President

Revd. Geoffrey Traill has served as an Army Chaplain in the Australian Defence Force for more than 20 years. His experience as an Anglican priest in England brought him in touch with British soldiers who had returned from the Falklands and Northern Ireland. An opportunity opened in Australia where he provided support to the Soldier Career Management Agency at Fort Queenscliff and appointments with Infantry and Support Battalions including operational experience in Afghanistan and a number of Australian national emergencies. Geoffrey encountered a profound need to provide spiritual and pastoral support to Army’s people by bringing honour to the dead and  comfort and hope to those in distress. Now semi-retired, he continues to provide support to the Royal Australian Army Chaplains Department. In January 2024, he was invited to become President of The Headstone Project Victoria after attend the unveiling of a soldier’s headstone at the Fawkner cemetery. This ultimately led to a research project for the Point Lonsdale Cemetery and an invitation to sit on the Victorian RSL - War Graves Working Group as a committee member.

Photo by Alan Barber, published in the Geelong Advertiser 24 Sept 2024 (Ref: NP1541406 used with permission)

Vice President

Colonel Bruce Murray served 33 years in the Regular Army before transferring to the Army Reserve in 2016. He has served the Royal Australian Engineer Corps in command, infrastructure and instructional appointments including Commanding Officer of the School of Military Engineering 2005-06.  His overseas appointments include Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, USA and the Philippines.  In 2010 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia. In 2017 he was appointed Colonel Commandant, Royal Australian Engineers. Southern Region and President of the Fort Queenscliff Heritage Association in 2022.

Secretary

Dr Bob Marmion has had a lifelong interest in Australian military and police history, particularly the colonial era of the 19th century through to 1945. He was a member of the Victoria Police for fifteen years and also served part time in the Army Reserve (4th/19th Prince of Wales Light Horse Regiment).

When he left the police force, Bob studied at university before eventually completing a PhD in military history at the University of Melbourne. In recent years, he co-ordinated the Victorian Defences Project 1803-1945, which was a multi-disciplinary team of historians, archaeologists, engineers, mapping experts and the public documenting Victoria’s military history. His latest book, ‘A Military History of Victoria, Australia 1803-1945: Gibraltar of the South’, looks at how Victoria was defended initially by the earliest sand fort at Sorrento in 1803, through to the complex three-dimensional air, land and sea defences of World War 2.

Bob has been a member of the Professional Historians Association of Victoria since 2008 and is Secretary of the Fort Queenscliff Heritage Association Inc. Bob is also involved in the Fort’s heritage, education and training programs.

Board Member and Lead Research Officer (Bellarine Working Group)

Siranne Hose Gordon started her career in archaeology and heritage assessments. Following her passion, Siranne then specialised in collections and research, working in museums and heritage associations. With postgraduate qualifications in museum studies, cultural heritage, and family history, she combines academic expertise with hands-on experience, ensuring the preservation and accessibility of valuable historical records for future generations.

She has over 18 years experience in research, cataloguing, and digitising historical military records and collection items. Siranne has completed the Australian War Memorial Military Museum Curators Course and Museum Victoria Advanced Collection Management. She is also an active member of the Fort Queenscliff Heritage Association.

Board Member and Lead Research Officer (Melbourne Working Group)

Michael is a former career Army officer and Commonwealth public servant, with more than 40 years experience working in the Defence sector. He has a keen interest in military history as part of professional military education, and enthusiasm for commemoration of veteran service as a result of the experiences of his grandfather and great-uncles in World War 1.

Michael is a graduate of the University of New England, the Royal Australian Air Force Staff College, the Officer Cadet School Portsea and the School of Infantry.

Michael has been a volunteer firefighter in Central Victoria, an Army Reservist, and is currently a volunteer with Disaster Relief Australia. In his private life, Michael resides in Collingwood in a partially renovated 1880s terrace house, a motorcyclist, and a grandparent to three children under three years old.

Michael currently has a research focus on Warringal Cemetery and Melbourne General Cemetery, with a special family interest in the 2nd, 13th and 57th Battalions of the 1st AIF.