Alf Vockler Snr
I first learned of Alf Vockler from Blue Curran in the 1990s on a course in Australia, when he told me Alf was an Australian Army military unarmed combat pioneer and Senior Instructor. Blue showed me some of Alf’s preferred unarmed combat skills on that course and I visited him sometime after that course at his home in French’s forest NSW along with our Todd Group Australia Chief instructor back then, the now late Dave “Bunny” Stevens.
We had a great day of going over what Blue had learnt from Alf and skills he had later developed himself.
I am pleased that we did this and that this important part of Alf Vockler’s service as an Australian Army unarmed combat instructor was as a result not lost.
Alf Vockler was Blues former instructor that trained and instructor qualified him. I suggested I interview Blue about Alf but unfortunately over the years we just never got the chance to do the interview even when we were on courses as duty always came first with course conducting.
Then in 2017 at the Todd Group 90th anniversary I spoke to Blue again about doing the interview with him on Alf’s unarmed combat record of service and he suggested I send him a questions list, which I did but sadly Blue passed away before he could answer the questions.
Fortunately I was able to make contact with Alf’s son, Alf junior and now have been able to document this important piece of Australian military unarmed combat history and an inside in to Alf senior’s life.
Alf Vockler Jnr
Blue had filled me in on much of the unarmed combat skills he was instructed in by Alf and now thanks to Alf Junior we get an insight into the man his father was.
Alf Vockler DOB July 18, 1913 Middle Park, Melbourne DOD January 18, 1982, Brontë, Sydney.
Alf was the son of Harry and Maude Vockler. The Vockler family arrived in Melbourne Australia in the mid-1850s, emigrating from the province of Hanover Holstien that was part of Denmark back then.
Harry Vockler served in the Australian armed forces and he had an uncle and cousins that served with Australian imperial forces returning to Australia after the war.
Alf married Irene Joyce Davison who was always called Joyce. She was of Scottish Isle of Skye, descent; she passed away in 2013 age 99 years and 7 months.
Alf and Joyce had one son Alf Junior and four daughters and when Alf Senior passed away he had twenty grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.
Alf senior attended Marist Brothers Catholic School in Melbourne along with his younger brother Jack.
Their schooling there ended when a teacher belted Jack around the ears and Alf senior hit the teacher and they never went back there but did go to a public intermediate school.
He started boxing and wrestling at age 16 and continued when accepted as a junior member at the Bondi SLSC club.
Alf seniors main sporting pursuits began when the family moved to Bondi and he joined the surf club at age 18.
He trained hard at swimming and joined surf lifesaving boxing and wrestling at Bondi surf lifesaving club and by age 19 was immersed in his sports.
Initially he boxed and competed in boxing for the Bondi boxing team until he filled in on the team as a wrestler and he was identified as a good wrestler and at age 19 at the request of the surf club wrestling became his primary combat sport.
He competed as an amateur and later a professional wrestler and went onto become a combined services wrestling champion and a light heavy weight champion of Australia.
Alf junior says of his father’s make up, that he didn’t take kindly to fools and did not suffer mugs annoying him, and he had a bag of tricks up his sleeve to deal with mugs. His best trick would be to move back, hit them hard with his full body weight which would end with these mugs hitting the wall, bar or deck and he would make out he did not see them and was sorry.
He had a good sense of humour and liked a joke but could get a bit nasty if he had too much to drink or was being annoyed by mugs.
His sense of humour at home was to wind up his children included calling Alf Junior and his sisters ugly and it would finish with them telling him he was ugly.
He had been known to throw some mugs out of Watsons Bay Baths into the Sydney Harbour.
Alf remembers going into his father’s bedroom with his elder sister Pam one morning and finding a man in his parents bed.
They asked him where their Dad was and he said he was minding them as their mum was in hospital where she had just had their sister Anne and their Dad had joined the Army. Alf senior later told Alf junior he had joined the army at the Randwick Drill hall Sydney after a late night drink with friends the night before and had subsequently resigned as a beach inspector for the Waverley council.
He enlisted as a sergeant in 1939 and was promoted to WO2 by 1942.
To qualify he was first sent to Frankston, Melbourne, Victoria to qualify as a PT sergeant and unarmed combat instructor, this was where a lot of training took place during the war.
Other camps he was posted to as an instructor included Ingleburn, Liverpool and Mona Vale all in Sydney and all of which Alf Jr can remember visiting with him as a schoolboy.
Alf senior worked directly under the CO of unarmed combat and PT, Maj Hatfield who was based at Victoria barracks in Sydney.
Major Hatfield was responsible for all unarmed combat training with instructor postings being handled by him as a separate unit.
