The Books of Lex McAulay (1939-2025)

[Edward]

Books written by Lex McAulay of Maryborough, Queensland

Alexander Hugh David McAulay
(1939-2025)
Historian, Researcher, Author, Publisher, Vietnam Veteran and Husband "a genuine bloke"

World War II

Into the Dragon's Jaws. The Fifth Air Force Over Rabaul, 1943
(Champlin Fighter Museum Press, Mesa 1986)
148 pages w/ b&w illustrations throughout and maps - paperback

Against All Odds: Royal Australian Air Force Pilots in the Battle for Malta, 1942
(Hutchinson Australia 1989)
242 pages w/ b&w photos, appendices, including RAAF Claims and index - hardback

Battle of the Bismarck Sea
(St Martins Press, New York 1991)
226 pages w/ b&w photos - hardback

Six Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots 1939-45
(Banner Books 1991)
342 pages w/ b&w photos - card covers
- Les Clisby DFC – Hurricane pilot of RAF 1st Squadron destroyed 14 German aircraft during the blitzkrieg of 1940 and was the first RAAF ace of the Second World War.
- Tony Gaze DFC – Flew Spitfires over France and was shot down and escaped. Flew Meteor jets at end of war.
- Jack Storey DFC – RAAF Hurricane pilot of no. 135 Sqdn in Burma.
- Butch Gordon DFC – Beaufighter pilot with 31 Squadron RAAF in Darwin.
- Mervyn Shipard DFC – Beaufighter pilot with RAAF 69 and 89 Squadrons.
- Charles Scherf DSO, DFC – Mosquito pilot with 418 Squadron who destroyed 25 German aircraft in 1944.
- Max Cotton flying shipping strikes in the Westland Whirlwind off occupied France

Blood and Iron: The Battle for Kokoda 1942
(Hutchinson Australia, Milsons Point, NSW 1991)
(Arrow Books, Milsons Point, 1992) - paperback
432 pages w/ 16 pages of b&w plates, 7 maps, appendices, acknowledgements, sources, bibliography and index - hardback

To The Bitter End. The Japanese Defeat at Buna and Gona 1942 - 1943
(Random House Australia, Sydney, 1992)
327 pages - hardback

Four Aces. RAAF Fighter Pilots Europe and North Africa 1941-44
(Banner Books, Maryborough, Qld., 1998)
144 pages w/ b&w photos - hardback
The careers of four young RAAF pilots: Nicky Barr (3 Sqdn), Hugo Armstrong, Peter Panitz and Dickie Williams

MacArthur's Eagles: The U. S. Air War over New Guinea, 1943-1944
(Naval Institute Press 2004)
408 pages w/ b&w photos - hardback

We Who are about to Die: The Story of John Lerew DFC - A Hero of Rabaul 1942
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2007)
208 pages w/ colour & b&w photos, diagrams, maps and index - paperback

Battle of the Bismarck Sea: 3 March 1943
revised edition of 1991 book
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2008)
262 pages w/ b&w photos, appendices (Japanese ships and cargoes; USAAF and RAAF Squadrons and lists of air crews, bombing analysis) and index - paperback

The Australian Experience in the Vietnam War

The Battle of Long Tan: The Legend of ANZAC Upheld
(Hutchinson Australia, 1986 & 1987)
(Arrow 1987) - paperback
187 pages - hardback

The true, detailed, fully researched account of a dispersed company of one hundred Australians fighting for their lives, holding off a force of some two thousand five hundred Vietnamese.
This book tells the story of the Battle of Long Tan, and the men who fought it -- a moving story of great courage in the face of overwhelming odds. The author's research has been painstaking.The detailed, highly readable narrative is richly interwoven with numerous first-hand descriptions and comments by many of the soldiers present at the engagement. These accounts contribute a vivid personal dimension to a remarkable story.

The Battle of Coral: Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral - May 1968
(Hutchinson Australia 1988)
(Arrow Books Ltd, 1990) - paperback
361 pages - hardback

A detailed and masterly account of the biggest unit level battle involving Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. For twenty-six days during May and June 1968 the 1st Australian Task Force fought a series of actions around Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, northeastof Saigon. An overnight switch in war tactics, from patrolling and ambushing to close combat action, where, for the first time in a long while, tanks and artillery support came into their own. The A trained fighting force with more than their share of bravery, whose skills and sacrifice stopped the North Vietnamese in their tracks. Lex McAulay's brilliant account of reconstruction is one of the most important books on the Australian soldiers' involvement in the Vietnam War.

Contact: Australians in Vietnam
(Hutchinson Australia 1989)
147 pages w/ hundreds of b&w photos, appendices and Roll of Honour.

Pictorial history of what the years 1962-72 were really like for Australian servicemen and women in the field and behind the lines as well as at the bars, on the streets and at leisure.

