DOWNING, Bertram Cyril
| Service Numbers: | 3378, W18782 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 October 1913 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, 1 January 1893 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Hairdresser |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 24 November 1952, aged 59 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Oct 1913: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, 3378 | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Aug 1919: | Discharged Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, 3378 | |
| 9 Jan 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, W18782 | |
| 26 Jul 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, W18782 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lance Sergeant Bertram Cyril Downing (Service No:W18782) enlisted in the ACMF on 9 January 1942 and was a Sergeant attached to Western Command Headquarters (WC HQ). Promoted to Lance Sergeant on 23 February 1942, he was atatched to Western Command Canteen Services at Discharge on 26 July 1943 (Medically Unfit - Paget's Disease).
Bert served in the RAN (Able Seaman; Service No:3378) from 4 October 1913 to 28 July 1919. Ordinary Seaman Downing served on HMAS Cerberus, and on HMAS Melbourne in German New Guinea (the Melbourne was not involved in naval engagements or battles in WWI) and was Demobilised on 28 July 1919.
Born in 1893 in Collingwood, Victoria (Bertie Cyril Sydney) to William Downing (a Boot Operator) and Elizabeth Noble, Bert was a Hairdresser in Perth, WA by 1913. Following his Discharge from the RAN in 1919, Bert worked in Perth as a Hairdresser and in 1926 married Vera Eileen Moore (b1900 in Perth, WA) - Vera was a Tailoress. Bert and Vera settled in Perth where they raised their family and Bert worked as a Hairdresser until he enlisted in the ACMF in 1942. Following his Discharge in 1943 as Medically Unfit - Bert had been diagnosed with Paget's Disease (which causes bone pain, deformities (legs and spine) and fractures) - he worked as a Launch Driver and Bowser Attendant. Bert died in 1952 - according to newspaper reports (Trove; 1952) 'he had been treated for years for bone injuries to the legs and spine received in WWII and had been in pain for weeks before his body had been found hanging from a rafter at his home'. Vera moved to Melbourne, Victoria where she died in 1971.