OTWAY, John Percival
| Service Number: | W38585 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 August 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Beverley, Western Australia, 4 December 1914 |
| Home Town: | Mount Palmer, Yilgarn, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 6 December 2009, aged 95 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Boulder Cemetery, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 7 Aug 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W38585 | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Nov 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, W38585, 7 Army Troop Coy | |
| Date unknown: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W38585 |
Help us honour John Percival Otway's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Born in Beverley, WA Jack was the second of six children of Ernest (Ernie) Alexander Otway (b1889 in Beverley WA) and his first wife Elizabeth Mary Tasker (b1889 in Cherton, Victoria). Ernie (a Farm Hand in Beverley WA) and Elizabeth - who had moved to Kalgoorlie WA in the late 1890s with her parents and siblings - married in Perth WA in 1911. The couple settled in Beverley WA where Ernie worked as a Farm Hand until Elizabeth's death in 1925. Ernie then worked as a Dingo Trapper in Youanmi WA and was a Labourer in Perth in 1936 when he remarried.
Jack was working as a Miner at Mt Palmer in Yilgarn, WA when he enlisted in the ACMF in August 1941. He served (Private,Sapper; Service No:W38585) and was attached to 7 Army Troop Coy in November 1942 when he transferred to Essential Services Work - Munitions. Four of Jack's brothers - James, Robin, Frederick and Charles - also served in WWII.
In 1943 Jack was working as a Machinist in Perth WA, where in 1945 he married Lerline Joyce Smoker (b1918 in Mt Barker, South Australia). Jack and Lerline lived in Armadale and Northam where Jack worked as a Labourer and Contractor before moving to Marvel Loch in Yilgarn, Kalgoorlie in the late 1950s. Jack worked as a Miner/Prospector and wrote his autobiography (Jack Otway - My Autobiography). Jack died in 2009.
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