Over the years there have been many interviews broadcast on Capital Community Radio - far too many to list here.
Included on this page is a selection that were first broadcast in our The Listening Post programme. The programme's focus of attention is the Australian Armed Forces past and present, hence the predominent military theme of many of these interviews.
Please note: More Interviews can be found at this link: Other interviews
Ernie Polis discusses his researches over twenty years leading to the publication of “A Cage in the Bush”, documenting Western Australia’s camps for German and Italian prisoners of war during World War II, ... their exemplary treatment of prisoners, and the prisoners’ considerable contribution to the State’s economy through their work as farm labourers.
John McGrath was a Petty Officer on board the destroyer HMAS Voyager on the night of 10th February, 1964 when the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne struck her amidships... , cutting her in two, and causing her to sink with the loss of life of 82 of her ship’s company. In an interview with Steele Stacey, John describes how he escaped after being trapped in the bow section, which sank within 10 minutes.(Note: There are three 2-second breaks during the interview where musical interludes have been omitted.)
On the 80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore, historian Nigel Rogers describes the capture of the British stronghold ... and the surrender of its 80,000 British, Indian, Australian and local troops, who as prisoners of war were to endure such suffering and loss of life later in the war.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Michael Sutherland OAM has had a fascinating career in public administration both in South Africa and since emigrating to Perth. ... He was a City of Perth Councillor from 1995 to 2009, Deputy Mayor for five years, and was made a Freeman of the City of Perth. From 2008 to 2017 he was Liberal MP for Mount Lawley including being Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. Michael’s interview reveals little-known details of South Africa’s involvement on the Allied side in World War II.
Malta, the small island strategically located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, has an extraordinary history of sieges and survival therefrom. ... Historian Nigel Rogers relates their details and pays homage to the bravery of its people.
Nigel Rogers describes the circumstances leading to the Falklands War and the dreadful toll it later took on so many servicemen involved. ... This topic is particularly apt for Nigel, as he was born in Buenos Aires in Argentina, where his parents worked in the Diplomatic Service. The programme was The Listening Post’s first featuring Nigel, who we later came to regard as our resident historian.
Tony Howes’ on-site interview with Ian Craig and Kylie Russell held at the RAAFA Museum in Bull Creek, Perth. ... Ian is in charge of RAAFA’s two divisions - its Aged Care services and Clear Skies, its charitable service for Veterans and the RAAFA community in general. Kylie is the widow of former SAS soldier Sergeant Andrew Russell, who was killed in Afghanistan. She is the founder of ARVL - Andrew Russell Veteran Living - a service for contemporary veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or who otherwise require accommodation and support to get back on their feet. ARVL originated in South Australia and recently opened a branch in Western Australia.
Former SAS members Major Peter Tinley and CSM Peter Boyd give their perspectives of the twenty-year conflict in Afghanistan, ... recorded during the traumatic withdrawal of Australian citizens and Afghan refugees in August 2021.
Capital Community Radio’s The Listening Post programme’s resident historian Nigel Rogers gives a very detailed account of HMS Hood... and the Battle of Denmark Strait in which she was sunk by gunfire from the German battleship Bismark with the loss of all but three of her ship’s company.
Military historian Nigel Rogers returns to The Listening Post to discuss the Battle of the River Plate,... revealing details not commonly found in the many accounts of this great World War II morale-boosting victory for the Royal Navy and Great Britain.
Born and raised in Kalgoorlie, Helena interrupted her university education to serve in the Australian Army. After serving for... almost nine years, she retired as a Captain to return to university where she gained a First Class Honours and PhD in History. She subsequently served for over 20 years with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including service as Ambassador to Serbia, Republic of Northern Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania and three years as Australian Consul-General in Bali, Indonesia. In addition to talking about her career Helena also discusses her new book "No Bed of Roses", about her father Teo's removal as a boy from his home in Poland to labour in Germany in WWII and his subsequent emigration to Australia.
Oliver recalls his fascinating career from being brought up in a farming family to joining the RAAF for National Service,... followed by employment with WA Railways, Channel 7 TV, the WA Police Force and in his own businesses. Throughout, his considerable skills as a diesel mechanic meant his services were always in demand. In retirement, Oliver is now heavily involved with the RSL, helping ensure veterans receive support and entitlements.
Military historian Nigel Rogers, a frequent guest of The Listening Post, discusses the Allies' struggle to keep the sea lanes... open between America, Britain and Russia during the Second World War in what became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.
