HOLLAND, Frank
| Service Number: | VX102689 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 June 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Z Special Unit |
| Born: | Enfield, England, 15 October 1907 |
| Home Town: | Pialba, Fraser Coast, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Titchfield Rd Primary. England |
| Occupation: | Timber Getter, PNG |
| Died: | Natural causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 17 March 1998, aged 90 years |
| Cemetery: |
Goodna Cemetery, Queensland |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Jun 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, VX102689, Z Special Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Mar 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, VX102689, Z Special Unit |
El Tigre
El Tigre is a published biography of Frank Holland MBE, written after his death. It was written by Peter Stone based on recollections of Frank's wife Mabel, his son John and the files of the late Lieutenant Frank Holland. My father Dr Rip van Velsen met Frank on the island of New Britain in the 1950s and they were firm friends from that time on. Rip believes that Frank was never formally enlisted due to the urgency of the situation when Frank set out to walk across the island with two local indigenous men to rescue any survivors of the Tol massacre. The Army urgently needed an experienced bushman who knew the area and Frank volunteered his services. After the war Frank was never paid for his war service by the Australian government. Instead he was awarded an MBE. Presumably this was a lot cheaper.
Submitted 10 January 2024 by Alison Bogdanowicz
Biography contributed by penny del Castillo
Lt Frank Holland an Australian WW2 Commando and Coastwatcher.
Commander Eric Feldt in his book "The Coast Watchers" described Frank Holland as pure Hemingway. However, Ernest Hemingway, great storyteller that he was, would not have dared to create a character of such unbelievable quality.
He would not have dared to present his readers with a composite of adventurer, pioneer, jungle man, behind the lines commando and civil engineer and reasonably expect those readers to accept him as true to life. And yet Frank Holland was all these things and more.
Frank's exploits after the fall of Rabaul are now of legend. For his extraordinary demeanour during these dark days, Frank was awarded the M.B.E.
He was enlisted as an officer into "Z" Special Force and inserted into Timor where he operated behind Japanese lines, organising resistance forces. He was then inserted behind the lines in Borneo where he served in clandestine operations until war's end, accepting the surrender of the local Japanese commander in September 1945.
After the war he returned to Rabaul
Frank Holland died on 17 March 1998
Extract from the eulogy to Frank Holland, written by Viv Humphreys.
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