From the Western Front to Afghanistan: The Tyson family’s century-long military legacy

They served on the Western Front, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and are ready to defend Australia again. Here’s how the Tyson family will honour the fallen on Anzac Day.

They served on the Western Front, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and are ready to defend Australia again.

The Tyson family is one of Australia’s most military dynasties.

They have more than a century of service, with four generations serving in the Australian Defence Forces, and they will honour the fallen this Anzac Day.

William “Smokey” Tyson signed up as a 16-year-old in 1916, lying about his age. He was gassed and shot in the chest on the Western Front but survived.

His grandson, Paul “Tich” Tyson, now 74, signed up as a 19-year-old to serve in Vietnam in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps.

Darrin Tyson in a Black Hawk helicopter over Afghanistan in 2017. Picture: Supplied

William ”Smokey” Tyson before he went to Europe in 1916. Picture: Supplied

Paul’s son Darrin, 49, served in the Royal Australian Regiment for 25 years before transitioning to a part time role, where he is currently serving as a Commanding Officer,

while now also working for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

He served in East Timor and did a tour in Iraq and two stints in Afghanistan. Now his two sons – Liam, 23, and Kallum, 21 – have also joined up.

Kallum, who is currently 10 weeks into basic training at Kapooka in regional New South Wales, said he was proud to follow in his family’s footsteps.

“I saw the life that the army has given my grandfather, dad and brother so I wanted to continue the tradition,” he said.

Kallum Tyson, 21, on the day of his enlistment in the Australian Army in February 2025.

Paul “Tich” Tyson on Vung Tau Beach during the Vietnam War.

Liam, who is with the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, said he had always wanted to join the army “as a kid”.

“I saw the army as an opportunity to grow, enjoy the mateship and the unique work that serving in the military brings every day,” he said.

Darrin’s sons grew up in the military, moving around Australia every couple of years as he was transferred to new roles as he rose through the ranks.

He had done the same when Paul moved around as part of his work in the Royal Australian Corps of Transport, where he served for 32 years.

“Every second Christmas was like a holiday in a new part of Australia,” Darrin said.

He took his own family to Louisiana for a 13-month secondment with the United States Army in 2019, arriving in the dead of winter from an Adelaide summer.

“Our first day there we hit a cold blizzard; we certainly weren’t equipped to deal with snow,” he said.

Darrin Tyson with Iraqi troops he was helping to train, as well as providing force protection for the Japanese forces there.

Darrin said he was “proud of our boys” for joining the army, as he was for anyone who joined the defence forces.

Paul, whose nickname Tich means small, looked barely a teenager in a photograph taken on Vung Tau beach in Vietnam.

He was one of 50,000 Australians who served in that conflict. The former Warrant Officer Class Two, who was also deployed to Germany to help tear down the Berlin Wall and dump it into the North Sea in 1992, will be marching in the Anzac Day parade in Adelaide with his service medals.

Paul, for his service in supporting veterans, was awarded an Order of Australia Medal and continues this day working as volunteer.

Darrin Tyson and Paul “Tich” Tyson wearing their service medals on Anzac Day 2024. Picture: Supplied

He said he grew up hearing stories about how William survived, and his own father just missed out on the army because he was too young to serve in World War II.

Paul will attend The Dawn Service in Glenelg, Adelaide, and then head into town to meet members of his unit.

“It’s a special time for our family,” he said.

Originally published as From the Western Front to Afghanistan: The Tyson family’s century-long military legacy