Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Joe was the fourth child born  at Woonona New South Wales to Joseph Henry Shipp and Emily Florence Shipp nee Smithers.  His parents had nine children altogether, a number of them being home births.  Joe followed in his father's footsteps and before WW2 worked as a postal clerk at Corrimal and later at Moss Vale, New South Wales.  He was keen to join his older brothers, Herbie and Mowbray and help in the war effort.  Herbie was in the Australian Army in Papua New Guinea and Mowbray was in the Australian Air Force also in Papua New Guinea.

After Joe enlisted in the Air Force, he was sent to Pt. Cook in Victoria for training, eventually becoming a wireless operator.  He embarked on an American cruise ship for service overseas and during the voyage someone left a hatch open and unfortunately  Joe  fell down the hatch and broke his arm in several places. This meant that he was left behind in Colombo, Sri Lanka while the rest of his squadron sailed on.  Altogether Joe spent six weeks in hospital there.  According to his younger brother, Tom Shipp, he was assigned to the desert airforce and spent time in Palestine and Lebanon, where his squadron lived in tents. Then after Sicily was invaded the desert airforce was assigned to Italy.

Joe was an unassuming person and rarely talked about his war service.  Joe remained a bachelor and had a fruitful career after the war in a respected Trustee Company.  He lived with his parents and two sisters and his brother, Tom at Penshurst New South Wales, after the family moved there in 1950.

This information was gained from Tom Shipp in a telephone conversation on 9th November 2021.

Rosemary Last (nee Shipp) - Joe's neice