Rodney Bolam has never served in the Australian Military or Defence Forces. He even failed the call-up for National Service as he was rejected after attempting to volunteer . Undeterred by this state of affairs, Bolam decided to steal the identity of a genuine veteran and use this for his own purposes. Masquerading as a former SASR soldier and wearing fake medals including a Military Cross identical to the real veteran, he attempted to start a Special Air Service Association in Cairns, Far North Queensland. When confronted about the veracity of his claims and his claimed identity, true to form with imposters, he threatened legal action.

The accompanying newspaper articles tell the rest.

There is no need for expansion on the fine job done by the reporters in the accompanying articles. Read it all and judge this man for yourself. 

Be warned, Rodney Bolam may be residing in your area and still pulling the same caper. If so, CPMH would be interested in knowing his whereabouts so the authorities can be notified.

6th Oct 2012

Rodney Bolam has shown up in Goomeri Queensland, a small town in the Burnett region with a population of just under 500 people and a Returned Services League (RSL) Sub Branch to which Bolam had attached himself.  Here is a recent photograph taken at the Goomeri RSL.

We have now learned that Rodney Bolam has served in the Army, but under a different name.  He served as 2789041 Rodney Allan McAuley. He was enlisted as a National Serviceman on the 7^th Feb 1968 and after initial assessment became an Officer Cadet, which is a Commissioned Officer in training. He was unsuccessful as an Officer Candidate and was discharged from the Army on 9th Nov 1968. Here is his Discharge Certificate:

At some stage after his departure from the Military, Bolam changed his name from Rodney Allan McAuley to Rodney Allan Bolam.  He was caught lying about his military service in Cairns, Queensland and charged and convicted in Darwin, Northern Territory by Federal Police. Now he is committing the same offences in Goomeri Queensland.

In Goomeri he was the official flag raiser for the Goomeri RSL. As a member of the RSL he kept quiet about his false military exploits, but was quick to relate stories to any “out of towners” who would listen to him. On the 16 Jul 2012 he met a genuine veteran visiting Goomeri. That Veteran has provided a Statutory Declaration regarding the casual meeting. Here are excerpts from the Statutory Declaration.

“We were introduced to him as Rodney McAuley and he was told that I also was a Vietnam Veteran as was this person.  This chap was very engaging and I invited him to join us and we got to talk about our Vietnam experiences.

He said he volunteered for National Service rather than wait for his number to come up, (he said it actually did come up in anyway) and a couple of days after recruit training started he applied for officer training and he and another recruit were accepted.

He went to Scheyville and graduated as a 2^nd Lieutenant and went to Vietnam in C Company 2 RAR. He said he was there during the TET Offensive and also at Fire Support Base CORAL.

He said he retired in 1975 with the rank of Captain.

He also revealed he had only just got his TPI pension. He got caught between two mortars and that they were still digging shrapnel out of his back. He told me of the American hospital he was evacuated to  (not Vung Tau) but I can’t remember the name.

I, normally a strong skeptic, was thoroughly convinced, and produced my iPad with a few pictures including ones on my old unit’s xxxxxx xxxxxxx  web site.  This man knew all the military jargon and upon seeing a photo soon pointed out points of interest around Nui Dat. He also recognized photos of CORAL.  quite a few other fanciful stories told by him emerged.

I told him quite a few of my personal experiences of my service in Vietnam and no doubt if he goes onto another similar adventure in another town they will be added to his personal library of experiences and naturally I feel uncomfortable about this.  After decades of perfecting this technique he may very well surely succeed again”

Bolam did not graduate from training as a commissioned officer, but was discharged from the Army before he completed the Officer Training course.

He never served in Vietnam, never attained the rank of Captain, and was never wounded in action.  He is a liar a fraud and a wannabe and should be treated as such by all who meet him.

Bolam aka McAuley is an enemy of Veterans, do not allow him to continue stealing the honour of  Returned Servicemen and Women.

This is published in the public interest, particularly that of the Vietnam Veteran Community. All information presented here is fact and the truth. Reports from private citizens are supported by statements of fact and statutory declarations.