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War Memorial
Australia

Born at Torrensville on the 26th October 1917, Noel was the son of Ernest Vincent John and Violet Maud Tietzel (nee Castle.). He attended Henley Beach Public School where he was noted for performing creditably in the weekly exams.
Post school, Noel became a welder, serving for three years with the Naval Reserves. He worked for BHP in Whyalla, a company that was quite severely affected by the large number of young workers who enlisted from that town and nearby Iron Knob. Noel’s role had been working on the Blast Furnace on the ‘Dawn’ when he decided to enlist on the 16th July, 1940.
Aged 22 Noel was given the number SX9034. His middle name was mis-spelt (or mis-heard) as ‘Alfred’, though this was later corrected to be his given name of Alred. Prior to embarking Noel received an early promotion to Acting Corporal which was re-instated soon after he arrived in the Middle East and allocated to the 2/48th Battalion Reinforcements. By March ’41 he was further promoted to Acting Sergeant. Unfortunately, at the end of that month, Noel contracted tonsilitis and reverted to being a private, but his leadership skills were quickly realised and further promotions followed. By June ’41 he was a Corporal.
The following month Noel was wounded in action with a gunshot wound to his left thigh, resulting in him being hospitalised for two months. That year was a particularly challenging one for the 2/48th. Orders had been received to capture West Point of Tel el Eisa in a dawn attack. In late June ‘42 with Rommel crossing into Egypt, the 2/48th were in an offensive to capture Trig 33, which was achieved on the 10th July. In doing so, over 400 Italian prisoners were taken. The 2/48th battalion then advanced south, capturing the Tel el Eisa station and repelling numerous counter attacks. However, they were eventually forced to withdraw, having suffered over 100 casualties. In total, the 2/48th battalion suffered 215 casualties between the 7th July and 23rd October, including Noel. Of that number, 64 men were killed and six died of their wounds. 125 other men were wounded but survived.
In July the battalion was attempting to capture West Point in a dawn attack. In his book, ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’, John G. Glenn described the ferocious encounter.
‘When the troops were well forward of the start-line they came under terrific fire from shells and mortars from the front and left, and suffered heavy casualties. With the slow deliberate movement of perfectly trained soldiers both companies continued the advance in perfect formation, over ground that trembled and erupted with vicious explosions. Through this, sometimes obscured by the smoke and dust, the men moved, and, as they advanced, the fire kept place with them, leaving behind the still shapes of fallen men among the camel bush and sand.’
Back home, the August edition of the Chronicle in ’42 carried the names of the young men killed or injured. Besides Noel, those in his battalion included: Wounded In Action SX6828 Pte Harold R L Baker Adelaide. SX8878 Pte Gerald W Bellinger Millicent. SX9388 Pte Clarence G Brown. Port Wakefield, SX1075 L-Cpl. Eric Brown SX11079 Pte Harold D Brown, Trinity Gardens. SX537 Pte. P. A Carey, Broken Hill. NSW SX7497 L-Cpl Ronald Chinner, Angaston. SX7725 Pte. Cecil Clark, Langhorne's Creek. SX8132 Pte. Cyril H. Fleet, Menlngle. SX7417 Pte. Clarence L Gallagher, Murray Bridge. SX7330 Pte. Allen R Harris, Moonta. SX13570 Pte Charles Holman, Broken Hill. NSW. (Later KIA Oct ’42) SX12363 A-Cpl. Harry B. Irwln. Port Augusta. SX8017 L-Cpl. Charles. G. Manuel. Balaklava. SX8138 Pte Albert. V. McKenzie, Minlaton. SX11302 Pte. Walter Sharp, Magill. SX7952 Pte Kevin P Stephens. Adelaide. SX7294 Cpl. Henry P. Stopp. Keith. SX9034 A-Cpl. Noel A Tietzel. North Adelaide. SX8539 Pte Edward J Young Inf., Morgan.
Following his discharge from hospital, Noel was allocated to the 9th Infantry Trig Battalion. By February ’43 the 2/48th left the Middle East, returning to Australia via Melbourne and thence to Adelaide for well-earned leave.
Noel rose to the rank of Sergeant in July ’43, undertaking studies and qualifying in the Weapon Training School. Queensland was his next training ground in preparation for the tropical conditions they would encounter in New Guinea against a very different enemy. Noel arrived in Port Moresby early in September ’43. However, within a month he experienced an undiagnosed chest condition which resulted in a hospital stay.
