Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Leslie James (“Les”) BELL
WX3823

Les Bell was born on 13th April 1915 in the small timber town of Wellington Mill, a locality in the Ferguson River Valley, in the greater Bunbury Sub-Region of Southwest Western Australia.
•
In 1896 the Canning Jarrah Timber Company established a timber mill and town at
Wellington Mill, which at that time was the largest private timber town in Western
Australia. The timber mills closed in 1929 and a fire destroyed most of the town in
1950.
Les was the 3rd of the four children of William Bell [1880-1941] and his wife Mary Janet Bell
(nee Loxton: 1885-1965). Les was named after his Uncle Leslie James BELL [born in Moama
NSW in 1891 – who had joined the 1st Battalion AIF and was wounded in action at Lone Pine,
Gallipoli and subsequently died of those wounds in September 1915). Both William and Mary
had been born in the Eastern States (Manning River NSW and Mt Cole Victoria respectively).
William was a timber faller and it appears William joined the extended Loxton Family (who
were also timber workers) in the move to the Southwest of Western Australia.
In the years that followed, Les and his family would live and work in a number of timber towns
in the area including Jarrahdale, North Dandalup, Donnybrook, Dwellingup and Banksiadale,
Education and employment opportunities were very limited so Les naturally followed the family
tradition of working in the timber industry – in 1936 the Census records his occupation as “Mill
Hand”.
To illustrate what a completely different World it was in the period leading up to World War II
– Les’ future wife would later recall:
• Keeping a family cow to provide milk
• Horses being the only means of transport
• Getting by with no electricity, and the use of kerosene lamps
• Listening to a radio for the 1st time around 1927 (dreadful static...)
• Her parents buying their 1st car around 1930
• The Great Depression – with salaries slashed, everyone ‘hard up’ and SUSO men
(those undertaking sustenance work on road repairs)
• ‘making do’
• Attending silent movie shows, only when money permitted
• Weekly bath time, when girls had the first call and the boys reused the water
• Freezing winters with little/no heating
Life was no doubt also very hard in the forest country, so it’s no surprise that WWII may have
been seen as providing Les with an exciting opportunity to escape that life.
At the time of his enlistment to the 7th Division on 1 June 1940, Les’s occupation was recorded
as ‘Labourer’. He was an original member of the 2/16th Battalion and served in the Battalion
from 17 June 1940 until his discharge on 17 October 1945. In typical Aussie and Army
tradition, his mates bestowed two nicknames upon him - “Jew Boy” [due to his large nose, and
clearly in the days well before Political Correctness] and “Rex” [at that time there was an
American actor in Western Movies by the name of Rex Bell]. Les was almost universally called
“Rex” post his Army days.
Les’ operational service comprised:
• Middle East: 25/10/1940 - 18/3/1942
• New Guinea: 6/8/1942-16/1/1943; 2/8/1943-20/2/1944; 2/6/1945-3/7/1945
Syria
On 25 October 1940, 2/16 Battalion joined the 2/14 Battalion (a Victorian Unit) on board the
HMAT Aquitania at Fremantle for transport to Bombay, where they joined a far less luxurious
transport “Rajula” to El Kantara, Egypt. Thereafter they were entrained for Al Majdal in
Palestine (but now part of Askelon in Israel) and subsequently to Alexandria and Mersa Matruh
in Egypt.
Les Bell was a member of B Section, Don Company of the 2/16th (December 2018 Edition of
Pigeon Post has a great photo of 9 members of this Section taken in Jerusalem in April 1941
(one member is missing).
While The Syrian Campaign had not been planned as a major operation – and is now
something of a forgotten Campaign - it involved the 21st and 25th Australian Infantry Brigades
(2/16th Battalion was part of the 21st Brigade).
The advance to Tyre started at 2000hrs on 7th June 1941 and quickly moved into the Battle of
Litani River - a very trying experience as the Vichy French were up for a fight and had had
months preparing their defences (2/16th believed that had the roles been reversed, the French
would never have been able to cross the river).
The Battalion moved forward in motorised transport on 12th June for the attack on Sidon which
commenced on the following day – a day that would always be remembered as Black Friday.
It was during this action that Les was shot in his right knee (fortunately with no long-term
consequences). He told of having his leg put in a plaster cast together with some maggots
whose job was to eat the dead tissue in order to prevent gangrene - apparently they were very
fat indeed when the cast was removed. After convalescence, Les re-joined the Battalion on
25/11/1941.
2/16th Battalion’s battle casualties for the Syrian Campaign totalled 22 Officers and 245 Other
Ranks – the most of any Australian unit.
The Battalion undertook garrison duties from the ceasefire with the Vichy French on 11 July
1941 until their return to Australia.
Prime Minister Curtin stood up to Winston Churchill and insisted that the 7th Division, and other
Australian Units return from the Middle East to address the clear threat Japan posed to
Australia.