In The Ocean's Dark Embrace: Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team 3 (USN EODMUPAC Team 21 & 35) Vietnam 1967-71
(Banner Books 1997)
196 pages - hardback

During the Vietnam War the Vietcong mined many ports, harbours and rivers to disrupt the flow of necessary supplies of their opponents. Together with the Americans, The Royal Australian Clearance Diving Team 3 worked tirelessly from 1967 to 1971 to remove this danger.

Blue Lanyard, Red Banner: The Capture of the Vietcong Headquarters By 1st Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment Operation CRIMP 814 January 1966
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2005)
245 pages w/ b&w plates, appendices, bibliography and index - hardcover

Australian and American forces captured a Vietcong regional headquarters in January 1966. The American forces were the US 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) and the Australians were the 1 RAR.

When the Buffalo Fight [novel]
(Bantam Books 1987)
paperback

The Great War

Fort Street Fighter Pilot: The True Story of Ron Adair - Foundation Member of 1 Squadron Australian Flying Corps
(2020)

[Edward]

Books Published (print) by Banner Books / Lex McAulay (1991-2008)

"Banner Books is Australia's specialist publisher of military history, committed to publishing high quality books which add a significant dimension to the history of Australians at war."

additional books and corrections welcome.

The Decisive Factor: 75 & 76 Squadrons, Port Moresby and Milne Bay, 1942
(Banner Books, Melbourne VIC, 1991)
by David Wilson
210 pages w/ b&w photos, maps, appendices, bibliography and index - paperback

Six Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots 1939-45
(Banner Books, Melbourne VIC, 1991)
by Lex McAulay
342 pages w/ b&w photos - paperback
Les Clisby DFC, Tony Gaze DFC, Jack Storey DFC, Butch Gordon DFC, Mervyn Shipard DFC and Charles Scherf DSO, DFC

Black Jack: 50 Years as a Pilot; 1935 - 1985
(Banner Books, Canberra ACT 1994)
by Brian Walker
318 pages w/ b&w photos - hardback

Tocumwal to Tarakan Australians and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator
(Banner Books, Belconnen, ACT 1994
by Michael V. Nelmes
171 pages w/ b&w photos, appendies, bibliography and index - hardback

Lion Over Korea: 77 Fighter Squadron RAAF 1950-53
(Banner Books 1994)
by David Wilson

Silent Victory Breaking the Japanese Air-Blockade between Australia and Europe
(Banner Books 1995)
by Arthur Leebold
111 pages - hardback.

Strike and Strike Again. 455 Squadron RAAF 1944-45
(Banner Books, Belconnen, ACT, 1995)
by Ian Gordon
244 pages w/ b&w photos, maps, notes, 6 appendices, bibliography and index - hardback

Fighter Nights: 456 Squadron RAAF
(Banner Books 1995)
by John Bennett
214 pages - hardback

The story of the only Australian night fighter squadron.

The Imperial Gift: British aeroplanes which formed the RAAF in 1921
(Banner Books, Maryborough 1996)
by John Bennett
201 pages. Profusely illustrated with b&w and some colour illustrations - hardback

Endurance A History of RAAF Aircrew Participation in Liberator Operations of RAF Coastal Command, 1941-1945
(Banner Books, 1996)
by Alwyn Jay
224 pages w/ numerous b&w photographs, 2 maps, appendices, bibliography, glossary and index - hardback

Coomalie Charlie's Commandos. 31 Squadron RAAF Beaufighters At Darwin 1942-43
(Banner Books, Maryborough 1996)
by Kenneth Neal McDonald
140 pages w/ numerous b&w photographs, sketch illustrations, appendices, bibliography and index

First Impact: Australians in the Air War of World War 2. Volume 1: 1939-40
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 1997)
by Dennis Newton
240 pages w/ numerous b&w photos - hardcover

One Airman's War Aircraft Mechanic Joe Bull's Personal Diaries 1916-1919
(Banner Books, Maryborough, Qld 1997)
edited by Mark Lax
191 pages w/ b&w photos - hardback
Offers a fresh perspective on the Australian Flying Corps squadron on operations in Sinai and Palestine during the First World War as told from the view of an airman on the ground.

In The Ocean's Dark Embrace: Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team 3 (USN EODMUPAC Team 21 & 35) Vietnam 1967-71
(Banner Books, Maryborough, Qld 1997)
by Lex McAulay
196 pages - hardback

Four Aces: RAAF fighter pilots: Europe and North Africa 1941-44
(Banner Books Maryborough 1998)
by Lex McAulay
144 pages w/ b&w photos, maps, appendices and index - hardback
The stories of Spitfire ace Hugo Armstrong, P-40 ace Nicky Barr and Mosquito night fighter aces Peter Panitz & Dickie Williams.

