MORRISSEY, Albert John
| Service Number: | WX3303 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 May 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 18 September 1905 |
| Home Town: | Picton Junction, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 4 February 1970, aged 64 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Crematorium Rose Garden, V/45, aged 68 |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 28 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3303 | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Jul 1941: | Wounded 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, GSW abdomen; discharged from hospital 11 Sep 1941 | |
| 30 Sep 1942: | Imprisoned El Alamein, missing in action from 27 Jul 1942; interned Benghasi, Greece, Bari, Udine (57) and Barroona (106); escaped Sep 1943; returned to Australia via UK Nov 1944 | |
| 14 Apr 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3303 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Albert was the eldest child of John and Althea of Picton Junction, WA. He had five younger siblings. Two of his four brothers also served in WWII.
Albert joined the 18th Light Horse as a trainee in Jul 1922, aged 20, giving his date of birth as 18 Oct 1901. This matches the year of his birth registration (Perth, reg. 1901/4526).
When enlisting for WWII in Bunbury in May 1940, he gave his date of birth as 18 Sep 1905 and stated he was 35, possibly to stay within the upper age limit (increased from 35 to 40 at some point in 1940).
Albert had married Florence Margaret O'SHAUGHNESSY 1928-29 (reg. 1929/1 East Murchison). She divorced him in Nov 1940 on the grounds of desertion - Albert had been at the depot in Northam since July 1940.
Albert arrived in the Middle East in Feb 1941. His Battalion was captured at Ruin Ridge, El Alamein. He was a POW 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.
Albert was one of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident. He was held at several internment camps. He described the behaviour of camp staffs as childish.
In Sep 1943, he escaped the internment camp and went on foot to Switzerland. He obtained old civilian clothes and food from various farms. An Italian guide assisted him along with a group of about 20 escaped POWs, who gave the guide all the money they had (about 1000 lire).
Albert was returned to Australia in Nov 1944. In the five-year period between 1950 and 1955, Albert's mother, father, and only sister died. Albert died in 1970 in his 69th year. All four of his brothers lived into their 90s.