Episodes
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
#141 Rob Manton
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews army veteran Rob Manton.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Rob Manton served in the Australian Army for 30 years. His time in uniform saw multiple command appointments, an operational deployment to Iraq, and advisory and peacekeeping roles with the United Nations. Today, he’s the Chair of the Veterans Advisory Council in South Australia. He spoke to Sharon Mascall-Dare in Adelaide.
Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Jul 04, 2023
#140 Mike Armstrong
Tuesday Jul 04, 2023
Tuesday Jul 04, 2023
Angus Hordern interviews Afghanistan veteran and artist Mike Armstrong.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Michael Armstrong joined the Australian Defence Force in 1998 as an aircraft technician. He went on to serve as a signals officer, deploying with 2 RAR to Timor and with the 2nd Commando Regiment to Afghanistan. He was on the last plane out of Afghanistan in Rotation XX. Throughout his time in the army Mike also taught as a hand-to-hand combat instructor, drawing on his martial arts background. He moved to work in Cyber before medically discharging. Today he keeps connected with the veteran community through his ‘Voices of Veterans’ artwork.
The episode referenced at the end of the podcast is #97 Paul Cale.
https://voicesofveterans.com.au
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
#139 Ryan Shaw
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Alex Lloyd interviews former sniper team leader Ryan Shaw.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Ryan Shaw joined the Australian Defence Force in 2006. During his 14-year career in the military he was a sniper team leader, deployed to Timor and Afghanistan, and worked in border protection. Today he’s the Director of Gaythorne RSL, in Brisbane, where he spoke with Alex Lloyd.
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
#138 Rod Henderson
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Angus Hordern interviews Army Aviation veteran Rod Henderson.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Rod Henderson is an Australian Army veteran. He has served as an infantryman and in Army Aviation, working with Black Hawks and Chinooks, including as a door gunner. Rod has deployed on warlike and humanitarian operations to Timor, Pakistan, New Guinea and Afghanistan. He’s now a volunteer guide at the Australian War Memorial.
This episode was edited by Sophie Hu.
Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:
- #2 Sharon Bown
- Australia's Special Forces with Dr Karl James
- The Eastern Front with David Sutton
- Beyond the Legend with Dr Karl James
- Remembering John Hordern with Angus Hordern
- #68 Harry Moffitt Vol II
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday May 23, 2023
#137 John White
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Alex Lloyd interviews Vietnam War veteran John White.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. John White was an officer in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. He was decorated for outstanding gallantry in the 1968 Battle of Ngok Tavak in South Vietnam. In the first episode of Season 7, Alex Lloyd spoke with John at Gaythorne RSL in Brisbane.
This episode was edited by Sophie Hu.
Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Season 7 Trailer
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Welcome to Season 7 of LIFE ON THE LINE, Australia's first and leading veterans podcast, from Thistle Productions.
In our 7th year, after 6 seasons, 2 miniseries, 261 podcasts, 17 video episodes, 188 veterans and over 1.7 million downloads, Life on the Line is back. We now present Season 7. Our ongoing mission is to track down Australian military veterans and record their stories, from World War II to the 21st century. The vision of Life on the Line continues to be to capture the raw human stories behind the broader brushstrokes of history, and to explore service: why people serve, and how a life of service changes them. From acts of valour to the trauma of conflict, and how veterans can grow and change from that trauma. This podcast seeks to discover the human side of war, the truth of battle scars and what it’s really like to put one’s life on the line.
This season, we will bring you conversations with servicemen and servicewoman of all ranks from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces, who have been on peacekeeping deployments, and seen action in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. On Tuesday May 23rd, check out your preferred podcast app, YouTube or our website for our first episode, with a veteran of the Vietnam War who was decorated for outstanding gallantry on the battlefield. We'll release a new episode every fortnight.
Our website is www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com. Find us on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook @lifeonthelinepodcast, on Twitter @LOTLpod and on LinkedIn @ThistleProductions. Life on the Line is brought to you by Thistle Productions. Artwork by Big Cat Design. Music by Dan Van Werkhoven. Thank you for listening and Lest We Forget.
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
For School and Country
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Alex Lloyd introduces the WWII video documentary FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY, now on YouTube.
FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY is a five-part video documentary miniseries, created by us, Thistle Productions. The series chronicles the lives and service of twelve WWII veterans who went to school together and took up arms when war broke out. This production was originally released on DVD in 2015 - the first ‘Thistle Productions’ project - and it is finally available for free via streaming.
