Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born: 16 January 1924 Angaston Hospital (SA)
Schools: Grades 1 – 7 Towitta Primary School, Grade 8 Immanuel College – Adelaide
Claude commenced as an apprentice carpenter, builder and joiner with his father.

1942 – At the age of 18, Claude enlisted in Royal Australian Air Force as Trainee Electrician - Service Number 48309.

12 May 1942 – With many other enlisted men caught troop train to Melbourne to commence basic drill & defence training at Ascot Vale (Vic)

7 June 1942 – Posted to 1SST Melbourne as electrician trainee. Claude was billeted in Exhibition Building and marched daily to Melbourne Technical School for training every morning

30 August 1942 – Along with three other trainees, Claude was offered further school as Wireless Mechanics at Sydney Technical School. This was completed November 1942.

20 Nov 1942 – Posted to AOS Mt Gambier (SA) to undertake communications work on Ansett & Oxford training planes for pilots.

4 January 1943 – joined 1ED at Ascot Vale - 11 Signals Unit, to be posted to Birdum (NT) & Darwin (NT)

2 January 1943 – sent home on pre-embarkation leave for 8 days.

Claude travelled by train from Melbourne to Wayville, with half a day leave in Adelaide, then onto Terowie, staying there overnight prior to travelling to Quorn to catch the Ghan to Alice Springs, which took 3 or 4 days. After overnighting in Alice Springs Claude’s unit joined convoy of trucks travelling towards Darwin, via staging camps / stops at Barrow Creek, Banka Banka, Elliot, Birdum / Larrimah and Adelaide River to the 11 Signals Unit base camp at Coomalie Creek.

At Coomalie Creek, Claude slept in tents for accommodation and dug L-shaped slit trenches for protection from Japanese air raids. He often observed dog fights between Japanese Zero planes and Allied fighters and Spitfires from nearby Batchelor airfield. Japanese Zero planes tried to get in under the radar, so they would not be detected, so they could strafe aircraft on the ground at the airfields.

For one assignment, Claude was transferred to Transmitter Station, where communications between capital cities and North West area were undertaken. This was in code for NT Headquarters. Here he worked in shifts to cover 24 hours, where power was supplied by two 25 kVA units, two motors were V8 engines with oversized radiators – running 8 hrs on 8 hrs off, which required continual maintenance.

Another assignment, Claude was transferred to 22 Mile (south of Darwin) Communication Centre, for making up switchboards and laying of land line between Darwin & Adelaide River. This assignment took some months.

A major assignment followed where Claude and Kev Bennerman were to lay 50 miles of land line across Groote Eylandt. They had caught a ship in Darwin, with Convert ship escort, which carried their equipment & 45 lb bombs to Groote Eylandt, with first stop at Millingimbi where they unloaded some bombs. Arriving at Groote Eylandt they unloaded their gear onto barges to move their equipment ashore. Claude remembers as the rear barge was being towed to shore by motor boat, it started to sink as it was overloaded with bombs. A scary situation was averted as Claude swiftly cut the rope to the rear barge by bayonet, the load of bombs sinking.

The 50 miles of land line was from the land base airfield to the Catalina Flying Boat Base. The single line was hung on trees using barrel insulators with an earth return and six strands of steel and one strand of copper for continuity. They hacked and blasted their way through bush alongside a bush track, with four local Aboriginals giving a hand. As they had no ladders, Claude & Kevin used climbing irons and safety belts. The assignment took five months to complete.

They wore nargas the same as Aboriginals as their shorts only lasted a few washes. They had kept one pair of shorts to wear for when they had completed the task and needed to catch the plane back to the main base. Rations were limited to bully beef, meat and vegetables or baked beans. Claude ended up with tropical sores on all joints, as the ‘food wasn’t that flash’. Claude’s mother had sent up some Watkin’s camphoid that ‘helped a bit’, although ‘the flies didn’t help either’.

Back at Base Camp Claude was assigned to workshops to repair radio equipment and general maintenance. The Flying Officer in charge invited Claude to do a trade test to become a Group 1 Classification Wireless Maintenance Mechanic as he was currently a Wireless Assistant with Group 2 rating.

After an interview, Claude became a Wireless Mechanic. His pay rose from 11 shillings to 12 shillings per week. Later as a Corporal his weekly wage rose to 12 shillings and sixpence per week, nearly double Claude’s wage upon enlistment of 6 shillings and sixpence per week.

Later in his war service, Claude was sent from maintenance workshop to Victor Harbor by Tiger Moth every month to test and maintain altitude meters for trainee pilots. Often they had to refuel at Parafield. Once at Victor Harbour after a security guard had given Claude some mushrooms picked in a nearby paddock, he recalls the pilot doing loops in the aircraft and they sprayed Victor Harbour with mushrooms, as they were only held in Claude’s lap.

World War II ended while Claude was based at Mallala (SA).

31 Oct 1945 Claude was discharged returning to civilian life working with his father as a builder and establishing a radio repair workshop at Towitta.