The Battalion joined the French luxury liner “Il de France” at Suez on 29 January 1942, and
were transhipped at Bombay onto a cramped, elderly hulk called “Kosciuszko”. It was clear
to all that they were headed to Java but were later diverted to Fremantle as a result of the
rapid advance of the Japanese. 2/16th Battalion had fought in Syria with 2/3rd Machine Gun
Battalion and had formed close bonds with those men. Sadly, the 2/3rd were shipped a day or
two in front of the 2/16th Battalion and were landed in Java but without their equipment which
was in the 2/16th convoy. Many of those men became POWs and suffered and died on the
Burma Railway.
“Kosciuszko” berthed in Fremantle on 16 March 1942, and when it sailed again for Adelaide
on 18th March some 350 members of the Battalion were Absent-Without-Leave (AWOL). Les
was one of those AWOL, having reported back for duty on 24th March. While acknowledged
in retrospect as “a poor show’, it was fortuitously for Les as he met his future wife during this
AWOL period as he had joined his mates from the “Goldfields Mob” in going back to Kalgoorlie.
The extended sea voyages to & from the Middle East must have been very unpleasant for
Les, as he suffered from chronic sea sickness.

New Guinea: Kokoda Track
On 29 July 1942 Les was given the Trade Grouping “Carpenter” and a salary increase –
resulting in his (assumed) move from Don Company to Headquarters Company.
The 2/14th, 2/16th and 2/27th Battalions were urgently sent to New Guinea where, superbly led
by (then) Major Potts, they were primarily responsible for halting the Japanese advance over
the Kokoda Track along with the remnants of the 39th and 53rd Battalions who had fought a
series of very lopsided battles since 23rd July (the Japanese had fielded 5 infantry battalions;
a mountain gun battalion, and 2 units of engineers against the “Chocos”).
After training in Queensland, the Battalion embarked on 6 August 1942 onto the “James
Wilson” in Brisbane and disembarked at Port Moresby on 12 August 1942. On 17th August
1942 the 2/16th Battalion – 600 men strong - commenced their climb of the Owen Stanley
Range along the Kokoda Track (the 2/14th had left the previous day). Les always said he
walked the Track 3 times in the course of 1942 – not too bad for a bloke that had been shot in
the knee. First contact was made by 2/16th with the enemy on 29th August 1942, with 21st
Brigade fighting a series of battles and withdrawing until the Japanese were fought to a
standstill at Imita Ridge on 16th September 1942 (some of the notable actions included Battle
for Brigade (Butcher’s) Hill; and the Battle for Ioribawa). Les said that, during the withdrawal,
the 2/16th fought like hell during the daytime and retreated during each night to the next point
of resistance, where they would dig in for the following day’s fight. It was during this period
he developed an abiding hatred of the Japanese – one that he would carry until his passing
some 36 years later (Les recounted one experience when a Bren Gun jammed during a fierce
fight and after his mates had pushed the enemy back to recover the Gunner, they discovered
he had been bayonetted 18 times presumably once by every Japanese soldier who had
passed his body which was lying next to the track (none of those wounds were intended to kill
immediately – just cause pain).
New Guinea: “Charforce”
On 16th September 1942, the remnants of 2/16th and 2/14th (consisting of 142 and 101 men
respectively) handed over to 2/25th Battalion and moved back to Uberi as reserves until 26
September 1942 when they were relieved by the 36th Battalion and moved to Koitaki. The
Australian advance chasing the retreating Japanese commenced on 27 September 1942.
For the survivors of the 21st Brigade, there was little time to rest as the strongest men were
selected (none were fully fit) to join ‘Charforce’, to harass the enemy’s lines of communications
in the Wairopi area. Les was in 5 Platoon, 5 Section under then WO Allan Haddy. They left
for Uberi on 11 October and walked the Track again arriving at Kokoda on 7 November 1942.
Along the way their task had changed to burying their mates and fatigue duties as the advance
in pursuit of the Japanese had proceeded much faster than expected.
New Guinea: Gona
At Kokoda on 7 November 1942, the composite ‘Charforce” was disbanded, and Les was
among the 2/16th soldiers who were attached to the 2/33rd Battalion and were tasked with
moving to the west of Gona River in order to attack the left flank of the enemy who was falling
back to his strongholds of Buna & Gona.
• Les, luckily, was not at Koitaki on 9 November 1942 to hear firsthand the disgraceful
address by General Blamey: ‘the rabbit that runs away...’
On 22 November 1942 the 45 2/16th men inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and
continued to fight until 16 December 1942 when they were put under the command of the 39th
Battalion. On 9 December 1942 Les was evacuated to hospital for Scrub Typhus treatment –
where he would remain until he re-joined the 2/16th Battalion on 1 January 1943. On 14
January 1943, the Battalion embarked at Port Moresby for a very well-deserved period of rest
& recuperation in Cairns
New Guinea: Markham & Ramu Valleys Campaigns
Les spend some 4 months hospitalised in the first half of 1943 – he was Taken On-Strength
again on 23 June 1943 and was back in Port Moresby on 5 August 1943 to participate in the
Markham Valley and Ramu Valley Campaigns – including at Shaggy Ridge. He was
hospitalised again on 9 October (Malaria) and 4 December (Scrub Typhus) - returning to his
Unit on 15 January 1944. He was hospitalised again for over 3 months in late 1944/early 1945
for various reasons including bacterial dysentery, appendicitis, and chronic tinea.
