Introduction

The Bonnyrigg Sports Club acknowledges that many Serbian people made a significant contribution during both World Wars fighting with the Allies and the Commonwealth.

Many of our founding members are soldiers of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) and Chetniks which supported the armed forces of the Commonwealth and USA by engaging in theatres of conflict during World War II against NAZI Germany and the Axis Forces. The former Yugoslavia (now Serbia) was an Ally of the Commonwealth during both World Wars.

Our founding and respected members of the Australian community have made a significant contribution in assisting the construction of churches, clubs and the like.

The Bonnyrigg Sports Club cannot thank these people enough as these brave men fought to defend today’s freedom and way of life

The connection Between Australians and Serbs

World War 1

Both Australia and Serbia were members of the Allied Nations (Serbia from 28 July 1914, and Australia (as part of the British Empire) from 4 August 1914). 

C. E. W. Bean, the official historian of Australia in the First World War, wrote: “The free decision of Australians was never in doubt. They poured out their ships, their men, and the money for their maintenance. To every cause which would benefit their allies they gave unstintingly. Appeals for France, Belgium, Serbia, Russia, Italy, Armenia never reached the Australian in vain. When it came to the support of his own and the British soldiers the stream of his giving was never checked. The men, the women, and not least, the children, worked for their soldiers with all the strength that was in them.”[1] 

The Serbian campaign was fought from August 1914, when Austria -Hungary invaded Serbia at the outset of the First World War, until the end of the war in 1918.

By the end of July 1916, approximately 130,000 Serbs joined the Allied Forces in Salonika, or as it was known the Balkan front. The Serbian and Allied forces took up their positions and stayed there for almost two years before proceeding on to final victory.

Serbia had mobilised over 700,000 for the war, which represented 20% of the entire population, 40% of its males had made an important effort in the Southern front at Salonika.

The Kingdom of Serbia lost 1,100,000 inhabitants during the war (both army and civilian losses), which represented 27% of its overall population, while material damage was almost impossible to determine. A number of Australian women volunteered as medical staff with the Scottish Women’s Hospital in Serbia between 1916 and 1919, amongst them the famous Australian writer Miles Franklin.[2] 

World War II

Both Australia and Yugoslavia were members of the Allied Nations (Australia from 3 September 1939, Yugoslavia from 6 April 1941).

In particular, many founding ex-service men of the Club had the greatest honour that an Australian Serb may have.

These ex-service men served under the legendary figure of World War II- General Dragoljub ‘Draza’ Mihailovich, who in 1941 lead a guerrilla resistance movement in the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) against the Nazi German occupiers.

During the latter part of World War II, General Mihailovich and his forces, known as the Chetniks succeeded in rescuing over 500 American, British, French airmen who were shot down over in Nazi occupied Serbia and flown to safety against all odds. Later in the war, the Chetniks fought against Communist guerrillas.

The most intense bombings took place between April and August 1944. Over 5000 Allied war planes participated and they included American, Canadian, British, Russian, French and Italian personnel. Many of the Allied planes that were attacked and damaged while flying over Ploesti Romania managed to sustain their aircraft in the air until they reached the territory of Serbia.

Once they reached Serbian airspace, they were forced to abandon their damaged planes and parachute to the ground in Nazi occupied territory. Their families had no way of knowing if their sons and brothers were dead or alive. Once on the ground, many of them wounded, they would keep moving through the mountains and hills and forests and plains of Serbia, not knowing what the next day or night would bring and if they would survive. On the run to avoid capture by the Germans, they didn't know if they would ever see their homes or loved ones ever again.

It was in these Serbian lands that the downed airmen were found by the Serbian peasants, American allies of more than 120 years. This would be the blessing that the airmen desperately needed, for these Serbs would give them all the protection, support, and sustenance they would need to survive. None of these airmen would ever be captured by the Nazis.

The Serbs were determined, even at high cost to themselves, to keep the American and other Allied airmen safe until they could be evacuated to safety. Eventually, all of them were placed under the protection of the Serbian Royalist Army (Chetniks) under the command of General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovich.

The 'Halyard Mission' was the name given to the greatest rescue of American and Allied lives from behind enemy lines in the history of warfare.

