FRASER COMMANDO SCHOOL
FRASER ISLAND, QLD
DURING WW2

Fraser Commando School was the principal basic-training establishment of the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD). It opened in October 1943 on Fraser Island, Queensland, and operated until September 1945.

ISD personnel had previously been trained at the Guerrilla Warfare School at Foster, but the southern Victorian climate caused sickness among operatives who were more accustomed to tropical environments. Z Experimental Station at Cairns subsequently became a training establishment, but security and logistical circumstances eventually made a dedicated Fraser Island school desirable.

The Fraser Commando School’s existence resulted from a fundamental SRD problem: ordinary military training did not adequately prepare personnel for clandestine missions, intelligence parties and small-party operations in enemy-held territory. SRD therefore created specialised training establishments in which personnel learned insertion and infiltration, communications using special equipment, jungle living, working with indigenous populations, operating in small-parties, intelligence, languages, small boats, signals and other specialised skills. FCS became the principal basic school within that system.

The school was deliberately situated in an isolated environment where jungle and boat training could be conducted close together and with limited civilian contact. The island's isolation was simultaneously its principal security advantage and its greatest logistical disadvantage.

The initial camp was largely tent-based. By 1944, the weather was damaging the marquees, so permanent/prefabricated structures were progressively introduced.

During July–September 1944 the following were erected:-

• Orderly Room;
• two Q Stores;
• hospital;
• four lecture huts;
• four mess rooms;
• two ante-rooms;
• recreation room;
• fodder store;
• harness room.

Additional structures included:-

• armoury;
• Chief Instructor's office;
• dry canteen;
• post office;
• library;
• demolitions museum;
• medical lecture hut;
• ration stores.

The expanding food requirement also required another cool chamber and butcher shop.

The camp initially had very few amenities. A dry canteen was established soon after arrival.

A recreation hut was built in July 1944 with:-

• ping-pong table;
• writing tables;
• chairs.

Films became an important part of camp life. A 16-mm projector was obtained and training films were shown. In April 1944 arrangements were made for American entertainment films, with programmes shown three nights a week.

A library began with books from the Maryborough School of Arts in November 1943 and eventually grew to approximately 400 volumes.

By the end of its existence, 909 students, including 142 Filipinos, had passed through FCS, while 76 instructors served there. The school therefore constituted a substantial training establishment rather than a small specialist camp.

The various Camp locations associated with FCS were as follows:-

FCS Main Camp                       Fraser Island (see sketch below)

Malay Camp                             2 miles south of FCS Main Camp – Dec 1943

Lake Camp                               Lake McKenzie, 5 miles from FCS Main Camp

Filipino Camp                           A few hundred yards north of FCS Main Camp

Urangan Depot                         Opposite Urangan Jetty, stores/supply/administration

Staging Camp, Urangan           Established Feb 1944, approx 2 miles south of original Urangan Depot, near Gravel Jetty

The SRD training establishments included:-

1. Z Experimental Station, Cairns
2. Fraser Commando School
3. School of Eastern Interpreters, Melbourne
4. Careening Bay Camp / Special Boat School, Perth
5. Camps 6 and 8, Mount Martha
6. Advanced Training Camp, Morotai
7. Advanced Training Camp, Darwin.

So FCS could not be regarded as providing the entirety of SRD training for operatives. The training system comprised three broad stages:-

Basic training → specialist training → pre-operational training.

The Training Directorate later formalised this structure. FCS provided the normal basic course, while specialist and final party training occurred elsewhere. Certain specialist subjects—including demolitions, beach landings and signals—were nevertheless conducted at FCS.

Fraser island was chosen because it was isolated from the mainland and, apart from a small Forestry Section, was effectively uninhabited for SRD's purposes. The island also provided adequate opportunities for jungle training and boat training.

Whilst its seclusion was its principal advantage, it also presented some significant disadvantages; its location created serious logistical issues for the operation of the training school as follows:-

• poor communications with the mainland;
• difficulty transporting personnel and stores;
• McKenzie's Jetty being unserviceable;
• the necessity of landing personnel and stores directly on the beach;
• substantial manual handling by the limited General Duties staff.

Security and training value were therefore prioritised over administrative convenience.

An advance party arrived on 6 October 1943 consisting of:-

• Major H.A. Campbell;
• Lt W. Edgar;
• Lt J. Cashman;
• 10 other ranks;

together with a detachment from 9 Army Troop Company, RAE, consisting of Lt. J. Gray and 16 other ranks. Lt G.H. Greaves arrived with 18 Timorese on 7 October 1943.

Lt S. Coleman and another 35 other ranks arrived on 8 October 1943.

The engineers installed:-

• two Scale "A" kitchens;
• cool chamber;
• showers;
• ablution benches;
• two Sidney Williams huts used as lecture rooms;
• folboat shed;
• water supply;
• pumping plant;
• storage tanks;
• electric-light plant.

The Timorese group under Lt. Greaves constructed the road from the beach to the camp.

The road required clearing and levelling and was surfaced with corduroy. This work took approximately three weeks.

