Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born in Adelaide on the 23rd September 1917, Sam moved to Naracoorte in search of employment, working as a labourer. Sam had an early encounter with the law for being drunk in March ’37 in Smith Street, receiving a fine of 5/ with 15/ costs. He joined the local North football team in the Naracoorte League from ’38. He was a player with flair being described in one match as ‘breaking through and kicking a major’ which ignited his team.
Sam met his future wife, Jean Chisholm, giving her as his next of kin when, as a 23-year-old Sam enlisted at the end of January, ’41 to serve in WWII. He became SX11160 in the 2/48th battalion reinforcements, the same battalion as his cousin, Eric Lawie SX8498 had been allocated to in July ‘40. Sam was part of an advanced party heading to the Terowie Camp in the mid-north of SA as the conditions there was believed to be similar to those the men would experience in the Middle East. On the day prior to embarkation, Sam registered the first of an AWOL crime to his name when he failed to appear on parade. The hefty fine of 10/- was little deterrent, neither was the two days detention as this defiance was to follow Sam over the next years of service. By April ’41 his battalion was on-board the Isle de France, arriving in the Middle east on the 14th May ’41. He immediately came to the attention of his superiors for several breaches of military expectations including disobeying a superior officer, and non-appearance at parade. It was a financially expensive exercise as was being confined to barracks for two days.
By August that year, a sprained knee caused Sam to undergo a brief appearance for medical attention. Early the following year Sam’s service was marked by four different AWOL offences with the inevitable monetary fine and a total of 19 days being confined to barracks. By the last days of July, Sam was wounded in action, with a debilitating gunshot wound to his left buttock. In the same encounter, fellow soldier in the 2/48th, Roy Merritt SX13495 from Millicent was killed. At the time, John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described how ‘their battalion was engaged in constant, bitter fighting at Tel el Eisa, strategic points continued to change hands. The 2/23rd, having gained West 24 immediately came under heavy sustained fire, causing them to withdraw. On the 16th July ’42, 22 year old Roy was killed in an horrific explosion. The 2/48th had control of East 24 but the shelling then turned to their A Company. John Glenn described the ‘great concentrations blotting out the whole company. One shell made a direct hit on the dug-out of Private D.W. McDonald and R.H. Merritt, causing the sides of their hole to cave in and bury them. Several men jumped from their holes in the midst of the exploding shells, and Captain Shillaker ordered a Red Cross flag to be flown. The German shelling stopped at once; this allowed a party of six men to commence digging to release their buried comrades. When the two men were unearthed, it was found that they had been killed by the explosion. It was not until the Red Cross flag had been lowered that the shelling recommenced.’
Mark Johnston in his recently published book Derrick VC in his own words gives Derrick’s entry for the 16th July. “No change during the night. Jerry kept up his bombardment of 75mm and many anxious moments were spent by all, and each wondering how much longer before his dugout would be the receiver of one 75MM. We had been subjected to approx. 500 shells daily in our Coy area, and it wasn’t until 1500 hrs that we received our first fatalities by shell fire, they 2 in number Ptes MacDonald, & Merritt of C.H.Q., the latter being beyond recognition and was buried where he fell. Padre Archbold came over in the evening to pay last homage to yet another.”


Sam endured almost three weeks of treatment before being discharged to the Infantry Trig Battalion. This was followed the next month be him registering ten hours of being AWOL, and a forfeit of a day’s pay, behaviour that continued the following month with a further overnight AWL.
Just days later on the 14th November, Sam was wounded in action with head and facial wounds, his second wounding during the conflict. He was evacuated firstly to a British, then Australian hospital, spending over a month in recovering. Back home, the Advertiser c arried the news that ‘Mrs. S. E. Welsh, of Naracoorte, has been advised that her husband. Pte. S. E. Welsh, has been wounded in the Middle East for the second time. He served in Tobruk and Syria.’
On discharge from hospital, Sam was assessed as ‘Fit for duties other than active service with field formations’. The news must have been devastating as Sam’s reaction was to immediately go AWOL and to thumb his nose at an order, which inevitably was financially penalised and included a four-day confinement to barracks. It was not the best way to conclude service in the Middle East, but returning to Australia, arriving via Sydney was some compensation. He returned to Adelaide via Wayville in April ’43, able to spend some time with Jean and his growing family. He reacted in his characteristic manner of being AWOL for a further six days, despite being warned. This resulted in a huge loss of a full week’s wage. He was granted compassionate leave approved. The year concluded with Sam spending time in Camp hospital and receiving a distressing assessment of his disability. At the same time, Sam again went AWOL and failed to follow orders, again forfeiting a day’s pay.
Sam marched out to the 25th Garrison Battalion at the end of April but was soon being treated for scabies and an inflammation of his left knee, diagnosed in October ’43. An initial assessment was that the injury was caused by his war service but that there would be no lasting ill effects and his efficiency as a soldier would not be impaired. However just months later, Sam was granted leave without pay for most of January ‘44. However a brief four day return to work, Sam again sustained a knee injury, this time to his right knee, playing cricket but this was not considered a permanent injury as it was sustained due to conditions of service.
A diagnosis of defective vision in his right eye was made in August ’44, quickly followed the next month by a laceration of his left knee causing a fortnight‘s stay in hospital. Sam reacted with a now familiar failure to appear at parade, a breach of conduct and a forfeited pay. Sam was posted to Loveday Internment Camp near Cobdogla, set up to hold Prisoners of War and WWII Internees. Meat, including pork and various food crops were grown, including opium to provide morphine for wounded soldiers. Whilst at Loveday in April the following year, Sam went AWOL for a few hours, was again confined to barracks for a week and automatically fined pay. This behaviour continued into June whilst still posted at Loveday with the inevitable forfeit of pay and fines.
A torn medial meniscus the following month saw Sam evacuated to hospital. Soon after his discharge, he continued to go AWOL, was again fined, but seemingly the penalties having little effect into November as Sam impatiently awaited discharge from the Loveday Internment Camp . This finally became effective on the 26th November ’45.
Returning to civilian life continued to be a challenge for Sam who by then had six children. He had several encounters with the courts including in October ’47 and again in ’49 for being drunk and fined £3 with 7/6 costs each time.
A few years later, with petrol still a scarce commodity, Sam was fined for siphoning a gallon of petrol from a Woods and Forest Truck at Comaum in the South East in March ’51. In Court, Sam claimed that he had intended to purchase the petrol but as the foreman was not at the headquarters, he siphoned the petrol intending to pay for it when the foreman was on duty and after his own pay day. Unfortunately, he forgot to follow through and received a fine of £2 with 13/1 costs.
Sam was a generous contributor to the children’s fund-raising efforts for their school, being one of the men nominating for the ‘Ugly Man’ Competition in ’51 receiving 2,043 votes and placed 3rd. (Voting was by the placement of pennies for the preferred nominee.) He lived at Nangwarry in the South East, but later moved to the Riverland in search of employment. He was caught in the huge floods of ’56 whilst at Lock 5, Renmark and living in a tent. During this event Sam lost his service medals and discharge papers, writing in April ’78 to claim replacements. He continued to attend reunions with the men from the 2/48th with whom he served.
Aged 77, Sam died on the 13th June 1995 and was buried in the RSL section of the Enfield Memorial Park Cemetery, Returned Services plot K9. Jean died the following year on the 26th July and now rests with Sam.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133 2/48th Battalion.