The Chetniks valued the lives of American airmen more than their own lives. Often the Chetniks and Serbian people went hungry to feed the American airmen without surrender.

At least on one occasion a whole Serbian village was destroyed and its inhabitants killed as a reprisal for refusing to hand over downed Allied airmen.

In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman issued General Draza with the American Legion of Merit, the highest honour that can be given to a foreign national.

General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovich

General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovich was the Minister of the Army, Navy, and Air Force in the Yugoslav Government-in-Exile from 11 January 1942[3] to 25 May 1944.[4] 

General Mihailović was named Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the Yugoslav Army on 10 June 1942.[5] 

General Mihailović served with great distinction in the Serbian Army during World War 1. 

An Australian Army officer by the name of Lieutenant Ronald Houghton Jones was in the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland (YAF) Supreme Command from late July 1941 to 25 July 1942 (see other supporting information attached).  

Lieutenant Colonel Dragoslav Pavlović (commander of Serbia) suggested to General Mihailović on 17 June 1942 that Jones be given a rank in the YAF and command over a YAF brigade, suggesting one from the Dragačevo region in Serbia. Jones was described as “omiljen” (translated as sought after).[6] 

Jones was captured near Avtovac, in Hercegovina, on 25 July 1942, along with Second Lieutenant Babović and Kovačević. 

Conclusion of World War II

At the conclusion of World War II on the then territory of Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians left their native homeland to escape the Communist Dictatorship of Josip Broz Tito.

Thousands of wartime Chetniks and other military units of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia including many civilians, commenced the withdrawal through Slovenia and in May of 1945, handed over their weaponry to Allied Forces at Palmanova in Italy.

Initially these fleeing masses would be held in displaced persons camps like Cesena and Eboli in Italy and Munster in Germany and ultimately many would travel to France, Great Britain, USA, Canada and Australia.

These political immigrants would soon feel the spiritual and cultural loss of their homeland and relatively quickly started to meet and made plans to build a community around the Serbian Church and clubs of the time.

The first Serbian Orthodox Church Community in Australia was at St Sava, Mona Vale and within fifteen years, some nineteen Parishes would be established in Australia, of which many were members of several wartime groups like the Dinaric Chetnik Division.

Around 1954 several discussions took place between former wartime comrades of the Dinaric Chetnik Division, including Duke Momcilo Djujic and by the 18th April 1954 at St Sava's Church Hall Mona Vale, the Movement of Serbian Chetniks ''Ravna Gora" (MSCRG) in Australia was established. As its first President, Nikola Dobric was elected and it's first Secretary was Danilo Cukic.

Many Serbian organisations like The Serbian National Defence, Serbian Cultural Club, Association of Veterans of the Yugoslav Army and MSCRG were mostly created by wartime groups which were created along political and regional grounds, all however were fiercely anti-communist.

Around 1965, a search for a parcel of land was finally realised when in May of 1966, seven acres at Bonnyrigg was purchased for 4500 pounds, where today stands the Serbian Centre/Bonnyrigg Sports Club.

The photo above captures the young Momcilo Vukmirica at the Club premises taken back in 1966.

The Bonnyrigg Sports Club would also like to acknowledge and thank the Vukmirica family and in particular Simo and the late Lazar for all their support in the early land acquisition process and establishment of the Club premises.

Within several years, plans had been prepared to accommodate a soccer field and several plans would be prepared to build a new Club. The majority of the construction work would be done between 1979 and 1985. The volunteer workforce and significant number of donations contributed to the realisation of this "Serbian House."

In 1986 the Serbian Soccer Club "Avala White Eagles" (formed in 1968) would become a permanent fixture of the Bonnyrigg land and their clubhouse and stadium was built between 1992 - 1996.

An additional parcel of land (3 acres) on the western boundary was purchased in 2001.

By 2003 plans were again being considered to renovate and extend parts of the Serbian Centre. Internal works and additions, including outside redesign would be undertaken.

The newly renovated Club was re-opened on 1st October 2005, trading as the Bonnyrigg Sports Club.

In 2009, the Bonnyrigg Sports Club announced that it is looking at other key strategies to expand the services and operations of the premises to meet the growing needs of its members.