Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Peter Douglas McARTHUR SX8879

Wounded mending the wire

Born in Millicent on the 2nd July 1916 to William John and Christina Louisa McArthur, Peter was the second son in a family of seven children, six sons and a daughter. Peter’ grandparents, John and Margaret McArthur, were highly respected pioneer settlers in the Millicent district, owning productive land on the Penola road as well running a lucrative chaff and grain business when the Beachport railway line was under construction. An uncle, Peter was one of four brothers, the others being Simon and Archibald. (Archibald served in WWI, becoming a Lace Sergeant with the 32nd Infantry Battalion. He was twice wounded but survived.) However, Peter died in 1900 with William subsequently naming his own son in honour of this brother.

The children grew up as the third generation on the family farm at Mount Hope, with William, their father being active in local affairs, including on the Beachport District Council and as a chieftain of the Millicent Caledonian Society, which Peter later also joined.

Peter attended Rendelsham School, then Millicent High School where he sat for his Intermediate Examination in ’34, gaining passes in arithmetic, physics and chemistry. With his strong Scottish heritage, aged 22, Peter became a new member of the proud Millicent Caledonian Society. He also enjoyed a strong social life, including being a partner for the then fashionable Debutant Ball organised by the Millicent Church of England, attended by about 350 people from Naracoorte, Lucindale, Mount Gambier, and nearby centres.

Following in his uncle Archibald’s military footsteps, Peter joined the Light Horse Squadron. Aged 23, he was with the squadron in camp at Mount Gambier when his 65-year-old father, William died in his sleep in March ‘40, leaving children aged from 10 to 30 years. Peter and his brother, Jack were both pall bearers. Peter’s Light Horse squadron sent a wreath to honour his father.

Just days after his 24th birthday, Peter enlisted on the 13th July ’40, becoming SX8879. His 22-year-old cousin, Clem Billing SX6829 of Narracourte enlisted a fortnight later with both being in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. While on precious pre-embarkation leave Clem married Lorna Madge Illman of Glandore in a military wedding at the Black Forest Baptist Church. The ceremony had the highlight of being conducted by Captain Hurtle Roy Heard S3141 from the 2nd A.I.F. in the church in which he formerly officiated prior to being an army chaplain. Clem chose his cousin, Peter McArthur SX8879 who had also enlisted in July and was similarly in the 2/48th Battalion, as his best man.

Prior to Christmas that year, a huge gathering was held at the Millicent Institute Hall to farewell the new enlistees. They entered the hall between a guard of honor formed by members of the Returned Soldiers' Volunteer Defence Corps, while over 300 residents of the town and district stood to receive them. In a eulogistic speech, the South Eastern Times reported that the chairman of the district council proclaimed “the young men on either side of him had volunteered to fight for their king and country. They would make the Italians run faster and would give Hitler all he was looking for. The British Empire could not be beaten. Victory was in sight, and their airmen would soon be dropping two bombs for Hitler's one.” He added “Their guests that night were ‘fighting fit,’ and were a credit to Millicent and to the country they would represent overseas.” He concluded with “The call to the young manhood of the Empire had been answered by such men as their guests in the same spirit of high adventure that had inspired Drake, and Nelson, and Wellington at times of national peril. He hoped that while abroad they would forge the same bonds of good comradeship that united the men of the old A.I.F., and he was sure they would live up to the traditions of that famous expeditionary force. The guests were descendants of a hardy, adventurous race, who came out in leaking sailing ships and wrested prosperity from a wilderness. They had the same grit and courage and would fight Hitler to the last ditch. When, in due course, they returned to Australia, they would find here a strong organisation of men of the old A.I.F. who would stand, by them through thick and thin.”

The Country Women’s Association presented each of the guests with a parcel of comforts, some of which, she mentioned had been knitted by the St. Clair workers for the Comforts Fund. The men in the Millicent Council district received pocket wallets presented by Cr Grigg on behalf of the ratepayers. They were Privates G Bellinger, A. Bonshor, K. Downs, Colin Jones, W. G. Manhood, Peter McArthur, R. Sutton and Peter Williams. Peter was one of several who responded with thanks for the speeches and generous gifts.

All too soon, Clem and his fellow members of the 2/48th Battalion then embarked on the Stratheden for the Middle East, on the 7th November 1940, arriving on the 19th December 1940 where the Battalion completed a few months training in Cyrenaica. During those early days in the Middle East, the battalion settled into camps, but besides regular army duties was the need to quickly adapt to the locals. The new soldiers were soon involved in intense conflicts where the reputation of the 2/48th Battalion for being the most highly decorated but decimated battalion was earned.

