A Radio Series – Presented by Ray Martin
On the 3rd of September, 1939, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies uttered 5 words that had a huge impact on our nation: “Australia is also at war”.
3/9/39 was the day that Australia entered the Second World War… and between 1939 and 1945, more than 1 million Australian men and women would enlist from a population of just 7 million. Millions more helped on the home-front in a voluntary capacity.
The Second World War touched almost everyone in this country. Men who had fought in the First World War – the war to end all wars – were re-enlisting. Young blokes in rural and regional areas fresh out of school went off in search of adventure. Women and girls stepped in to fill the breach left by men who had gone off to fight. Schoolkids learned to dig trenches and to identify enemy planes (a skill known as plane-spotting). Our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander men and women were part of coast-watch along our northern coastline. Migrant families pitched in to help their ‘new’ country. It was an incredible involvement by the population, the likes of which had never been seen – before or since.
More than 40,000 Australians lost their lives during the Second World War. Many more were physically injured or mentally scarred, often for life.
To mark the 80th Anniversary of Australia’s entry into the Second World War, Media Heads is producing a 12-part radio series featuring some extraordinary people who are still alive today, and who have an incredible story to tell. People like AFL legend, Ron Barassi, whose father was killed at Tobruk when young Ron was just 5 years old, and legendary entertainer, the late great Smoky Dawson.
Whilst most of the participants are aged between 94 and 100, they’re amazingly lucid and their stories are very personal and very real. All, other than Smoky, are still alive.
The series comprises 12 x 90-second radio segments and is presented by Ray Martin. It’s suitable for broadcast either on 3rd September or in the lead-up to – and on – the day.
Here’s the episode featuring Ron Barassi…
The series is being offered to radio stations free-of-charge on a market-exclusive basis. It contains no sponsorship, barter, or product mentions. You can even partner the series with a local sponsor if you wish.
If you’re interested in locking in this extraordinary series for your station/s, let Peter Rubinstein at Media Heads know ASAP via email [email protected].
