MORLEY, Edward Arthur William
| Service Number: | WX10462 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 December 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rivervale, Western Australia, 5 October 1916 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | sports repairer |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 8 October 1994, aged 78 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Anglican area, YC 431 |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 20 Dec 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX10462 | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 1941: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Sep 1942: | Imprisoned Middle East / Mediterranean Theatre, reported missing in action; interned at various POW camps; returned to UK Dec 1944; arrived in Australia Mar 1945 | |
| 11 Jul 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX10462 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Edward, known as Ted, was the youngest of five children born to Robert and Jessie. His parents and three eldest siblings had arrived in Fremantle WA from London in May 1913 aboard Demosthenes.
Ted enlisted in Dec 1940. He was captured on 22 Jul 1942 at El Alamein while on night patrol. He was on board the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio when it was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Ted was one of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident.
He stated he was held at several POW camps, including Benghazi, Suani, Capua, Gruppignano and Vercelli. On 12 Sep 1943, he left Vercelli with a fellow POW (McLEAN) and headed for the hills. They stayed with an Italian family in the village of Lillianes until Jan 1944. From there, they stayed in a small village in the mountains until Oct 1944. Ted was one of a group of 25 escapees who reached Allied forces in France in Nov 1944.
Ted's father Robert died in 1948, the same year Ted married Olive Doreen PITMAN in Perth (reg. 2775). Ted died in 1994 at age 78.