Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Merv was born on 13 Aug 1914 at Lipson to Roden Charles Carr and Agnes Lumgair Carr (nee Baillie).  He was the second youngest of 6 children in the family, 3 boys and 3 girls; His father was a farmer at Warratta (north of Lipson) on the property known as “Rosedale”.

He went to school at Lipson, leaving at Grade 7, after gaining his QC, to work on the family farm and other farms in the area.

He was married to Unity Edna Berryman in the Uniting Church at Lipson on 8 Mar 1941, the year before joining the Army. At the time of enlistment he gave his occupation as share farmer and his address as Lipson.

Merv enlisted on 4 Apr 1942 and was sent to Wayville for processing and then posted to the Army Trades Training Depot (ATTD) before being detached to the Motor Vehicle Trade Training Centre (MVTTC) on 2 May 1942; he completed the course on 30 May 1942, returned to ATTD and was then granted a period of Leave With Out Pay (LWOP). On his return from leave he was posted to 3rd Training Battalion on 30 Jun 1942 for basic training, on completion of which he returned to ATTD on 20 Aug 1942 and was again granted leave, followed by LWOP, through to 26 Sep 1942.

On 28 Oct 1942 he entrained at Adelaide for NT Line of Communication (L of C) area, after being posted to 2/83rd Australian LAD; he was taken on strength by his unit on 9 Nov 1942. However, he did not remain with the unit for long, as a week later (14 Nov 1942) he was transferred to 14th Ordnance L of C Workshops and graded as a Group 3 Driver/MT Technician. He remained in Darwin for 2 years, before being transferred to 5th Australian Ordnance Base Workshops at Katherine and then to 1st Australian Amphibious Squadron Workshops in Southport (Qld).

On 7 Sep 1945 he was transferred to SA L of C Personnel Depot for discharge, his discharge being affected in Adelaide (4MD) on 26 Sep 1945.

After discharge from the Army he and his family returned to Tumby Bay and he continued share farming on his father’s property, “Rosedale”, living in the small house that had been built for them prior to the war. Merv then applied for a Soldier Settlers Block and was allocated Sections 420,421 and 422, Hundred of Yaranyacka in Dec 1949.       

The family moved onto the blocks in early 1950; of course they had the usual battle with rabbits, foxes and weeds that all of the farmers experienced. It was here that they raised their family of three, a boy and 2 girls.

At about the same time Merv’s father allocated him a paddock from “Rosedale” to go with the Soldier Settlers blocks.

Merv was a very community minded person and staunch member of the RSL. He was awarded life membership of the Lipson Agriculture & Horticultural Society in 1996. 

After many years of farming Merv and his wife retired from the farm into Tumby Bay; their son Geoff remained on the farm and still works it today.

Merv died at his home in Tumby Bay on 21 Aug 2000, aged 86 years and is buried in the Lipson Cemetery. His wife was cremated and her ashes interred with her husband.