OLCORN, Ronald Joseph
| Service Numbers: | V45565, VX63312 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 March 1941, All 'Eligible Males' were drafted initially into the Militia, identified by their Service Number with a prefix letter indicating the state of enlistment. Many men subsequently 'transferred' to the Second AIF, the RAAF or RAN. Army administratively discharged the men from the Militia and re-enlisted them in their 'new' service. Second AIF enlistees have an 'X' in their service number. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia, 12 May 1920 |
| Home Town: | Rutherglen, Indigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Rutherglen Higher Elementary School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 December 1982, aged 62 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne The Victorian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 23 Mar 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V45565, 58/59 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF, All 'Eligible Males' were drafted initially into the Militia, identified by their Service Number with a prefix letter indicating the state of enlistment. Many men subsequently 'transferred' to the Second AIF, the RAAF or RAN. Army administratively discharged the men from the Militia and re-enlisted them in their 'new' service. Second AIF enlistees have an 'X' in their service number. | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX63312 | |
| 10 Sep 1941: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V45565, 58/59 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 1 Nov 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX63312, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked Sydney for Middle East | |
| 2 Apr 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX63312, embarked Middle East for Adelaide | |
| 12 Jun 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX63312 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Ronald Joseph Olcorn (Service Nos:V45565/VX63312) initially served in the Militia (Service No:320826) as a Private with 59th Battalion (7 January 1939 - 19 September 1939). He enlisted in the ACMF at Mt Martha on 23 March 1941, transferring to the AIF on 10 September 1941. Private Olcorn was attached to 4th and 2nd Training Battalions, and was attached to 2/8 Battalion on 1 November 1941 when he embarked from Sydney with his Unit for service in the Middle East. Returning from the Middle East on 2 April 1944, Private Olcorn served with 118 General Transport Coy and was attached to AIF Movement and Transportation Group at Discharge on 12 June 1945. Brother Glen also served in WWII.
Ron was born in Rutherglen, Victoria in 1920, third of five children of Joseph Stewart Olcorn (b1886 in Rutherglen, Victoria) and his first wife Margaret Isabel McAliece (b1896 in Rutherglen, Victoria). Joseph worked as a Blacksmith's Apprentice and Labourer and in 1913, he and Margaret married in Rutherglen, where they settled and raised their family and Joseph worked as a Labourer. Joseph served briefly in the AIF in WWI (enlisting in Wagga Wagga NSW in 1917 (Trooper; Service No:2956; Camel Corps) and in 1918 at Tomerong, Vic - he was Discharged on both occasions as Unfit for Military Service (Trachoma). Following their Divorce, Joseph remarried; Margaret moved to Melbourne.
Ron was working in Rutherglen as a Labourer in 1938 when he married Mary Lillian De Piazza (b1921 in Melbourne, Victoria). The couple lived in Rutherglen and Chiltern, where Ron worked as a Labourer before he enlisted in the Army. During the War, Mary lived in Melbourne, where she was a Munitions Worker. Following his Discharge, Ron and Mary settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Ron was a Carpenter. In the mid 1970s, Ron remarried to Audrey Frances Vinen (nee Suares; b1926 at Beerburrum, QLD). Ron died in 1982 and Audrey in 2006.
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