Early the following year, Noel developed a very high temperature (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin) as well as Dengue Fever. He returned to Australia via Brisbane in March, then returned to Whyalla for well-deserved leave. By that time, Tom ‘Diver’ Derrick had become a legendary figure from the 2/48th Battalion. He was highly respected as a leader and for his daring exploits that earned him the Victoria Cross. His battalion had been attempting to take Sattelberg but had been met with dense machine-gun fire and grenades. Derrick’s last-ditch attempt enabled the company to gain a foothold on the cliff face, in the process destroying 10 enemy positions, and capturing ground, thus enabling the remainder of the battalion to move forward to capture Sattelberg on the following morning. Noel and Sgt. Derrick had been soldiers together right through the campaign, and Noel was part of that operation which resulted in Sgt. Derrick winning the coveted decoration. Sgt. Tietzel described Derrick as a quiet, modest man who remained cool in all circumstances. In a photo held by the Australian War Memorial, Sgt Tietzel is shown examining an abandoned Japanese Machine Gun found during the Sattelberg assault.
By January ’45 Noel contracted Dyspepsia, spending time in the Kapara Convalescent Home at Glenelg, but by early February was able to eventually complete his leave. Back in Queensland, a photo capturing Noel and his Number 12 Platoon, B Company prior to the group being on their way to Morotai early in April ’45, then to Tarakan at the end of the month.
In May, the 2/48th was pushing towards Sykes. The tropical conditions meant that there was little room for the soldiers to deploy and consequently were susceptible to being ambushed from many directions. John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described how ‘To test the enemy strength on Butch feature, Sergeant Tietzel led a patrol of ten men north, sprang a Jap ambush, shot one, and recc’ed the enemy defences in the area.’ This assisted in establishing that the Japanese strength was in the Sykes area. The Japanese soldiers still attempted to crawl in amongst the troops at night, with their movements masked by usual jungle sounds. The sentries on duty protected the troops but also displayed their rapid reactions when daylight occurred; four Japanese and two monkeys lay motionless.
Less than four months later Noel was being treated for appendicitis, before finally leaving Tarakan in October ’45, heading for Sydney and then Adelaide in the last area of his service. He was discharged on the 23rd November ’45.
Noel married Alice Beatrice Curtis (originally from Kalgoorlie) with the young couple returning to live in Whyalla where their son, Colin John was born in January ’47. That town was booming with the steelworks and ship building operations. Post war, Noel worked in the BHP shipping office and also used his leadership skills to become a highly regarded Officer-in-Charge of the Whyalla Fire Brigade. This was manned by six volunteers, averaging a call out of over one a fortnight, but in one instance, four in the one day. Almost half of the calls were to extinguish grass fires, with most caused by sparks from locomotives running on the line to Iron Knob.
With an unseasonably good rainfall over winter, Noel was soon warning residents to be cautious with flammable materials and matches as there was a high risk of bushfires over the summer of ’51. He was soon advertising for extra staff to join the brigade, but with the proviso that ‘They should not live more than three quarters of a mile from the station.‘ In February ’52 Noel learned of the tragic death of a fireman whilst on weekend duty. The local Whyalla News shared that ‘Fire Chief Noel Tietzel rang brigade headquarters and requested that a wreath be sent to the funeral from the boys at Whyalla. Mr. Tietzel spoke to Fire Chief Whyte's deputy who said he felt sure that all the boys at headquarters would appreciate the very fine gesture.’ Noel was no stranger to untimely death of young men and the wider effect on family and friends. The Australian War Memorial’s collection show him thoughtfully paying his respects at the grave of a fallen fellow soldier in Tobruk during the war. He was well aware of the tragedy of a life cut short.