Empire Airmen Strike Back. The Empire Air Training Scheme and 5SFTS, Uranquinty
(Banner Books, Maryborough 1999)
by Peter Ilbery
196 pages w/ b&w photos throughout, endnotes, references, abbreviations and index.

This book is dedicated to the memory of 5SFTS, Uranquinty and especially to those of its pilots who served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War for whom, as is the nature of war in the air, there is no known grave

G for-George: A Memorial to RAAF Bomber Crews 1939 - 1945
(Banner Books, Maryborough 2000)
by Michael V. Nelmes & Ian Jenkins
240 pages - hardcover

3,500 RAAF men died while operating with RAF Bomber Command. 460 Squadron RAAF alone lost 1,018 men, and 200 aircraft in three years of operations. This book details the wartime experiences of 'G-for-George' and the men who flew it, as well well as the flight to Australia, the War Bond flights and its installation inside the Australian War Memorial.

G-for-George is one of the only two genuine operational Avro Lancasters remaining in the world. 'G-for-George' flew 90 operations against targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany 1943-44 while with 460 Squadron RAAF. The aircraft then was donated to Australia, flew from England to Australia and became the centre-piece of the Aircraft Hall at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. 'G-for-George' today is a memorial to the 3,500 Australians who gave their lives in the bombing offensive against Nazi Germany 1939-45.

The authors, Michael V. Nelmes and Ian Jenkins, researched and wrote the book while curators at the Australian War Memorial. How the four-engined Lancaster came to be installed inside the hall display area is fully described, and this section should explode some of the myths about how such a large item arrived in the hall, and about which many visitors have puzzled.

Desert Warriors Australian P-40 pilots at war in the Middle East and North Africa, 1941-1943
(Banner Books, Maryborough Qld, 2000)
by Russell Brown
321 pages w/ b&w photos, 14 appendices, bibliography and index - hardback

'A tribute to the Australians of the Desert Air Force who kept the P-40's flying, despite endless personal hardships and enemy pressure, and to the pilots who flew the aircraft over a hostile desert against formidable foe. As well as the famous aces, the author has included the lesser known but competent pilots who flew the P-40 in the many roles assigned to it, to defeat the Axis forces in North Africa.'

Hatching an Air Force: 2 SFTS, 5 SFTS, 1 BFTS Uranquinty and Wagga Wagga
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2002)
by Peter Ilbery

Seek and Strike: 75 Squadron RAAF 1942-2002
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2002)
by David J. Wilson
229 pages - hardback

Warden to Tanager. RAAF Operations in East Timor
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2003)
by David Wilson
160 pages w/ b&w photos, appendices, chapter notes and index - paperback

Blue Lanyard, Red Banner: The Capture of the Vietcong Headquarters By 1st Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment Operation CRIMP 814 January 1966
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2005)
by Lex McAulay
245 pages w/ b&w plates, appendices, bibliography and index - hardcover

Australian and American forces captured a Vietcong regional headquarters in January 1966. The American forces were the US 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) and the Australians were the 1 RAR.

We Who are about to Die : The Story of John Lerew DFC - A Hero of Rabaul 1942
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2007)
by Lex McAulay
208 pages w/ colour & b&w photos, diagrams, maps and index - paperback

John Lerew commanded 24 Squadron RAAF at Rabaul in January 1942, equipped with modified airliners and training planes. His squadron lasted seven minutes against an overwhelming Japanese air armada. When he asked for modern fighters, he was told that there were none but he was to attack. He then sent the Roman gladiator's salute to HQ: 'We who are about to die salute you.' When ordered to hand over his men to be used as infantry in the hopeless sacrifice against the Japanese invasion force, and return alone to Townsville, Lerew ignored it and organised and led the successful escape of his squadron to New Guinea.

Battle of the Bismarck Sea: 3 March 1943
revised edition of 1991 book
(Banner Books - Maryborough, Qld 2008)
by Lex McAulay
262 pages w/ b&w photos, appendices (Japanese ships and cargoes; USAAF and RAAF Squadrons and lists of air crews, bombing analysis) and index - paperback

Account of the destruction of the crucial Japanese reinforcement convoy to Lae on 2-4 March 1943: A joint Royal Australian Air Force and the US 5th Air Force battle against the Japanese. Told with official records, captured documents, interrogation reports, and the recollections and memoirs of the participants. Wartime propaganda and mythology are swept aside and the facts presented, with detail including the identities of the ships involved, their cargoes, and the fate of those aboard.

[Jim Oxley]

That's rotten news. I have most of his books, have always enjoyed his writing style.

So many sterling authors have pass these past years.

[Edward]

I posted a brief notice about Lex in "Obituaries"