William John (Coog) ELSON

ELSON, William John

Service Numbers: S21428, SX26855
Enlisted: 26 September 1941
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 27 Infantry Battalion AMF
Born: Wallaroo, South Australia, 3 April 1922
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Labourer
Died: Avalon New South Wales, 26 July 1969, aged 47 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Memorials:
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World War 2 Service

26 Sep 1941: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S21428, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF
3 Sep 1942: Involvement Private, SX26855
3 Sep 1942: Involvement Private, S21428
3 Sep 1942: Enlisted In The Field, NT
3 Sep 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX26855
18 Mar 1945: Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX26855
18 Mar 1945: Discharged

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Biography contributed by Chris Buckley

Private William John Storer (Service No:SX26885) initially enlisted in the ACMF (Private; Service No:S21428) on 26 September 1941 and served in Darwin NT (15 December 1941 - 29 March 1943). Private Elson was 'in the field' when he transferred to the AIF on 3 September 1942 and served with 27 Infantry Battalion and  7 Australian Ordnance Field Park. Private Elson was attached to 27 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 18 March 1945.

Born in 1922 at Wallaroo in South Australia, Coog was second of five children on Clarence George Kennion Elson (b1895 at Port Lincoln, South Australia) and Mary Teresa Day (b1897 in Broken Hill, NSW). Clarence (a Labourer) and Mary married in 1919 in Adelaide, SA and lived in Wallaroo and Adelaide where Clarence was a Labourer.

Coog worked as a Labourer and Truck Driver in Adelaide before his service in WWII, and following his Discharge worked as a Truck Driver at Leigh Creek Coal Mine north of Adelaide. By the early 1950s Coog had settled in Adelaide SA where he worked as a Truck Driver, Haulage Contractor, Taxi Proprietor and Interstate Haulier, and married Claire Irvin (b1927 in Adelaide, SA). In the mid 1960s, following some legal issues, Coog and Claire moved to Avalon in NSW. Coog died in 1969 in NSW, and was buried in Adelaide. Claire moved back to Adelaide where she died in 2001.

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