POTTER, Harold Rupert
| Service Number: | VX14288 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 May 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Dunmunkle, Victoria, 18 October 1899 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | butcher's labourer |
| Died: | Port Fairy, Victoria, 21 June 1972, aged 72 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Port Fairy Public Cemetery, Victoria, Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 7 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX14288 | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 1940: | Embarked 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion, from Melbourne on HMT S2; admitted to ship's hospital on day of embarkation, until 21 Sep 1940; disembarked 13 Oct 1940 Palestine | |
| 6 Aug 1941: | Imprisoned Middle East / Mediterranean Theatre, captured in Greece; interned Stalag 18; recovered POW safe in Allied hands 1 Jun 1945 | |
| 4 Jul 1945: | Embarked from UK; disembarked Sydney 8 Aug 1945; to Victoria for rehabilitation 6 Sep 1945; declared unfit for further military service (pulmonary fibrosis) | |
| 28 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX14288 |
Help us honour Harold Rupert Potter's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Harold was the eighth of 11 children born to Ephraim Edward POTTER and Mary Ellen MOORE of Minyip, Victoria. He had eight sisters and two brothers.
Harold enlisted in WWI at age 19, with his correct birthdate of 18 Oct 1899, occupation farmer (V81530). He did not see active service due to the AIF being demobilised soon after.
He married soon after to Lilias/Lillias Eveline COTTIER, known as Lelie or Lily (reg. 4584/1920). They had four children.
In 1940, Harold enlisted again, giving his year of birth as 1905 to overcome the age limit. He wrote his place of birth as Dunmuncle (Dunmunkle). He was captured in Greece in 1941 and held as a POW until his repatriation in Jun 1945.
Harold died in 1972, aged 72, at Port Fairy, Victoria; his wife died the following year, aged 76.