Martin Hanckel

Many years ago when I was about 21 years old as a junior industrial trainee chemist in Australia, I was assigned to work with and get experience from a experienced senior chemist who was in his late 60's. As we worked together we built up a mutual trust and respect for each other, one old man and a young boy. He told me about his experience in the Australian allied forces in France in world war 1 and all it's horror.



He said Martin, I want to show you something and opened up his wallet and pulled out a piece of old wrinkled red painted canvas and said "it is a piece of the Red Barons plane that me and other troops shot down as he flew overhead, have you ever heard of him?" This old mentor's name was Bruce Oliver(now passed away) and this blog is in memory of him and all the Australians who served in WW1,including my own uncle who never made it back home.