In July ’41 Peter’s younger brother William Morrison also enlisted, becoming Flying Officer SN416589. Jack, another brother later enlisted in ’42.

In August ’41 Peter was wounded in the action on the Salient. Conditions were unpleasant due to the fleas, dust and consistent shell-fire. Lime juice and ascorbic acid tablet had been issued to provide vitamins that were deficient in the soldiers’ diet that lacked fresh fruit and vegetables. However, every cut still seemed to turn septic with the addition of the constant dust, thus earning the ironic name of ‘Rommel’s Rash’. Despite rumours of the 2/48th being evacuated from Tobruk, intense work continued to make the Salient secure. In his book, Tobruk to Tarakan, John Glenn described the condition under which Peter was wounded.

‘The enemy mortars in this section had been very active… B Company suffered another casualty when Private P.D. McArthur was wounded when mending the wire forward of Post R8.’ It was the same night as when Doc Francis was bringing in a rubber tyred trailer of provisions which became stuck in a shell hole and he, also was wounded by a Spandau, later dying of his wounds.

The two local papers, South Eastern Times and Narracoorte Herald both carried the news. ‘Private Peter D. McArthur has been wounded at Tobruk. He is the second son of Mrs and the late Mr W. J. McArthur, of Millicent, and a nephew of the president of the local sub-branch of the Returned Soldiers' Association, Mr A. N. McArthur.’ Peter returned home because of his injuries and was involved in several local events in ’42 including as a visitor to the Millicent Returned Servicemen’s Association, commemorating the ‘big push’ by the Allied armies in Europe 1918, prior to the signing of the Armistice. The local paper reported ‘Referring to the presence of Private McArthur, who has been invalided home from active service abroad, the chairman mentioned that he was in the same battalion (the 48th) as two local Privates who also had been wounded in action’. The second event was the bullock and steer riding contests, at the rodeo held on the Millicent showgrounds, a fund-raising event for the Queen of the Army Competition in aid of prisoners of war.  Peter had donated a load of softwood.

In September that year, Peter’s brother Jack also enlisted and was presented with a wallet from the Millicent Council, and a parcel of comforts from the Country Women's Association. Jack was the third of the brothers to enlist. By December ’43 the fourth brother, Air-cadet Neil McArthur, of the Millicent Air Training Corps was presented with a proficiency certificate. The South Eastern Times reported that ‘Three of his brothers (Peter, Jack and Bill) are in the fighting services. Neil is on the clerical staff at the Millicent Railway Station and will join the air force when he obtains a release from railway duty.’ The latter was not readily obtained as the railways were considered an essential service. 

Peter and Maud Haddrick of Yumali announced their engagement in November ’43. They married the following year at Scots Church on North Terrace in an afternoon ceremony on July 8th ’44. The young couple later had two children, Brian and Annette.

Corporal Peter was finally discharged in November ’45. In December he was one of eighteen returned members of the naval, air force and land services, and two women of the army service, who were accorded a public welcome at the Millicent Institute Hall. Speeches, music, sketches and supper were a feature. The returnees were given a rousing welcome and thanked for their exceptional service. Similarly, those at home were thanked for keeping them supplied with munitions and personal comforts including the Australian Red Cross and the Comforts Fund organisations such as the Country Women's Association. Mention was made of the glad days in the lives of servicemen when such comforts as tobacco, soap, tooth paste and Christmas puddings arrived. It was also noted that Australia still needed to support those who returned in the life that was ahead of them.

A key relative in Peter’s life, particularly since his father’s death, had been his uncle Simon McArthur. With his death in September ’48, Peter and his brother John both acted as pall bearers with other cousins.

The support offered to returned soldiers was slow in coming but eventually a soldiers’ settlement was established for the WWII group on Kangaroo Island. Initially huts from the dismantled Loveday Internment camp in the Riverland were dismantled and shipped across to the Island, to be rebuilt into temporary homes and workshops. The camaraderie was probably the glue that held the families together, but conditions were challenging for many years. Peter is  one of those settlers remembered on the Island’s Ex-Servicemen Land Settlers Roll for WWII.

Peter lived to be 91 and died on the 15th October 2007. He was buried in Centennial Park Cemetery General Section, Path 2 Grave 130.

Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.