On Target

At the Annual General Meeting of the Association, held on Thursday 11 October 1984, it was resolved:

That a History of the Regiment be compiled.

At the Annual General Meeting of the Association, held on Thursday 10 October 1985, it was resolved;

(i) That a sub-Committee be formed, consisting of Messrs. C Rose, CJE Rae, L Harris and R Bryant, to write a history of the Regiment, Mr CJE Rae to be the convenor of meetings which are to be held at regular intervals;

(ii) That a bank account be opened with the State Bank of Victoria to be titled 2/3 Australian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Association History Account for the receipt and payment of monies in connection with the compilation and publication of the Regiment History. Any expenses of the sub-Committee in compiling the History to be re-imbursed through the convenor;

(iii) That further investigation into the cost of publication be deferred until compilation of the History was near completion. Present indications were that the cost of a book to the purchaser would be in the range of $30 to $40;

(iv) That a copyright be taken out on the History;

(v) That a letter be forwarded to all members of the Regiment, widows and children of deceased members of the Regiment, whose addresses are known, informing them of the intent to publish a history of the Regiment and attaching thereto a form on which they can register their interest in purchasing a copy of the History, and their interest in subscribing to a fund to assist in financing the publication of the History. No amount to be indicated on the form as to the approximate cost of the History. The letter to be sent out no later than the date of dispatch of the Notice of Reunion for the Reunion of 1986.

Reports were received from Messrs. Harris, Bryant and Rae on what progress had been achieved to date.

The 347 page book, setting down the history of the Regiment and called ‘On Target’, went on sale in March 1987 at a cost of $29.00. All 1,000 copies were sold within two years.

The cost of researching, compiling and publishing ‘On Target’ was entirely funded from Association resources and book sales.

It is a meticulous and comprehensive account of the formation, training and activities of the Regiment from its formation in July 1940 until the disbandment of 9 Battery in December 1945.

Compiled by Les Harris (7th), Ron Bryant (8th) and Cec Rae (9th), it provides detailed accounts of the three Batteries which comprised the Regiment, as well information relating to the Signals and Workshops Sections attached to the Regiment.

The book also includes a list of honours awarded to members of the Regiment and a Nominal Roll of all the members of the Regiment.

From time to time, the book has been advertised for sale on military history web sites – usually for several times its original sale price.

Modern technology has enabled the Association to digitise ‘On Target’ and make it available in a downloadable format – either in separate sections or as a whole book.

The digitised version of ‘On Target’ is now available for viewing on the Association’s web site.