Sir Roden Cutler

Today we remember Sir Roden Cutler, recipient of the Victoria Cross for bravery. On 15 August 1945, Sir Cutler was working in Melbourne as Assistant Commissioner of Repatriation. He remembers the scenes of celebration well.

Sir Roden Cutler audio file (MP4 23.89 MB)

Sir Roden Cutler audio script

75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War

Audio actuality

“Fellow Citizens, the War is over” — (The Hon J B Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia)

On the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, Australia remembers Sir Roden Cutler, recipient of the Victoria Cross for bravery.

On August 15th, 1945 — the official end of the Second World War — Sir Roden was working in Melbourne as Assistant Commissioner of Repatriation. He remembered the day well…

Sir Roden

I suppose it would have been about 10am. The people were out of the offices; they were walking down Collins Street; they were singing; they were clasping one another. And there was a Schweppes delivery truck trying to get through in Collins Street, and it was cut off by the crowd. The crowd were pushing around it. It was loaded of course with siphons of soft drink and all the rest of it. The driver’s assistant thought quickly, jumped out, jumped into the back of the truck, grabbed 2 soda siphons — one in each hand — and used them like machine guns and sprayed the crowd who fell back in time for the driver to turn around and escape.

And then a woman came up to me and she said: “Oh, thank you for winning the war.” I didn’t know I’d won the war, but I was very glad the war was over.

Saturday, August 15 marks the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. Let’s pay our respects to that amazing generation of Australians.