Alf senior was expecting to go to New Guinea in 1942 however, the Army decided he was needed more at home and this was the same case for my first unarmed combat instructor the late Sergeant Major Harry Baldock who was a New Zealand Army World War II military unarmed combat chief instructor.
Military unarmed combat instructors in wartime have often been recruited from Civi Street if they had unarmed combat tradecraft expertise and their military careers have been in training roles preparing soldiers for war.
Alf was awarded the order of the British Empire medal (BEM) for sport and community 1 January 1972 and the following WWII medals, the military service medal and defence medal 1929-1945.
Some of his favourite bag of dirty tricks and sayings included “get in first”, “get him” or “already got him”, he liked to grab hold of his foe taking away their ability to effectively punch and putting him in range to head butt, heel stomp or knee kick. In minor struggles he liked hard fingers to soft targets which took care of business very effectively.
Other close quarters sayings of Alf Senior include “kill him or he will kill you” and “never give a mug a break”.
He was known as Dirty Vockler and the Little Giant, standing 5’7” and weighing in at 17 stone.
He was very strong, compact and fighting fit with a hands on practical mindset.
Alf junior started training with his father from a very young age and this training included lifting weights, boxing and wrestling and Alf senior would have Alf junior partaking in early exhibition matches before he wrestled at various clubs.
His influence must have rubbed off on Alf junior from a young age as he joined the armed forces at 16 by means of a forged birth certificate and being less than 19 years of age he could not serve overseas.
Alf junior after joining the Army met several officers and NCO’s that had been trained by his father and they all said he was a tough instructor.
One of Alf seniors Army unarmed combat mates WO1 Des Green who was also a professional wrestler and was still in the Army when Alf junior enlisted.
Alf junior was posted to RAE (Royal Australian Engineers) as a sapper in October 1953 then transferred to the RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) Infantry January 1955.
He trained to deploy to Korea but that changed in April 1955 when they were to join the 2 battalions to go to Malaya.
He trained at Canungra Qld and sailed for Malaya 8 October 1957 on active service for 2 years and 24 days, returning to Sydney 1 November 1959.
He transferred back to the 17th construction squadron and also served in 1st Australian water transport group Sydney until his discharge at the rank of acting Sergeant after 6 years’ service on 2 July 1959.
Alf Seniors unarmed combat was all based on European military battlefield armed and unarmed combat and his combat sports wrestling and boxing.
Like Harry Baldock he learnt how to develop tactics and skills and after being unarmed combat instructor trained and qualified in the army he went on to develop his own skills and military unarmed combat training package.
He started professional wrestling not long before WWII and on his discharge in 1945 recommenced his professional wrestling career which he continued for 25 years.
Alf joined the Bondi surf lifesaving club as a junior in 1933 and rose up to the status of being a life member of not only the Bondi SLSC but also a life member of the Royal Life Saving Association.
He was a beach inspector both before WWII and after his discharge in 1945. His interest in military unarmed combat and military self-defence never waned and he kept his skills up training civilians and in 1972 volunteered to train the army provost company putting soldiers again through their physical fitness and close combat training paces.
He leased Watsons Bay Baths in 1948 from the Woollahra Council which he operated until 1970.
He trained a group of his young wrestlers there in the weekends and one of his favourite conditioning activities was like mobile wrestling with two a side over a 6 foot net with a 10lb med ball.
He established the biggest swimming teaching and coaching establishment of his era and went onto teach at other pools including Bondi, Bronte, Nelsons Park, Redfern Pool and at private pools in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney.
He established a troop of young professional wrestlers who used to train with him at Watsons Bay Baths after his retirement.
Alf senior also trained rugby league clubs in Newtown and North Sydney and his expertise was tapped by the Eastern suburbs rugby league club where he taught them scrum wrestling and conditioning training for their necks and footy fitness.
His unarmed combat training was influenced by his wrestling, a most ancient European combat sport with its origins linked to ancient European military close combat. He combined combat sports wrestling and boxing principles with the training he had received on his army training unarmed combat courses at Frankston Victoria prior to his posting as a Sergeant at various camps.
He trained regular force soldiers, commandos and other units prior to their overseas deployments.
He would tell Alf junior how he would go to the dock and see commandos off that he had trained in unarmed combat and then head to the pub as they left port for war.
He would tell Alf junior of the training of the commandos assisted by his cousin Goff Vockler who was also an army unarmed combat instructor and top swimmer that won the Australian national championships title for the 200 yards in 1934.
Alf and Goff would often give military armed and unarmed combat demonstrations with live blades and heavy hands and hard boots to the military.
Alf senior, just like Blue Curran, was not trained in traditional martial arts but was a product of European military armed and unarmed combat foul and deadly skills for the battlefield.
Like Blue and the late Harry Baldock, Alf was a developer of his skills and own close combat and self-defence systems.
