GIESE, Harry Christian
| Service Number: | 118476 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 September 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | RAAF Personnel / Embarkation / Holding Units |
| Born: | Greenbushes, Western Australia, 9 December 1913 |
| Home Town: | Greenbushes, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Bunbury High School, University of Western Australia and University of Melbourne, Victoria Australia |
| Occupation: | Public servant and community leader |
| Died: | Spinal cord injury, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia , 6 February 2000, aged 86 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Sep 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 118476 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 1942: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 118476, RAAF Personnel / Embarkation / Holding Units, Discharged to take up a civilain role as Organiser of the National Fitness Program form Western Australia. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Diana Giese
Harry Christian Giese (1913-2000) taught in Western Australian schools from 1932, while excelling in competitive sports such as rugby union and cricket at state and national level. His grandfather had migrated from Germany in the 1870s, and several of his sons had volunteered to fight for their new country during World War I. Giese’s own father (also Harry) died in an accident.
On 26 March 1939, Giese enlisted in the 25th Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment, commencing service that November. In January 1940, he volunteered for the AIF, and from February 1940 was in the Reserve Militia. From March 1940, he took up a 2-year scholarship to Melbourne University, joining its Rifles Reserve. In August 1941, he volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force and in January 1942 was seconded to the staff of the Army School of Physical and Recreational Training, Frankston, where he helped develop a physical education curriculum. From April to September 1942, awaiting RAAF call-up, he served in northwest Western Australia, before taking an administrative course at Melbourne University. In November 1942 he was co-opted by the first Director-General of Health, J.H.L Cumpston, to take charge of National Fitness in Western Australia.
Giese subsequently headed National Fitness in Queensland and was Commonwealth National Fitness Officer in Canberra. In 1954, he was appointed as the first Director of Welfare in the Northern Territory Administration that presided over post-War reconstruction in the north. His long, arduous and distinguished career as a pioneer of health and education is documented in the Harry Christian Giese Digital Collection at Charles Darwin University (digitalcollections.cdu.edu.au), and on his Website. (www.harrychristiangiese.com.au)
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