Moratai
8 June 1945 saw Les arrive with the 2/16th Battalion in Moratai to train and stage for the assault
on Balikpapan, Borneo – while the Battalion sailed for Borneo on 26 June 1945, Les remained
in Moratai until he was evacuated back to Australia on 3 July 1945 for treatment for Dermatitis
Mycosis – a chronic ailment for which he was ruled unfit for service outside Australia on 31
July 1945. Les Bell was subsequently discharged from the AIF on 17 October 1945.
Marriage:
Given a lot of the 2/16th men hailed from the Goldfields, and some 17 months absence from
Australia, it was no surprise his mates went AWOL from the ‘Kosciuszko’ at Fremantle and
headed back to Kalgoorlie to see friends and relatives. Les accompanied them and it was at
a dance in Kalgoorlie that he met a young school teacher – Eileen Mary Carmody (1916-2013)
- who was teaching at the Boulder Central School (her father was the Police Sergeant at
Boulder).
Les wrote to Eileen regularly from New Guinea and in 1945 they were married in Perth in St
Mary’s Catholic Cathedral after the war had ended [ they were actually married in the Vestry,
as mixed marriages – Les was Church of England – were frowned upon at that time]. There
was a small reception at a restaurant (paid for by their parents) and a crate of beer was sent
down from the Goldfields labelled at “cool drinks” - ironic as the beer was drunk at room
temperature (which is HOT in a Perth summer) as there was no means of refrigeration.
It also seems funny now, but Eileen said at that time ‘she didn’t know him very well, but he
had a fine character’. She later said that her family “thought the world of Les” - which was
high praise indeed as it came from the educated high achievers of the Carmody clan.
Les and Eileen were very happily married for 33 years, and parents to two children - William
(born 1951) and Philip (born 1954). Les & Eileen lived in a number of inner suburbs of Perth
- for much of that time Les was a lowly paid Meter Fixer with the State Electricity Commission
which meant Eileen’s teaching jobs was the major family income earner. The couple made
sacrifices to ensure their children “never missed out” - including providing a good education at
a private boys’ school, Trinity College.
Link to The Old Sixteenth
Eileen’s Grand Uncle (John Patrick “Jack” Hogan - her mother’s brother) had enlisted in the
‘Old 16th' Battalion on 8 October 1914. A Lance Corporal Scout, he landed at Gallipoli with the
Battalion on 25th April 1915 and was Killed In Action in the famous charge at Bloody Angle on
2 May 1915 [16th Battalion lost 8 Officers and 330 men of the 17 Officers and 620 men who
fought in that Charge, which is further immortalised in the Carlton United Breweries television
advertisement in the “Raise a Glass” Fundraising Appeal, involving the whistling of the tune
“It’s a long way to Tipperary” which is what the men of the 16th Battalion famously were singing
when they undertook the Charge].
Retirement and Stand-down
Les liked nothing better than to be at home with Eileen, although they did travel extensively in
Australia and had a few trips overseas. He enjoyed family life as much with Eileen’s Carmody
relatives as his own. He was a great Football fan and shockingly biased towards his team,
Perth (and his since disgraced idol, Barry Cable). Les enjoyed gardening and would chat to
any and everyone.
Leslie James Bell WX3823 had very limited time to enjoy his retirement, as he died at the
family home in Inglewood, Perth on 2nd November 1978, at the age of 63 years. Eileen was
very lonely after Les’ death, but she did take great delight in her two grandchildren – Andrew
(born in 1984) and Sarah (born in 1990). What a great shame Les never saw his grandkids
too as he was wonderful with little kids.
Eileen was forever grateful for the sterling efforts of the 2/16th Battalion Association who fought
a lengthy battle on behalf of their members who had died prematurely due to the effects of
their war service (particularly Scrub Typhus which apparently had a high initial mortality rate
and caused heart disease years later).
• In addition to the gunshot wound suffered in action in Syria and treatment for scrub
typhus in New Guinea, Les was hospitalised numerous and lengthy times during his
army service including for (a) malaria; (b) dysentery; and (c) chronic dermatitis.
Thanks to those efforts, Eileen was granted a War Widows Pension In 1982.
Les’ widow, Eileen Bell (nee Carmody), died peacefully in Perth on 30th March 2013 aged 96
years. Eileen’s earthly remains were buried together with Les’ at Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth.
Les & Eileen were “salt of the earth” whose lives left the world in a better place. Despite the
years since their passing they continue to be much missed.
Written on behalf of his family by son Phil Bell.