History of 1 Field Squadron Group, Royal Australian Engineers, SVN, 1965–1972

About the Book

Past Vietnam War histories have tended to record the sappers’ work as peripheral. This book attempts to highlight the skill, ingenuity, and courage they displayed throughout the entire war. It chronicles their experiences—both good and bad—that are based around their operations, with an emphasis on the personal experiences of those involved.

About the Author

Brian Florence was born near Shepparton in 1929. He was educated at St. Brendan’s Primary School and later at Sacred Heart College in Shepparton. At the end of the Second World War, and after completing his secondary education, he deferred further studies and spent two years working his way around Australia. On his return, he joined the Survey Department of the Victorian State Rivers Commission where he spent nearly five years on survey work in Northern Victoria on projected extensions to the Waranga Western Channel and flood mitigation investigations on some river systems in the north of the state. He was later to participate in some of the preliminary surveys for the major Eildon Weir project. He resigned from the State Rivers Commission on good terms in early 1952 with the stated intention to enlist in K Force for service in Korea. He enlisted in the army in early 1952. After a short period of training, he was selected for and graduated from the officer cadet school at Portsea in 1952 as a second lieutenant and allotted to the Royal Australian Engineers. He later attended and graduated from the Australian Staff College in 1965. Florence’s military service in Australia was spent mainly in the field in regimental and training appointments in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia in national service, regular, and CMF units. His overseas service was spent in New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville in bomb- and mine-clearance duties over two years and later in the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam conflict. He was seconded to the British Army for two tours of duty for four years and to the New Zealand Army for over two years. He was the commandant of the officer cadet school at Portsea for two years. During his military service, he was awarded the MC and the AM. Florence resigned from the army in 1983 and moved to a rural property in the Bendigo district. Some eight years after retirement, he received a request to evaluate and report on the UN mine-clearing programs and support organization being run from the office of the coordinator of the United Nations Humanitarian and Economic Assistance Programs in Islamabad, Pakistan, relating to Afghanistan. A joint evaluation was made by Florence and the Canadian anthropologist Dr. James Freedman in Pakistan and in a number of provinces in Afghanistan. The joint report of the evaluation was presented by Florence and Freedman in Geneva two months later. This report was used in New York to help persuade the United States and Japan, particularly, to continue to support the life-saving programs. The recommendations made in the joint report were agreed to by the joint assembly of the UN with only two amendments, and funding was increased. The program and others like it continue to operate to this day in various forms. Brian was married to Margaret for fifty-nine years. She put up with him working tirelessly on this book until her death in 2007. They had four sons (one son, Brian, who was an ex-Spr Major, has recently died of cancer at the age of fifty-two years) and one daughter. They have six grandchildren. Although now legally blind, he continues to live in his own home on the eastern side of Bendigo, close to a large area of public bush land and walking tracks adjacent to Kennington Reservoir. He is still active in the Bendigo Legacy Club and looks after a number of war widows. He also continues to provide advice to his ex-soldiers of various corps who seek help on many matters.