Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Oliver Melville (DARBY) French 8/5/1914-21/3/1998
Born at Cooloongoolook in 1914.
Parents-Henry French and Mary French (McClymont) Farmers and Graziers Darby was the youngest of 13 children.
Married Neva Rose Jahnsen 18/2/1936
2 children
Leo Melville
Marjorie Rose (Recently deceased)
Divorced 1938
Went to war —NX72218 8th div 2/13 battalion (Devils Brigade) Moved to Comboyne
Dad married a local girl, Daphne Clarice Handebo in 1944.Daphne was the daughter of the local builder Haro Handebo (Wife Anne) House opposite the club. Now gone. They had four boys
Errol George-Deceased-Tamworth Rodney Graeme-Deceased-Lauriton
Owen Wellesley Neville-Kempsey Maxwell Royce. -Mount Warren Park, QLD
.Dad returned after the war to move to Comboyne to work with his brother Percy in the timber mill (French 's Mill on Wingham rd.)
Percy built and lived in the house that is now the local police station. They built Darby 's house in River St. (Still there) where all four boys were born.
He used to fell the timber down in the scrub with other local identities and haul it to the mill with Bullock teams and later petrol Mack's that somehow arrived from the Americans in the War. (Darby used to teach the yanks how to drive in the jungles of Borneo during the war.)
Whilst working in the timber mill, Darby removed a rather large piece of timber out of one of the workers and earned the nickname "Doc " that also lasted until his death. Dad was also a butcher and used to slaughter beasts in the slaughter house that stood at Larry Hurrell’s for years.
Darby started one of the first transport companies on Comboyne and employed several of the locals including. From my memory Jim Fegan, Colin Latimore and Maurice Schubert. Later two of his sons, Errol and Rodney also drove for him. They used to transport all the calves and pigs to sale, had the trucks picking up the milk off the farms, Tippers during road building and repairs for the shires and the bulk milk run from the factory to the rail head at Wingham.
Darby and some of his mates rallied and got to work to build and establish the local Services and Citizens club. The original clubhouse stood where what is now the bowling green. After it was established, he transported all the beer and essentials for the club from Taree and Wingham for free for years. Darby was the inaugural president and stood unopposed for years until he stood aside for younger blood to have a go They built a new house and moved to the cnr Thone St and Showground Rd in about 1964..
One local lady said to me at his funeral, a lot of people on Comboyne owe a lot of thanks to Darby French.. Also said by the officiating minister at the funeral said Darby 's commanding officer said "if I had ten Darby's, in the unit, I wouldn’t 't need these other thousand blokes.