Bill Edgar is an author of many publications, all highlighting the historic heritage we share as West Australians.... As a history teacher, researcher and explorer, his latest book “30 Against 300” uses all of those talents. The interview includes discussion of the story behind the Boer War’s “Battle of West Australia Hill”, the subject of his book.
Joyce Mortemore, born in Liverpool in the early 1930s, describes her experiences as one of the million... UK children evacuated to non-industrial towns at the outbreak of WWII in September 1939 to escape anticipated bombings, and her service in the RAF.
Former lawyer of the Supreme Court of Western Australia Alan Wilson talks about his career in the RAAF... and his commitment to travel and adventure that took him to Mount Everest, the Kokoda Trail, Mawson’s Hut in Antarctica and the African savanna.
Dr Cecil Walkley, aged 91, was born to British parents in Pakistan, raised in Egypt and South Africa and... educated in England where he later studied medicine at Cambridge University and competed as a distance runner with Chris Brasher, Chris Chataway and Roger Bannister. As the recipient of a Kitchener scholarship he was required to serve time in the military and spent six years in the British Army, during which his extraordinary secondments brought him in contact with Idi Amin and John Wayne. Subsequently, he arrived in Western Australia and spent many years as a GP in the Wheatbelt town of Narembeen. He later became a rehabilitation physician in Perth.
Jack Le Crass joined the Royal Australian Navy aged 17 at the beginning of WWII. Despite being in his 90s,... his interview reveals an amazing memory for detail of living conditions in the Navy during the war years. HMAS Bataan, the ship on which he was serving when peace was declared, was present at the signing of the peace treaty with Japan and Jack had the opportunity to view the signing from on board the USS Missouri. He later took part in the relief and evacuation of some of the 45,000 Allied prisoners of war held in Japan at war's end.
Former member of the SAS Troy Simmonds talks about his military career from training in Kapooka to service... in Somalia and his ensuing 10 combat deployments, including Afghanistan, where he sustained very serious injuries.
Veterinary surgeon Dr Craig Challen OAM, who with his dive partner, anaesthetist Richard Harris OAM, played... a crucial role in the rescue of twelve Thai children and their soccer coach who were trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in northern Thailand in June 2018, discusses the rescue and his fascination with diving.
Financial solutions specialist Tim Baldock relates how his interest in the history of Fremantle during the Second... World War was kindled through defence remnants on Rottnest Island that he discovered while acting as a tour guide, leading to his extensive research into Fremantle's role as a major submarine base, described in detail in his book Fortress Fremantle, together with details of the harsh conditions under which its population lived.
Arthur Leggett, who was aged 101 at the date of this interview in December 2019, served in North Africa... and Europe during World War II. As part of the 6th Division of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, he was involved in the actions against the Italian army across Libya. In 1941 he was sent with the AIF to defend Greece against a German attack. The Germans forced the allies back to the island of Crete, then invaded the island en masse in the first large use of Fallschirmjägers—paratroopers. Many were shot from the sky, but eventually the Germans would overwhelm Crete and Arthur and about 17,000 other allies were captured. As a prisoner of war he was put to work in coal mines in Northern Poland for about two and a half years, before being forced on a march 800 kilometres across the Czech Alps to Bavaria in the winter of 1944/45.
Ken Pittman served for 20 years in the RAAF, flying everything from transport aircraft to fighters. But there is... much more to Ken's career than this, including living the good life sailing in the Caribbean and his 'rescue' of a DC3 aircraft from destruction.
Dominic Boyle's army career has shown him to be a soldier of courage and merit, and includes service in the... SAS. One of the most telling periods of his life occurred with the Black Hawk helicopter tragedy, his bravery earning him the Star of Courage.
Bob Coventry, whose army career spanned 40 years, talks about the atrocious sufferings of POWs in Japanese... camps in Sandakan and the notorious Sandakan Death Marches which resulted in the deaths of 2,434 Allied prisoners of war.
Frank Taylor talks about his long career in the Western Australia Police and in the Army Reserve, also about... his 35-year relationship with the people and landscape of the Kokoda Trail, which he has traversed over 130 times.
At the age of sixteen, Carina Hoang left Vietnam with two younger siblings and four hundred strangers in a frail... wooden boat and set off across the South China Sea. They survived the journey and the extreme challenges that followed in a primitive refugee camp, and ultimately were accepted for resettlement. In recent years Hoang has assisted a number of Vietnamese families to find the grave of relatives in several former refugee camps in Indonesia. Former refugee, Special Representative of Australia for UNHCR, Historian, Public speaker, Award-winning Author/Publisher and star of the ABC TV series The Heights, Carina was inducted to the Western Australia Women Hall of Fame in 2011.
