Yesterday I visited our local Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place as I remember seeing articles on the wall about some local men who served in WWII, but sadly the new staff were unable to find those articles for me. The Department of Veteran Affairs website has this excellent article A brief history of Indigenous Australians at War by John Moremon. It is the only one I have so far found which specifically mentions any soldiers who served in Singapore and Malaya. Here are some extracts..... Indigenous Australians have served in virtually every conflict and peace keeping mission in which Australia has participated since the start of last century – from the Boer War to East Timor, and most likely Afghanistan also...... Indigenous Australians were present in almost every Australian campaign of World War I. ..... Despite the disappointment of indigenous veterans after World War I, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders made a greater contribution to Australia’s defence in World War II. .... Some travelled long distances to enlist. For instance, Torres Strait Islanders Charles Mene, Ted Loban and Victor Blanco joined the militia at the start of the war in September 1939 and then transferred to the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service overseas. They travelled to Brisbane and were posted to the 1st Anti-Tank Regiment. Gunner Loban was badly wounded in Greece in 1941 and discharged the following year. After transferring to the infantry, Mene (2/33rd Battalion) and Blanco (2/31st) served right through the war – including on the Kokoda Track. Indigenous servicemen in regular the militia, AIF, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) received equal pay (almost unheard-of in civilian jobs), could expect promotion on merit, and forged friendships with white men. On the other hand, even in uniform some were refused service in pubs or endured racial taunts from other soldiers – usually men they did not serve closely with. War service was thus a mixed experience. Invariably, the decision to enlist cost more indigenous men their lives. Edward Nannup, a West Australian, enlisted in July 1941 and was reported missing in action, presumed killed, with the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion in Java in March 1942. Another West Australian, Herbert Mallard, was posted to the 2/11th Battalion and killed in action in New Guinea in May 1945; his brother, George, served in the 2/28th Battalion and survived the war. Thomas Gray, a stockman from Yalingup, Western Australia, was posted to the 2/16th Battalion but was killed in action in Syria in June 1941. Harry Saunders, a Victorian and son of an Aboriginal veteran, served in the 2/14th Battalion on the Kokoda Track but was killed at Gona, Papua, in November 1942. Harry Saunders’ brother, Reginald, became probably the best-known indigenous serviceman. Named after his uncle, William Reginald Rawlings MM (killed in action in 1918), Reg joined up in 1940. He served in the 2/7th Battalion in Libya, Greece, Crete – spending a year on the run after the Germans captured the island – and New Guinea. Having proved himself an exceptional junior leader, he was sent to an Officer Training Course and commissioned in November 1944 – the first indigenous military officer. He enlisted again in 1950 to serve in the Korean War. Captain Saunders led a company of 3 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in the Battle of Kapyong. Another remarkable man was Warrant Officer Leonard Waters, a Queenslander, who was the first indigenous Australian to earn his ‘wings’ as a pilot. During 1944-45, Waters served in 78 Squadron RAAF, flying Kittyhawk fighters in Dutch New Guinea, Morotai and Borneo, bombing and strafing Japanese positions. Appropriately, his Kittyhawk was named ‘Black Magic’. Other indigenous men and women enlisted but, along with thousands of other personnel, stayed in Australia. Dick Ball, a Queenslander, joined the RAN and was aboard the boomship HMAS Karangi in Darwin Harbour when the Japanese bombed Darwin on 19 February 1942. Leslie Yuke, from the same area, served in the 2/5th Armoured Regiment and transport units; his brother, Stanley, was in the Signal Corps overseas. Alex Taylor enlisted in the RAAF in Adelaide and served at Darwin as a flight rigger in 7 Repair and Servicing Unit and 20 Squadron, servicing Catalina flying-boats. In all, an estimated 3,000 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders served in the armed forces in World War II – many in specially raised indigenous units. .... The experience of troops in these indigenous units differed markedly from those serving in non-indigenous units. For instance, they were paid less than other troops (roughly half-pay) and, unless they served overseas, did not have access to many veterans’ benefits. It took four decades of passionate campaigning for anomalies to be rectified, for instance with the grant of back-pay..... Indigenous women also enlisted. Kathleen Ruska, of the Noonuccal people of Stradbroke Island, enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service – she later gained fame as the celebrated poet, Kath Walker, ultimately reverting to her indigenous name, Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Her cousin, Winnie Iselin, joined the Australian Medical Women’s Army Service. Both of Kathleen Ruska’s brothers enlisted, serving in the 2/26th Battalion, a Queensland unit that contained several Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. They fought in Malaya and Singapore but were captured when the British Empire garrison surrendered. The prisoners endured shocking slave labour conditions, and several indigenous men were among the many Australians who died in captivity. Private John Knox, 2/26th Battalion, died of illness in Changi in August 1942. Private George Cubby, 2/26th Battalion, died on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway, as did Private Cyril Brockman, a West Australian in the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion. Another Queenslander, Private Colin Ball, 8th Division Signals, died in Borneo on the Sandakan-Ranau death march in June 1945. Flight Sergeant Arnold Lockyer, a West Australian, was among the last Australians to die in the war. A flight engineer and air gunner in 24 Squadron RAAF, flying Liberator bombers, he was shot down in July 1945 over the Celebes Islands (in Indonesia). Lockyer parachuted from the burning bomber and along with another crewman was captured by the Japanese. Tragically, both men were executed on 21 August 1945, six days after the war ended. Three other members of the Lockyer family served – two overseas in the 2/24th Battalion – with Private Eric Lockyer killed in action at Tarakan in May 1945. A few indigenous Australians were decorated for bravery. One was Private Timothy Hughes, a South Australian who served in the 2/10th Battalion. A ‘Rat of Tobruk’, he later won the Military Medal for coolness and bravery under fire while attacking Japanese positions at Buna, Papua, and went on to serve in the New Guinea and Borneo campaigns. A New South Welshman, Trooper Clive Upright, 2/7th Commando Squadron, was awarded the Military Medal for his actions in attacking the village of Sauri, New Guinea, in May 1945; Upright stood up in full view of the enemy to better direct machine-gun fire onto an enemy position.... Indigenous Australians continue to serve in the regular and reserve forces. In northern Australia, three Regional Force Surveillance Units complement other units based there. The 51st Far North Queensland Regiment, the Pilbara Regiment in Western Australia, and the North West Mobile Force (Norforce) in north-east Western Australia and the Northern Territory contain many reservists and some regular troops drawn from indigenous communities as well as non-indigenous troops. These units effectively are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the northern land forces..... In 1994 an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Memorial was erected in a bushland setting behind the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, while inside displays relating to indigenous Australians have been upgraded and a very successful exhibition on indigenous Australians at war, ‘Too Dark for the Light Horse’, was organised and has toured the country. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has a campaign to identify indigenous members of the veteran community, with up to 7,000 indigenous veterans, war widows and dependents in the community. Lest we forget. Reference: dva.gov.au/BENEFITSANDSERVICES/IND/Pages/at_war.aspx
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 20:47:04 +0000
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