Initially, stores were hauled manually from the beach up a sand cliff because neither motor nor horse transport had yet arrived on Fraser Island.

FCS required an unusually elaborate water-transport system. FCS received:-

• barges;
• motor launches;
• dinghies;
• a lugger;
• specialist SRD craft.

A particularly important vessel was "Marina" (AM 188), which arrived in March 1944 and was placed on the Urangan – FCS ration run.

Because Urangan's Gravel Jetty was inaccessible at low tide and weather frequently caused delays, the ration route was shifted to emanate from Maryborough instead of Urangan. Although this was a longer water journey the new arrangement proved more reliable.

Two 44-foot ALCMs were eventually allocated to the school. A 38-foot barge was also operated. A bondwood launch was used for personnel and special/emergency movements. Several dinghies were used to move people and stores between larger craft and the beach.

The lugger “Charm” arrived at FCS in January 1944. Its purpose was training:-

• sailing;
• navigation.

At the same time H.M.A.S. Alatna was stationed at FCS from February to April 1944 for para-naval training. Thus maritime training ranged from small craft and folboats through to more advanced naval cooperation.

FCS also maintained horses. Eight horses arrived in November 1943:-

• three riding;
• five light draught.

A further nine arrived in March 1944:

• two riding;
• four medium draught;
• three heavy draught.

Lt G.H. Greaves controlled horse transport and supervised:

• horse lines;
• equitation;
• pack-saddle training.

FCS initially had almost no motor transport. The first jeep arrived at the end of October 1943. A second arrived shortly afterwards. Repeated requests eventually produced a fleet of six jeeps with trailers.

Major repairs could not be undertaken on the island and vehicles requiring major attention had to be sent to Urangan, where 240 Aust Light Aid Detachment arrived in September 1944 and supported FCS. Again, this shows the logistical cost of choosing isolation.

Training for 100 students commenced at FCS in November 1943.

Phase 1 comprised a five-week preliminary phase.

In Phase 2 training Students were formed into operational parties and given training appropriate to their specific target.

In December 1943, Flight Lieutenant Cook and Captain Carey conducted experiments at Darwin to adapt B-24 Liberators for parachute operations. The original transport concept considered using C-47 Dakotas, but SRD decided to use B-24 Liberators. The B-24 modifications succeeded, and in January 1944 a B-24 Liberator was flown to Maryborough for FCS training.

During January 1944:-

• personnel were taken to the Maryborough RAAF aerodrome;
• they were dropped by parachute;
• water jumps were conducted into Lake McKenzie and Lake Birrabeen;
• the activity was supervised by Capt Carey and Lt. Lees.

The wider SRD parachute training system also used the Army Parachute Training Unit at Richmond. By July 1945 the SRD Training Directorate reported:-

• 248 SRD personnel had completed Richmond training;
• another 57 had trained but had not completed the seven qualifying jumps;
• 107 students had completed a short Liberator conversion course at Leyburn.

The main objectives of FCS training were as follows:-

1. Develop physical fitness.
2. Prepare students for jungle living.
3. Make students proficient in weapons likely to be carried by operational parties.
4. Practise small-party tactics.
5. Train in small boats and navigation for sea insertion.
6. Provide an intelligence background, including Japanese identification and Japanese equipment.
7. Train Signals specialists and give all operatives minimum signals knowledge.
8. Train selected specialists in meteorology and medical work.

FCS reached a high standard in weapons and demolitions training.

Signals were treated as both a specialist skill and a minimum competency for ordinary operatives.

The principal objectives with intelligence training included giving students an intelligence background, particularly in:-

• identification of Japanese personnel;
• Japanese equipment.

FCS therefore provided an intelligence foundation, although the wider SRD training system contained other establishments dedicated more specifically to intelligence and clandestine methods.

After feedback from the field, there was an increased emphasis on Malay instruction.

The isolated nature of FCS made a resident medical officer necessary, while operational parties needed instruction in:-

• hygiene;
• sanitation;
• first aid;
• treatment of common tropical diseases.

Instructors at FCS were as follows:-

• Capt Jinkins — Chief Instructor
• Lt I.A. McMillan-Kerr — Intelligence
• Lt K. Stringfellow — Intelligence
• Lt W.E. Gourgaud — Demolitions
• Lt G. Black — Demolitions
• Sgt L.J. McKenzie — Demolitions
• Sgt J. Chirgwin — Demolitions
• WOII R. Ainscough — Weapons
• WOI R.D.C. Cusack — Physical Training & Unarmed Combat
• Sgt A.J. Rudwick — Physical Training & Unarmed Combat
• Sgt A. Chew — Folboats
• Sgt S.M. Dodds — Jungle Warfare & Camouflage
• Lt W. Edgar — Malay
• Lt G.H. Greaves — Equitation & Pack Saddles
• Sgt J.H. Clatworthy — Signals
• Sgt C. Britcher — Signals.

