RICHARDSON, John Russell
| Service Numbers: | NX8689, 267704 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 October 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 1 May 1919 |
| Home Town: | Armidale, Armidale Dumaresq, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | The Armidale School (TAS), New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 15 March 1995, aged 75 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemeteries & Crematorium, New South Wales The New South Wales Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Oct 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 1, NX8689 | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , NX8689, 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion, Corporal - embarked Sydney for Kantara | |
| 31 Jan 1941: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, NX8689, 2nd/2nd Infantry Battalion, GSW | |
| 8 Mar 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 1, NX8689, embarked Middle East for Sydney HQ AIF (ME) | |
| 24 May 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 1, NX8689 | |
| 23 Feb 1944: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 267704 | |
| 13 May 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer | |
| 15 May 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 267704 | |
| Date unknown: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 267704 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Elder of two brothers (John and Robert) who served in WWII, Pilot Officer John Russell Richardson (Service Nos:NX8689/267704) initially served in the AIF, enlisting on 4 October 1939 as a Private. Promoted to Corporal, he was attached to 2/2 Infantry Battalion in the Middle East (7 March 1940 - 8 March 1943), where he was WiA (GSW) on 31 January 1941. Warrant Officer I Richardson was attached to AIF HQ (Middle East) at Discharge on 24 May 1943. He then enlisted in the RAAF in 1944, and was appointed to a commission on 13 May 1944. Pilot Officer Richardson's Appointment was Terminated on 15 May 1946.
John was born in Armidale, New South Wales in 1919, eldest of three children of Clifford Russell Richardson MC (b1890 in Armidale, New South Wales) and Ethel (Mollie) Mary Snape (b1899 in Armidale, New South Wales). Clifford served in the Militia and in the AIF in WWI (Major), and he and Mollie married in 1919 in Armidale, where they raised their family and Clifford was a Merchant/Storekeeper, and later Managing Director of the family firm J Richardson & Co. Clifford was involved in social, civic and charitable organisations in the District - including as a member of the Armidale City Council and as Deputy Mayor, as foundation President of the Armidale Rotary Club and in WWII served as Manpower Officer at Armidale.
John started work as a Clerk in the family firm (J Richardson & Co), and in 1943 in Sydney married his first wife Beryl Katherine Foll (b1918 in Brisbane, QLD) - Beryl was a Private (VAD/AAMWS; Service No:NX76515) and a Nurse at the Concorde Hospital. John and Beryl settled in Armidale, and following his Discharge from the RAAF, John was a Company Director (J Richardson & Co). The couple divorced in the early 1950s, and in Sydney in 1959 John remarried to Edith May Drabsch (b1910 in Glenn Innes, New South Wales) - Edith served in the Australian Army Nursing Service (Lieutenant; Service Nos:N270482/NX77230), and was a Nurse at the Armidale and New England Hospital. John was Company Director of J Richards & Co, and a member of the Retail Trade Advisory Committee, a Justice of the Peace and a member of the NEw England University Council. Edith died in 1988, and John died in 1995.
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