Brews, Pubs, Beers!

Here's some links on the history of Autsralian beer and pubs - with George, a meticulous former publican in mind!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_and_Co.
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/previous/brewing_and_pubs.asp

Gas Producers

George's memory for historical detail lead to an incredibly rich recording, detailing an insider's view of  the refrigeration and Liquor Trades in Kings Cross in the Fifties, the introduction of sealed unit refrigeration into commercial life in Australia and observations of changing social mores from a unique point of view - as a  publican in Western Australia.  On war years, George's accounts were just as sharp, documenting the social and technological changes that affected the practicalities of everyday life. While the  availability of  fossil fuels -  their environmental cost -  and our use of energy is the  moot point of current times,  it was from George that I discovered the finer details of fuel rationing during WWII - discovering those dangerous devices called 'Gas Producers'!