These skills were based on kill or die deadly close combat arming soldiers with terminal battlefield capabilities.
Military Master-Chief instructors primarily have always been the developers of tactics and skills to combat enemy fighting arts by such means of foul and deadly military armed and unarmed combat.
They did not promote taking the enemy on as their duty was to instruct soldiers on how to take the enemy out by best of battle proven human disposal military trade craft practices.
Like all military trained and qualified close combat expert instructors of his era, Alf was skilled at all aspects of the military armed and unarmed combat trade craft.
He was skilled with a dagger in combat including the disarming of a dagger under actions on.
Like Harry Baldock, Alf’s high level wrestling expertise and boxing provided them with primary foundations in stability and expedient action movement and on the deck in rock solid basic principles and practices for ground combat.
It also provided them with inoculation against the effects of close quarters contact pain and pressure and how to endure and overcome the effects of close quarters contact crushing, squeezing and pressure.
Alf senior was considered an author of the book of dirty tricks and put his expertise to good use on many occasions at pubs or on the street when mugs had a go at him.
Alf junior related one such occasion where Alf senior and him were leaving the Royal hotel Bondi and two mugs got into a bit of an argument with his dad and followed him and his father up a lane opposite the hotel where they had parked their car.
Alf senior warned these mugs that he was a trained professional and that they needed to think carefully but they were after a fight.
Alf junior knew this was going to be a street fight and father and son gave these mugs a lesson in street fighting beating them with Alf junior breaking his hand in the process.
Blue Curran told me that Alf was as solid as they come and could hold his footing against the biggest lumps and then introduce them to his bag of dirty tricks.
Blue was a military unarmed combat lifer after learning his military unarmed combat from Alf and said it never let him down.
He said the unarmed combat training Alf gave to the commandos was somewhat different to what he had learnt on his regular army unarmed combat course as it included a lot more dirty tricks and specialist roles and duties deadly stuff and less wrestling boxing and basic unarmed combat orientated.
Here are some of the comments Blue conveyed about his unarmed combat training from Alf.
I asked Blue what was Alf like and his quick response was like “the same height and weight as you Tanky-Baby”.
Well I now know from the information provided by Alf junior that his father and I were of the similar stature.
Blue, like Alf, had a great sense of humour and both Johnny Whipp and I got the -Baby after our names. Major John Whipp a former Australian Army commander of unarmed combat who underwent his unarmed combat instructor training under Blue was Johnny-Baby and I was Tanky-Baby and that was that.
Alf and Blue were as Col Applegate would put it definitely not of the “flowing robe brigade” types.
Another former British Army PTI and unarmed combat instructor who also served with the Australian Army the late Robbie Robinson was also a swimming coach like Alf senior.
Blue went on to say Alf’s unarmed combat was like yours and mine, meant for killing not playing games.
He said Alf was very fit and strong with the speed of a boxer and the strength and power of a heavyweight wrestler.
He said although Alf was immensely fit and powerful he never promoted fighting as in the marquis of Queensbury in combat, it was all kill or get killed and it was all by foul or deadly means that required the least effort but done the most damage.
A finger here or a thumb there and you can move even the biggest lumps and you would be amazed at the immediate weight drop when you use hard fingers or thumbs on soft targets and orifices.
Head kicks were for when the enemy was on the deck and all other kicks were with the toe of the boot or the sole or heel of the boot to the lower leg instep groin or head or neck of a downed enemy.
Kneeing, toe of boot or sole or heel of boot stamp kicks get the job done and stop them getting away or even getting up.
Chin jabs and edge of hand strikes to life support systems were primary options as well as improvised weapons and the rifle and bayonet were just some of the skills included in the military armed and unarmed combat training package of Alf Vockler.
Blue told me that Alf’s skills were made even more effective by seizing and securing the enemy and using opposing forces to destroy bodily targets including extremities and went onto say when they can’t get away and you pull them into the contact impact the result is more guaranteed and much more destructive.
Blue said while Alf could pick up and aeroplane spin and unceremoniously dump even the biggest lumps when it came down to kill or get killed for the battlefield no chances were taken and no mercy given.
Blue said Alf installed in him the proven knowledge and confidence to know he could stop enemy combatants in their tracks quickly and quietly and when you have such life taking capabilities they simply don’t date as the human anatomy stays the same in regard to vulnerabilities.
Both Blue and Alf were very proud of their Commando connections and their military unarmed combat.
I never got the chance to finish this article while Blue was still alive but I am thankful that he gave me so much information and showed me Alf Volcker’s skills.
I am thankful to have connected with Alf Vockler junior and to be able to write this article with the inclusion of some of the words used by his father and accounts of the hard case and tough nut he really was.
