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Ernest was born at Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, a farming area on the 28th January 1911, however when he enlisted he gave his year of birth as 1914. He was the oldest son of Margaret Helen and Eustace Walter Starkey with two other siblings, Sidney and Margaret. Eustace had served in WWI, but whilst in France he sustained a gunshot wound to his right leg with the result his leg was amputated above the knee. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal Victory Medal. His record of service listed similar charges of those that would later be levelled against Ern (AWOL and ‘Prejudice to the good order’.)
Ern and his family were fortunate to escape a collision in a light single seater car at Unley, with all five occupants being thrown onto the road. They escaped with bruises and abrasions, but their car, driven by Eustace was considerably damaged and had to be towed to a garage.
Just prior to his 24th birthday, Ern’s 43-year-old father Eustace died in the Keswick Hospital. As a returned serviceman, he was buried in the AIF Cemetery, West Terrace.
Nine years later, Ern was again fortunate to escape with concussion and facial gashes when his motor cycle collided with a cow which had chosen to lie on the road near the Port Kenny Hall. Ern landed face first onto the metal surface but the accident was witnessed by people attending a Red Cross social consequently being able to immediately take Ern to the Streaky Bay Hospital where he received numerous stitches to his face. Undeterred, two years later Ern and his pillion passenger were, each fined 5/- and 10/- costs for riding a motor cycle which was not equipped with proper footrests for the accommodation of the passenger.
Ern lived in Mount Cooper near Streaky Bay where he undertook a range of labouring jobs in the area. He enlisting to serve in WWII on the 18th January ‘41 giving his year of birth as 1914 and thus suggesting he was almost 27 years old rather than 30. He and five others from the area were given numbers close to Erns, who was SX11155 with five of them also being allocated to the same 2/48th Battalion as part of the reinforcements. They were Charles Clifford Barwick SX11145, Raymond Douglas Whait SX11154 (Port Lincoln); John Raymond Reed SX11153, Robert Francis Reed SX12354, William Reed SX11152 and Ernest Powell (Cummins) ; Thomas Gerald Miller, from Lincoln was allocated to a different battalion as was Phillip William Hayes (Bramfleld) and Clement Harris (Yeelanna). The men left Port Lincoln together by sea on the ‘Minnipa’, heading for their first taste of army camp. Their early training was at the Terowie Camp before Ern had pre-embarkation leave.
At that time, Ern returned to Mount Cooper where the Sunshine Girls organised a social for him. Returned soldiers escorted Private Ern into the Hall, then the national anthem, followed by the song of Australia, was sung. Dancing preceded speeches followed by the presentation of a parcel to Ern and a posy of flowers to his mother. Ern responded to the good wishes of his community before a supper was served.
Ern arrived in the Middle East, on the 14th May ’41 where he marched to a staging camp. Soon after, he joined the 2/48th Battalion but in May ’42 developed an extremely high fever (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin) which developed into Basal Pneumonia and resulted in enforced time in a rest camp. It was well over a month before he was able to return to his battalion at the start of July. During that time, back home his wife Joan Marie Helen Starkey had filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion. Soon after, Ern had time with the Infantry Trig Battalion before in August returning to the 2/48th for one of the most challenging periods of his war.
Mark Johnston in the meticulously documented diaries, ‘Derrick VC In His Own Words’ gives a personal insight into the lives led by those in the 2/48th Battalion, including Ern. On the 3rd October ’42, Derrick wrote “At stand to we seen the first signs of the coming wet weather, but fortunately it missed us being well to the north. Dark skies again at 1400 & light rain fell. Posn in good condition. Taking a patrol out at 1930 til 0300 Cpl Tish, Pte Bertram, Edwards, Pearce, Ball and Starkey. 4 TSMGs 1 Bren & 2 rifles 6 36 grens”. Derrick later noted that Ern was wounded on the 31st of October (although in the confusion and heavy casualties experienced at the time his official records suggest the date as the 2nd of November.)
Conditions at that time were ever-changing and the fighting continuous. Montgomery had ordered the 9th Battalion to attack northward. With the Allieds holding Trig 29, Ern was part of a group that witnessed three men in a jeep drive up in the darkness, believing that it was still in German hands on the 26th October. Two of the three surrendered. John Glen in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described how ‘In the section nearby were Lieutenant McLellan, Scotty Paton, Mick Salter, Geoff Gardner, Johnny Ralla, Wally Fennell and Ern Starkey, all of whom, with the exception of one man, were to become casualties during the next three days’ fighting.’ The two prisoners were taken by jeep with Jack driving, back to Battalion headquarters for questioning. Of those seven 2/48th A Company present, six became casualties in the ensuing days, Ern one of them.
Murray Farquhar in ‘Derrick V.C.’ includes the detail of that time; the 25th October attack on Trig 29 where a savage dog fight ensued. ‘There were Jerry machine-gun nests cross firing from all angles. They had us in a real fix. We tried to dig in.’
Over the days at the end of October fierce fighting was unrelenting. John Glenn in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described how ‘The attack continued, however, without pause…it was only after hard fighting, with heavy casualties on both sides, that they were able to consolidate on their objective. The troops had never been more tired. The 2/48th had stirred up a real hornets’ nest; from first light until nine o’clock the enemy turned all their fury on the Trig area, with particularly heavy fire on 29 itself, hiding the position in a cloud of dust and smoke.’ A comment was later made about the heavy casualties. Glenn also explained they were ‘running into particularly stiff opposition to the west of the Trig point. It was only after hard fighting, with heavy casualties on both sides, that they were able to consolidate on their objective. Gradually the platoon, small in number to start with, was being whittled away and those remaining were being forced to go to ground.’