FCS did not merely record whether a student completed the course. Each student was graded as follows:-

A — Party leader, outstanding

B — Very good; suitable as party second-in-command

C — Good operative

D — Needs further training

E — Rejectable

A special addition was made to the camp in March 1944 to accommodate Filipino students undergoing special SRD training. A permanent camp staff of 12 Filipinos was provided by AIB.

They arrived with 45 students on 17 April 1944.

After that course, another 60 Filipinos arrived and nearly completed basic training before being withdrawn, apparently because of impending operations in the Philippines. The Filipino camp was subsequently dismantled.

FCS records show that there were 142 Filipinos among the total 909 students that attended FCS.

The training at FCS was inherently dangerous, involving:-

• demolitions;
• folboating;
• unarmed combat;
• grenades;
• weapons/range work.

Nevertheless, the FCS record says there was only one serious training accident during nearly two years. During the first week of July 1944, Sgt Lofts suffered an accidentally self-inflicted head wound on the range and died two hours later. He was buried at Maryborough on 8 July 1944. The low accident rate was attributed to the level of instruction, supervision and safety precautions in place at FCS.

A 10-day Medical Course was introduced in May 1945. A medical centre was established at Urangan on the mainland. Recruits were examined there, medical histories were started, and arrangements were made for:-

• psychological examinations;
• dental inspection/treatment;
• inoculations and injections;
• special examinations where required.

At FCS itself, a hospital was established because evacuation was difficult. It eventually became a building with:-

• RAP;
• small theatre;
• office;
• store;
• ten-bed ward.

The permanent hospital at FCS was completed in August 1944 and equipped with ten beds.

The RAAF’s No. 5 Mobile Dental Unit served FCS from 13 June to 30 July 1944. Its recorded work included:-

An Army Mobile Dental Unit subsequently served for three weeks in October/November 1944.

Skin infections were a particular problem at FCS early in 1944. The RMO attributed them to cuts and abrasions becoming infected under dusty conditions.

Hot-water services were therefore installed in the shower blocks in May 1944, sfter which skin infections subsequently became almost non-existent.

In July 1944, a section of beach near McKenzie's Wharf was made shark-proof using arc mesh, to allow swimming.

Lake McKenzie was an important satellite component of the FCS complex. A small additional camp was established at Lake McKenzie in March 1944 for further training and holding of SR personnel under the Special Raiding Section. The camp closed in December 1944.

The table below shows the Commanding Officers for FCS from October 1943 through to October 1945:-

Captain S. Coleman remained Adjutant throughout the above period.

Keith Stringfellow, who was Acting Commanding Officer as shown above, was President of the NSW Branch of the Z Special Unit Association in late 2002.

The Chief Instructor succession at FCS was as follows:-

The school averaged about 20 instructors on duty, with 76 instructors passing through FCS during its existence.

For the period 7 October 1943–30 September 1945, the number of personnel at FCS was as follows:-

The 197 “Other staff” figure included Timorese and Water Transport personnel.

Lt. F. Holland operated a training school at Peak Hill on a promontory across the estuary from Darwin to select potential Portuguese operatives to be trained at Fraser Commando School.

Thirty signallers were also trained at FCS along with twelve medical orderlies and a few personnel from Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO).

Trainees used the beached vessel Maheno for operational exercises. It had also been used as a target for allied bombing practise. The 5,377 ton, 404 foot former luxury New Zealand trans-Tasman liner had been sold to the Japanese for scrap metal and was being towed to Japan when its tow rope broke during an unseasonal cyclone. It washed ashore on the beach on Fraser Island on 19 July 1935 between Eli Creek and The Pinnacles.

When Major H.C. Lucas arrived from Britain in November 1944 to become Chief Instructor the syllabus was modelled substantially on Special Operations instruction in Europe, modified for the operational conditions in the Southwest Pacific Area SWPA. Major Lucas introduced the Para-Military Syllabus, adapting and enlarging it for the SWPA.

The overall training philosophy for SRD was as follows:-

·       Basic Training

Normally conducted at FCS.

·       Pre-operational Training

Conducted by formed parties at places including:

·       Mount Martha;

·       Western Base;

·       Darwin;

·       Lake McKenzie.

·       Specialist Training

Could involve:-

·       School of Eastern Interpreters;

·       Careening Bay Camp;

·       Mount Martha;

·       Lake McKenzie;

·       FCS specialist courses.

On 17 August 1945, FCS received instructions from SRD headquarters to cease training other than recreational activities. Instructions subsequently arrived to close FCS.

The final large movement of personnel and stores departed FCS at 1300 hours on 30 September 1945. The Urangan staging camp was subsequently cleared and vacated on 8 October 1945.

Buildings, fixed plant and installations were left for the Disposals Commission, while stores were returned to various depots.

The operational life of the school ended in September 1945, with the associated Urangan staging establishment completing its clearance in October 1945.

REFERENCE BOOKS

"The Intrigue Master - Commander Long and Naval Intelligence in Australia, 1913-1945"
by Barbara Winter

"The Unit Guide - The Australian Army 1939 - 1943" by Graham McKenzie-Smith AM

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This page first produced 7 April 2002

This page last updated 18 September 2026