DWYER, Ronald William
| Service Numbers: | VX6410, VX6410,, VX6410 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia, 1 March 1914 |
| Home Town: | Glenrowan, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Glenrowan Primary School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 30 March 1968, aged 54 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 20 Oct 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX6410, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, VX6410,, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked Melbourne for Kantara | |
| 31 Mar 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX6410, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked Alexandria for Greece | |
| 23 May 1941: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941 | |
| 4 Jul 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX6410, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Sydney | |
| 8 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX6410, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of six siblings who served in WWII, Corporal Ronald William Dwyer (Service No:VX6410) enlisted in the AIF on 20 October 1939 as a Private, and was a Lance Corporal attached to 2/8th Infantry Battalion on 14 April 1940 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for the Middle East. Promoted to Corporal on 21 December 1940, he embarked from Alexandria for Greece on 31 March 1941. Unofficially reported as a PoW of the Germans on 23 May 1941, he was confirmed a PoW (PoW No:24417) on 9 January 1942, and was held at Stalags VIIIb and 344. Recovered from the Germans on 23 April 1945, Corporal Dwyer embarked on 9 July 1945 from England for Sydney, and was attached to 2/8th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 8 September 1945.
Dick was born in Glenrowan via Wangaratta, Victoria in 1914. eighth of ten children of Thomas Dwyer (b1874 at King Parrot Creek via Flowerdale, Victoria) and Flora Gillies McLean (b1883 at Riddells Creek in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria). Thomas and Flora married in 1901 in Melbourne, and lived in Yea, Violet Town, Strath Creek, Glenrowan, Benalla and Wangaratta. Thomas was a Farmer, Saw Mill Owner, General Commission Agent and Wheat Buyer. He was Captain of the Glenrowan Rifle Club, a member of the Glenrowan Cricket Team, and served with 10th Light Horse Regiment.
Dick worked in Wangaratta as a Labourer, and following his Discharge from the Army, in 1948 in Perth, Western Australia married his first wife Phyllis Mary Miller (b1916 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia) - Phyllis served in the WAAAF (Service No:113413) in WWII. Dick and Phyllis lived in Melbourne, where Dick was Freezer Hand, before moving to Perth in the early 1950s. Dick worked as a Storeman in Perth and, following Phyllis' death in 1959, remarried in 1962 to Doris Pearl Symonds (nee Richards; b1910 in Coolgardie, Western Australia). Dick and Doris settled in Perth, where Dick was a Metal Buyer when he died in 1968. Doris died in 1995.
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