Kenneth Slessor, the Official War Correspondent also wrote an article which was reproduced in several newspapers. This detailed the battle of El Alamein at the end of October. Referring to the outstanding work of the 2/48th Battalion on that occasion, Slessor wrote: ‘Within one week, in the last great battle of El Alamein, two men of the 2/48th Battalion won the Victoria Cross. Sgt. Bill Kibby, VC, and Pte. Percy Gratwick, VC, lie under the sand in soldiers’ graves today. Australia is far away over the rim of the world, and no one comes near the wooden crosses painted with their names except the wandering Bedouin and the little lizards of the desert.
‘But their battalion is rich in its pride and in its memories. They will never be forgotten. From the stories of their mates, those reluctant-tongued soldiers who fixed bayonets with them in the great offensive which drove Rommel from Egypt, come portraits of these two men in action which no other source could furnish.’
Ern was wounded in that action with a gunshot wound to his face, fortunate to escape with his life. Whilst being treated in hospital he contracted diphtheria, a combination of both contributing to him remaining in hospital until January ’43. Inevitably, the news of Ern’s injury travelled back home with a letter from Private Malcolm Hurrell SX11842 with the 2/27th being published in the West Coast Sentinel in January ’43. Malcolm had himself been wounded in New Guinea and was hospitalised with a bullet entering the top of his head and out the back of his neck – remarkably he also survived. He asked “How's Ern Starkey getting on? I had a letter from Belle saying he was wounded in the desert.” Ern eventually left the Middle East, returning to Australia via Melbourne. Within a month he again went absent without leave and was again fined.
Back home, the Chronicle starkly listed those killed or injured with Ern. From the 2/48th alone, these included Killed In Action.— SX7832 Pte. Max C. Boase. Millicent; SX6896 Pte. Lance Chapman, North Moonta; SX7260 Sgt. Charles Fraser. Norwood; SX8651 Sgt. Lindsay R. Goode, Malvern; SX13580 Pte. Ronald A. Grist. Port Noarlunga; SX8587 Pte. George W. Haywood, Mount Compass: SX7429 Cpl. James Hinson, Plympton: SX310 Sgt. Alfred W G. Miller, Ponde; SX9488 Pte. Eric L. Montgomerie, Edwardstown; SX7375 Sgt Charles E. Plummer, College Park; SX7176 A-Cpl. William C. Quinn, Border town; SX8113 Pte. Michael N. Riley, Burnside; SX7298 Cpl. Harold Sandercock, Maitland; SX7732 Pte. Clem H. Schulz, Yorketown; SX12924 Pte. Richard Speck, Blanchetown; SX849J Pte. Arthur G. Wilson, Glanville. Wounded In Action. — SX7825 Cpl William G. Braund, Maitland; SX11862 Pte. Peter Coll, Gladesville, NSW; SX7014 Cpl. Robert J. Hanson, Croydon; SX7276 Cpl. Stephen H Lister. Birkenhead; SX8871 Pte Stewart. A. Martin, Sandi lands; SX13743 Pte. William P Martin, Largs Bay; SX12804 Pte. David S. Richards. Wokurna and SX11155 Pte. E. W. Starkey, Port Lincoln. It was just one of the many lists published of the loss of life or wounding.
Mount Cooper residents were delighted to honour Ern and SX7548 Sergeant Roland Hood, also in the 2/48th Battalion and Andy Robinson on their return in April ’43 with a well-attended social. Ern was particularly appreciative of the social, gift and parcel of comforts on his return from overseas that he placed a thank you in the local paper to the residents.
In July ’43 Ern was graded as a Group II Cook before he left Australia to face a very different enemy in the tropical conditions of new Guinea, arriving in Milne Bay in August. He was unfortunate to lacerate his forearm, requiring treatment from the field ambulance, but was eventually able to return to his battalion. As did so many others of his mates, Ern contracted malaria, and returned home. Once again, the Mount Cook Community tendered Sergeant Hood and Private Ern a social evening in March with friends coming from Calca, Poochera, Talia, Port Kenny and Venus Bay to crowd into the Collie Hall. The two were applauded as they marched down the Hall accompanied by returned servicemen. Several welcome back speeches were made before both men given an envelope containing the usual £2. Inevitably, dancing followed. Soon after, Ern was treated for recurring malaria in hospital back in Australia in April ’44. That month Ern married Edith Elsie on the 15th and not unexpectedly, soon after he was heavily fined for being absent without leave, closely followed by a charge of ‘conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline’. This preceded him contracting a further bout of high fever (PUO) and of malaria. (Unfortunately, that marriage also ended in divorce in March ’46.)
By April ‘45, Ern had arriving in Morotai. Soon after he headed to Tarakan and a promotion to Corporal before he was finally discharged on the 13th November ’45. Having not returned to Mount Cooper for several years, Ern was one of the last of the Colley-Mt. Cooper boys to be welcomed back to a complimentary social in June ’46 following his divorce from Edith. People attended from Galea, Port Kenny, Venus Bay and other districts. After the speeches, Ern expressed his appreciation of the committee's parcels and comforts.
Ern then spent some time in Barmera post war where he met Wirilda Jean Richards. Once her divorce was finalised Ern and Warlida married with Ern, becoming stepfather to her daughter, Denise and also father to Barry, born in January ’52.
Aged 71, Walter died on the 4th May 1986. A memorial to his life and service is in the Tumby Bay Cemetery.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.