Special Air Service Historical Foundation

Recognising our Volunteers

The SAS Historical Foundation is a volunteer organisation. The exhibits that comprise the Historical Collection and the grounds and monuments of the Garden of Reflection are carefully prepared and maintained by the Volunteers with a degree of loving care that only former soldiers and those with close ties to the Regiment can achieve. Our Volunteers include veterans of the SAS Company and extend through the Regiment’s history to former members and recent retirees, providing an almost continuous living history of all aspects of the Australian SAS.

SAS Historical Foundation Volunteers are also responsible for archiving and material storage, fundraising and the conduct of seminars and forums aligned with the ideals of the Foundation. They are also at the cutting edge of research and development concerning the design and production of the unique weight bearing mannequins used throughout the Historical Collection. The rich experience of the Volunteers and their dedication to ensuring that the history of the Regiment remains accurate, relevant and well displayed, is very much part of the total SAS Historical Collection and Foundation experience in general.

The volunteers’ intimate knowledge of the equipment, weapons, vehicles, boats, communications equipment, operational tactics, techniques, procedures and personalities who served in the Australian SAS makes the SAS Historical Collection a very remarkable and truly ‘special’ feature of the SASR History and Research Centre.

Official Recognition

Volunteer members who had met specific service parameters with the SAS Historical Foundation from 1998 to 2011 inclusive were awarded a Special Operations Commander Australia Silver Group Commendation in April 2012.

The commendation reads:

“I commend you for your outstanding achievements in developing and managing the Special Air Service Historical Collection on behalf of the Special Air Service Regiment. You have created a world class heritage collection that showcases the magnificent history of the Australian Special Air Service, which serves to enhance unit morale and esprit de corps.

You have made a significant contribution to enhancing the Regiment's reputation for excellence within the Australian Defence Force, as well as with foreign allied forces, ex-service organisations and the wider civilian community.

Your achievements are of the highest order and are in the keeping with the finest traditions of the Special Air Service Regiment, Special Operations Command, the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.

Creating Displays for the Historical Collection

The Foundation has a dedicated workshop containing machines for wood and metal working. The Volunteers have produced various types of display cases to support the heritage exhibitions and are currently working on developing and producing the multi-positional and weight bearing mannequins.

The workshop structure is a Lysaght prefabricated accommodation building designed for deployment in tropical areas and was the type of building utilised as the combined Officers and Sergeants Mess for SAS Squadrons in the Vietnam War.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has provided financial grants to the Foundation on the basis that the workshop is in effect a Mens’ Shed project supporting its objectives for maintaining and improving the independence and quality of life for members of the veteran community.