SHAVE, Lionel Kenneth
| Service Number: | 143721 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 November 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Mentone, VIC, 28 September 1916 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | 30 April 2009, aged 92 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Australian Capital Territory Garden of Remembrance |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant Colonel, 143721 | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant Colonel, 143721 |
A narrow escape
On the night of 6 April 1941 the Allies including the 9th Australian Division were retreating east past Derna as the Germans advanced in Libya. A convoy of the 9th Divisional H.Q. - including the office trucks of the Intelligence, Operations and Cipher sections, complete with files, codes and records - was challenged by a German who shoved a tommy gun into the face of the leading driver. The German rapped out an order but the unruffled Digger said, “I don’t get yer lingo mate, go round the other side and talk to the boss”. The German did. He ordered the officer from the front seat and the other passengers from the back of the truck. They all got out except one – Lieutenant L.K. Shave [Intelligence Officer, Headquarters, 9 Australian Division]. He lay doggo until the German moved to the next truck. Then Shave followed him, shot him, rallied the party, and drove off into the night.’
‘It had been a daring piece of bluff on the German’s part, for the man with the tommy gun had held up the convoy alone.’
Source: Wilmot, Chester, Desert Siege, Penguin Books, 2003 (orig 1941), p78
Submitted 5 April 2022 by Paul Wiebusch
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