ROCHE, Robert Francis
| Service Number: | VX47024 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Creswick, Victoria, Australia, 9 April 1910 |
| Home Town: | Maryborough, Central Goldfields, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tailor |
| Died: | Maryborough, Victoria, Australia, 29 May 1976, aged 66 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Maryborough Cemetery, Fraser Coast, Queensland |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Apr 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, embarked Sydney for Middle East | |
| 21 Jan 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, embarked Middle East for Melbourne | |
| 1 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, embarked Cairns for Milne Bay on board the Manoora | |
| 10 Nov 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, embarked Finschafen for Brisbane on board HMAS Anhui | |
| 7 Mar 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, embarked Townsville for Morotai en route for service at Tarakan | |
| 26 Oct 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion, Embarked Tarakan en route for Melbourne on board River Murrumbidgee then Duntroon | |
| 27 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX47024, 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Robert Francis Roche (Service No:VX47024) enlisted in the AIF on 30 July 1940, and was attached to 2/23rd Infantry Battalion on 8 April 1941 when he embarked with his Unit from Sydney for service in the Middle East, where he was engaged in the Seige of Tobruk (Honour Roll - The Rats of Tobruk Association: 'for a soldier to be recognised as a Rat of Tobruk by this Association, there needs to be evidence that he served at Tobruk during the Seige' - 10 April 1941 - 7 December 1941). Private Roche served in New Guinea (1 August 1943 - 10 December 1944) and Borneo (Tarakan and Morotai; 7 March 1945 - 26 October 1945), and was attached to 2/23 Battalion at Discharge on 27 November 1945. Private Roche was eldest of four siblings (Andrew, John and James) who served in WWII.
Born in Creswick, Victoria in 1910, Bob was second of seven children of Robert Gubbins Roche (b1877 in Yankandandah, Victoria) and Alice Mongan (b1883 in Yackandandah, Victoria). Robert worked as a Sluicer and Miner at Osborne's Flat and Allan's Flat, and in 1906 he and Alice married at Osborne's Flat via Yackandandah. Robert and Alice settled in the Laancoorie Region - Creswick and Maryborough - where they raised their family and Robert was a Miner before becoming a Railways Employee in 1912.
Apart from his years in the AIF, Bob lived in Maryborough, Victoria, where he was a Tailor until his death in 1976.
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