These dozen veterans served across the whole theatre of war. At sea they fought the Bismarck and the Admiral Graf Spee, and sailed in the Mediterranean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, including at the largest naval engagement of the war. On land they fought at Tobruk, El Alamein and Tarakan; and they trekked through the jungles of New Guinea and landed on the beaches of Balikpapan. And in the sky they flew over Europe for Bomber Command, over the Middle East for the Desert Air Force, and with the Forgotten Army in Burma. Many had narrow escapes, including one sole survivor when his bomber crashed in enemy territory.
Watch the episodes via www.youtube.com/lifeonthelinepodcast now:
- Episode I - Books to Arms
- Episode II - Scuttled & Sunk
- Episode III - A Great Escape
- Episode IV - Terror in the Jungle
- Episode V - You Do Your Part
Find out more about the documentary at www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com/documentary.
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Christmas on the Line Vol V
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Veterans of Season 6 share their stories of a Christmas in uniform.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Veterans of Season 6 share with the Thistle Productions team their experiences of Christmas in uniform, from deployments overseas and back home in Australia.
The episodes these veterans were featured in earlier this season include:
- #123 Nick Howlett Vol I
- #123 Nick Howlett Vol II
- #127 Reg Chard
- #129 Paul Gebran
- #31 Dr Dan Pronk Vol III
- #131 Sabrina Smeaton
- #132 Michael Greenway
- #136 Curtis McGrath
Our previous Christmas specials from Seasons 2-5 can be found here:
- Christmas on the Line
- Christmas on the Line Vol II
- Christmas on the Line Vol III
- Christmas on the Line Vol IV
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
#136 Curtis McGrath
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Alex Lloyd interviews former combat engineer, Paralympian and IED survivor, Curtis McGrath.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Curtis McGrath OAM is a soldier turned sporting superstar. He was a combat engineer in the Australian Army, and lost his legs when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012. From there, he set himself a seemingly impossible goal – to compete in the Paralympics. Today, Curtis is a world champion paracanoeist, having won over a dozen gold medals at numerous Paracanoe World Championships and at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics. In the Season 6 finale, Curtis spoke to Alex Lloyd about his military career, the day of the blast in Afghanistan, his remarkable outlook on life, and how he turned a potentially life-ending moment into something remarkably powerful and life changing.
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
#135 Donald McDowell
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Angus Hordern interviews AATTV veteran Donald McDowell.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Donald McDowell is a veteran of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. The AATTV was a specialist unit of Australian Army military advisors, active from 1962 to 1973. It was specifically raised as part of Australia’s contribution to the Vietnam War. It’s one of Australia’s most heavily decorated units, including four Victoria Crosses. Don spoke to Angus Hordern about his military career, his time in Vietnam, and his reflections on the war.
Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
#134 Graham Goodwin
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Timor and Afghanistan veteran Graham Goodwin.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Brigadier Graham Goodwin CSC is currently the commander of 9th Brigade Australian Army. As a Reservist, Graham has had a significant career in the ADF and South Australia Police, including deployments to Timor and Afghanistan, and serving in recent domestic operations in response to bushfires and COVID-19.
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Oct 25, 2022
#133 Peter Watt
Tuesday Oct 25, 2022
Tuesday Oct 25, 2022
Alex Lloyd interviews Australian Army veteran Peter Watt.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Peter Watt enlisted during the Vietnam War. He has been a soldier, articled clerk to a solicitor, prawn trawler deckhand, builder's labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant and adviser to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. Today, he is a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service and an author. His new novel, CALL OF EMPIRE, is out now in print, audiobook and ebook, and Alex is Peter’s publisher at Pan Macmillan.
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
#132 Michael Greenway
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Angus Hordern interviews Australian Army veteran Michael Greenway.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Michael Greenway served in the Australian Army for 36 years. He was in the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps, and spent most of his career working in supply. He deployed to Namibia, Timor, Iraq, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan, as part of peacekeeping and military operations. Michael spoke with Angus Hordern about highlights from his career and the vital role of supply in allowing our armed forces to do what they do.
To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website - www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com - or follow us on social media: @lifeonthelinepodcast on Facebook and Instagram, @LOTLpod on Twitter and 'Thistle Productions' on LinkedIn.