In the early 1930s Russell Oakes was a member of the Free-Lance Club, Sydney, which hosted a reading of his play 'As Between Gentlemen', 18 August 1931. Oakes was a member of the permanent army (Field Ambulance) and was stationed in Western Australia when the Second World War began. He returned to the eastern states and spent some time as an army instructor before going to New Guinea on active service. He wrote verse, short stories and plays for radio and stage.
