Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Glamor Garr was a Filipino man who enlisted and served during World War 1. He was born in December 1892 in Palmerston, Northern Territory. Although he was born in the Darwin Region his father was of Filipino descent. His mother and father were Carlos Garr and Mary Anne Garr. His father was a pearl and shell diver, who worked at Thursday Island at 16 years of age, who then travelled between Darwin and Thursday Island to either pearl/shell dive or fish for trepang for the rest of his career. His mother, who lived on Dinah Beach (Carlos Beach at the time) with him and the rest of the family, died when he was 17 at the Fort Hill Bath House. Glamor Garr had three other brothers, Palencio, Matthew and William in which all enlisted for WW1. Although Palencio enlisted, he did not serve in WW1. He also had a sister, Maria Garr.

 Although called ‘Glomo’, he enlisted under the formal name Glamor Garr, and he was christened under the name Guillermo Gah. Garr worked as a labourer and a pearl/shell diver closely with his father previous to his enlistment. 

Glamour Garr enlisted on the 22nd of November 1915 at twenty-two years of age at Brisbane, Queensland, after which he trained for deployment at Brisbane. After embarking on HMART A16 ‘Star of Victoria’, four months later he was deployed for the attack on Pozières with the 26th Battalion. During the attack, he was injured on his chest and back from bullet wounds of a gun, which he was then taken to the 23rd General Hospital at Etaples. After he recovered, continued to the Hindenburg Line defences with his battalion.

A year later, in the evening of 17 July 1918, Garr had ‘displayed great coolness and exception bravery under very heavy artillery fire’, which was described of him due to his actions of being the messenger to headquarters and the active role of fighting for their position that was susceptible to enemy fire. He later received the ‘Military Medal’ of Bravery', being only one of twenty Territorian recipients of a medal recognising one’s actions. After the end of the war, he boarded the HT ‘Ypiringa’ to Australia on the 15th of May. His brothers William and Matthew were also recognised in their service, with their last name ‘Garr’ used as a street name in Moil, NT. Although the war ended he trained for three months until discharged on the 28th of August 1919.

Garr also served in WW2 through the Australian Military Forces on the 9th of May 1942. He did not serve overseas however but stayed in Australia as Militia in Homeland Defence with the 15th Garrison Battalion. He did not see action till he was discharged on the 3rd of April 1944.

Although there is no information on what Garr did after his discharge, he died on the 30th of April 1973 at the age of 79 in Queensland due to natural causes.

Contributed by Crisostomo Remulla as part of the 2018 Northern Territory Chief Minister’s Anzac Spirit Study Tour.

Bibliography:

Territory Stories. (n.d.). Glamor Garr. [online] Available at: http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/jspui/handle/10070/235594 [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].

A Rosenzweig MA JP, P. (n.d.). The Service of Filipino-Australians from the Northern Territory in World War 1. [online] Radyo Filipino Australia. Available at: https://www.radyo-filipino-australia.com/uploads/1/7/6/2/17625931/002-darwin_filipinos-service-ww1.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].

Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). Private Glamor Garr. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10679091 [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].

RSL Virtual War Memorial (n.d.). Glamor Garr MM. [online]. Available at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/328243 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018]

Discovering Anzacs, (n.d.). Garr Glamor: SERN 4417 : POB Darwin NT : POE Brisbane QLD : NOK S Garr Maria [online]. Available at: https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/239640 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018]

"Glamor Garr was the fifth child and third son of Carlos and Mary Anne Garr (nee Bunyan). Carlos was a Filipino pearl-shell diver who travelled to Thursday Island as a 16 year old and then spent the rest of his life working between Thursday Island and Port Darwin either pearl-shell diving or fishing for trepang. Glamor was born in Palmerston (Darwin) in December 1892 and was christened Guillermo Gah. As a boy he was known as ‘Glomo’ and he enlisted as ‘Glamor Garr’. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a pearl-shell diver and was incorrectly described as a ‘driver’ on his enlistment papers. The family lived on ‘Carlos Beach’ (Dinah Beach) near Frances Bay. Mary Anne drowned near the Fort Hill Bath House in 1909 and was buried in Palmerston Cemetery. Glamor was one of four brothers who enlisted for the AIF in 1915 - William (3051), Matthew (428) and Palencio (enlisted but did not serve). Garr Street is named for William and Matthew who were killed in the First World War." - SOURCE (hdl.handle.net)