By October ’52 Noel was facing one of the largest and most expensive fire outbreaks in the joinery shop and office section of Charles Geddes & Co timber mill. The resultant damage was estimated at between £25,000 and £30,000. Noel and his team had responded within a minute. The fire spread rapidly and if the brigade had not been so prompt in arriving the damage would have been much greater. The local Whyalla News reported that ‘The brigade had assembled to hear a lecture from the Inspecting Officer from Fire Brigade Headquarters, Adelaide, Mr. R. A. Gericke, who had arrived in Whyalla shortly after mid-day on Friday. Mr. Gericke commenced to lecture on precautions to take to avoid being overcome with smoke fumes and when he was halfway through, the alarm rang out. Fire Chief Tietzel answered the phone and by the time he had hung up the receiver his men were in uniform, hastening to position on the fire reel with its engine running for a quick get-a-way. Fire Chief Tietzel jumped to his position and the brigade screamed out of the station, along McBryde terrace, over the Playford avenue intersection and was at the scene of the fire within 90 seconds of the alarm sounding. By this time the fire had spread from the north west corner and was working its way along rafters and timber on the ground towards the south east corner of the galvanised iron structure. One look told the firemen that it was impossible to save the joinery shop, so they concentrated their attentions on stopping the flames from spreading to the machine shop, timber stacks and other buildings in the vicinity. The machine shop joins the joinery shop overhead but there is no dividing wall. The firemen smashed open a door at the southern corner and sprayed water into the machine shop and on the rafters in an attempt to stop the spread of flames. They were successful, and within half an hour it was obvious that although the joinery shop was gutted the machine shop would be saved from complete destruction.’
The Mail reported that ‘The firemen concentrated their efforts on stopping the flames from reaching the adjoining machine shop and spreading to timber stacks and saw buildings.‘ They added ‘Fire Chief Noel Tietzel and fireman Hanner were overcome by smoke fumes and dragged away from the collapsing building. Within 25 minutes the roof of the large, galvanised building had collapsed, and the rafters of the machine shop were ablaze, but in 45 minutes the fire was under control.’ For locals, their power was cut for about 30 minutes with Alice and other firemen’s wives providing refreshments to the fire fighters during the blaze.
The Whyalla News concluded their report with ‘Mr. Gericke, the inspecting officer from Adelaide, said that he could not praise the local brigade too highly. Under the able leadership of Fire Chief Tietzel the fighters worked quickly, efficiently and courageously. Mr. Gericke said that "The outbreak was a major one. Timber mill fires with their shavings, dust and wood are hard to fight but the brigade did a marvellous job. They were fortunate not to have sustained serious injury.” The fire is said to be the biggest and the most destructive in the history of Whyalla.
A further blaze was reported in January ’54 with another fire, this time a grass fire, near Geddes timber mill and a second at the rear of the local surgery. ‘At the fire near the timber mill, the manager, Len Smith, was on the spot before the brigade arrived and at the other fire Noel Tietzel, a member of the brigade, was at the surgery and only had to jump the fence to be on the spot.’
Noel was well respected in Whyalla, with his quick sense of humor, appearing in the local paper when he commented on the traditional use of newspaper to wrap meat from the local butcher. ‘Shipping officer, Noel Tietzel, overheard our comments and chipped in with — "No wonder your meat costs so much—it's wrapped in the local rag." Well, one thing, it's good for something—after you've read it.’ Noel also had to be scrupulously fair in his dealings with union members who held an unauthorised stop work meeting when one of the crew members of the ‘Tyalla’ landed at Whyalla for treatment of a mouth injury in May ‘53. His fellow crew had refused to take to sea short one member. Noel, the agent’s representative, boarded the ship at the anchorage and produced a doctor's report that the crew member was fit for duty. However, the member refused to return when offered transport, and as were the other refusing crew, were also instantly dismissed. The ship later left with only engineers, officers and miscellaneous crew members such as stewards, and radio operator as the ship was too deeply ladened to remain at the jetty during low tide.
In appreciation of the service done by so many people from Whyalla during the war, the impressive gates to Memorial Oval in the centre of the town, carried the names of those who had served, including Noel’s.
Noel and Alice were both active in supporting the Central Primary School where Colin attended. Alice took on the role of secretary of the Welfare Club and also presented the graduating students with their Progress Certificates in ’54. Colin was similarly community minded, raising pennies worth £2-5-0 for a ‘penny line’ raising money for the 5AD Good Friday Appeal.
Aged 59, Alice pre-deceased Noel when she died on the 5th August, 79 and was buried in the Whyalla Cemetery. Just three days after his 71st birthday, Noel died on the 29th October 1988. He now rests with Alice in Section C, Row 28 Plot 5.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.