From a whisper to a bang!

Across land and sea, through two world wars, three generations, and umpteen conversations, Megan has been on an epic journey, listening and leaning in to significant conversations about remembrance, its importance and possibilities. Set against the recent Centenary of the Armistice, in this final episode, Megan reflects on what she’s learned across the series, from what others have said and by walking in the footsteps of her soldier grandfather. She speaks to eminent historian Professor...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have served in every conflict, peacekeeping and humanitarian operation in which Australia has been engaged. One of the most celebrated soldiers is Gunditjmara man Captain Reginald Saunders. While it's not known whether they knew each other, “Reg” and Megan’s grandfather Harry served in the same battalion during the Second World War, fighting the very same battles against the German forces in Libya and Greece, with both eventually stranded on...

“Lest we forget” is a phrase that memorialises those fallen in war. In this special Anzac Day episode of ‘From A Whisper To A Bang!’, Megan takes a step back to look at the world in which we now live, asking: Are we forgetting? What happens if we do? And, while we might remember, do we remember “well”? In our busy, fast-changing “post-truth” world, she explores the role of remembrance now. Travelling around Australia – and attending her first Anzac Day dawn service since returning home from...

Episode 3: “City as war memorial” Harry Spencer was just a young boy when his older brother Dick died serving in the First World War. An identical twin, Private Richard “Charles” Spencer, No. 5218, 14th Battalion, was killed on the Western Front in 1918, a few days shy of his 19th birthday. No doubt Richard’s enlistment – and his twin brother Hugh’s – played a big role in Harry’s decision to join up in 1939. Hungry for even more knowledge about her family’s military past, in Episode 03...

Episode 02: “Walking A Mile In Harry’s Shoes” In Episode 02 Megan visits the crumbling, 75-year-old ruins of two of the four stalags her grandfather Corporal Harry Spencer, VX1113, Prisoner No. 91985, was held in, between 1941-1945, after being captured in Crete by the German Army in WW2. The first, Stalag VII-A, is in Moosburg in Germany’s south; the other, Stalag 357 near Fallingbostel, is in the north. They were two of Germany’s biggest POW camps during the war, each housing tens of...

Episode 1: “Harry’s story, Megan’s pilgrimage” In episode 1 Megan introduces the story of her grandfather, Corporal “Harry” Spencer, 2/7th Battalion. A prisoner of war in Germany during four years of the Second World War, Harry was one of several thousand Australians captured by the German Army in 1941, during the ill-fated battle of Crete. Corporal Spencer’s story provides the catalyst for interviews, conversations, and insights that help broaden our understanding of history,...

From a whisper to a bang! A six-part podcast series about war, remembrance, Australian prisoners of war in Germany during the Second World War, and an emotional journey of historical empathy, presented and produced by Megan Spencer for the Australian War Memorial.