Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ronald, known as Ron, was born in the Exeter suburb on LeFevre Peninsula on the 7th March 1918 to Percival (Percy) Walter and Olive May ‘Ollie’ Daniels. He was their second son with sisters included Linda Mary, Margaret, Jean, Marjorie and Glenda, plus a brother, Robert.
Their father, Percy, who came from a family of eight children, worked for the Glanville Pipe Works as a pipe moulder. He enlisted to serve in WWI, one of four siblings to do so, and unaware that the war would decimate his family.
Of Percy’s brothers, William Henry was the first to enlist in November 1914 as 1486 in the 10th Infantry Battalion. Ironically, he returned home after the war but had contracted tuberculosis. Rather than spend his last days in the Bedford Park Sanitorium, he chose to return to his family home and died aged 21 on the 5th July 1918.
Leslie was the next to enlist in July 15 as 1522, in the 32nd Battalion, then Percy on the 17th August 1915 as 2624 in the 27th Battalion, 8th Field Ambulance and finally Charles on 13th March 1916 as 1898 in the 50th Battalion.
Percy was wounded in action in 1916 but survived the war. Unfortunately, his brother Private Leslie was killed in action on July 17th 1916 in the disastrous Battle of Fromelles. His grave is still unknown.
Percy and Olive’s children attended the local Grange School. As was common in those times, parents were active in fund raising activities to support the purchase of equipment for the school. It also appears Percy was heavily involved in Sailing at the Port, with a P.W. Daniel trophy presented at the end of the sailing season.
Post school, Ron worked as a fibrous plasterer until the outbreak of WWII, when as a 22-year-old, he enlisted in Adelaide on the 5th July 1940. Darren Paech in Adelaide to Alamein recorded that it was a spur of the moment decision to enlist with his friend Keith Williams after the two had been to the movies and decided to enlist together. Keith became SX7851 and Ron SX7863 with both placed in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. Following pre-embarkation leave, they boarded the Stratheden on the 7th November that year and arrived in the Middle East on the 17th December. Little did either young man know at that stage that they would become one of the famed, but unofficial Rats of Tobruk – a title carried with much pride.
Back home, Percy also became involved in the war effort as one of 83 wardens in the Woodville area, with Percy involved in the Henry Street, Rosewater Gardens precinct.
Ron’s younger brother, Robert Charles ‘Bob’ enlisted several years after Ron on the 21st June ’43 at Port Adelaide to serve in the Navy as PA4046, becoming an Able Seaman. He was eventually discharged on the 3rd September ’46 and married Florence Rose Mellor.
For Ron, barely having arrived in the Middle East, he faced the full force of combat and was wounded in a maelstrom on the 22nd April with gunshot wounds to his left buttock and finger and some secondary damage to his face. Back home, the damage done in that encounter was evident in those from Ron’s 2/48th Battalion who were also listed in newspapers as wounded:
Pte. Robert T. Christie, SX8273, Angaston (later died of wounds); Pte. George A. Cohen, SX8165, Angle Vale; Pte. R. G. Daniels, SX7863, Rosewater Gardens; Pte. Charles S. Deering, SX77O2, Alberton; Sgt. Jack W. Hanley, SX7129, Grassmere; Pte. Ray B. Lovelock, SX7399, Karoonda; Cpl. Francis B. Pearson, SX7056, Kilkenny; Pte. Angus R. Sara, SX9334, Ethelton; Pte. Ronald A. Small, SX7891, Redfern; Pte. E. Smith, SX506O, Ivanhoe (Vic) and Pte. James A. Tregilgas, SX6885, Norwood.
In that encounter, Ron was the gunner for Sergeant Len Batty who led an audacious attack directly up to an enemy battery whilst under heavy fire from anti-tank and machine guns over just 50 yards. Batty was the first South Australian awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Ron the Military Medal for his courage and determination as he and his driver, SX7272 Private John Spavin drove their carrier while under point blank fire. The carrier received a direct hit, causing the patrol to abandon it and take cover behind. Both Batty and Ron were injured but Spavin kept firing his rifle until the infantry arrived after a very long 20 minutes. The Chronicle reported that ‘Seven South Australian A.I.F. Men Eighteen men of the A.I.F. have been cited for bravery in action near Tobruk. Seven come from South Australia, six from Victoria, and five from New. South Wales.’
Ron was immediately taken to hospital where his role in one of the memorable actions came to light. As a result of their heroic actions, Ron and John Spavin were both awarded the Military Medal. Ron’s award read:
‘The courage and determination with which he engaged the enemy with his Bren gun when a member of the crew of a Bren gun carrier which took part in a raid on a ridge known locally as CARRIER HILL in front of our foremost defence at Tobruk. Private Daniels was in charge of the Bren gun in the leading carrier of a section of carriers which took part in a very successful raid carried out by C Company 2/48Bn on 22 April 41 on the enemy in position on the ridge known locally as CARRIER HILL at TOBRUK. The carrier was taken towards the enemy position and as it came over the ridge it was fired on by enemy machine and anti tank guns. It went directly up to the enemy position and circled round the guns which were in position near a battery of enemy field guns. The carrier got within 50 yards of the battery when Pte Daniels engaged the gun crews with his Bren gun. When the enemy battery had been taken by our infantry the carrier was driven to another centre of enemy resistance where the enemy were again engaged. The carrier sustained a direct hit from an anti-tank gun and could not proceed. Pte Daniels with the two other members of the crew left the carrier and took up a position behind the carrier and from there engaged the enemy. Daniels and one of his companions were wounded, until which time he without considering the risk to himself maintained an accurate and continuous fire on the enemy gun crew.’
By June Ron was back in the Staging Camp at Amiriya before being attached to the Kit store and returning to his battalion.
Periods of inaction for the troops who were in very primitive conditions, were interspersed with a variety of practice actions. Darren Paech in Adelaide to Alamein described such an exercise in July ’42 when a decision was made to send the carriers out and ‘shoot off a lot of ammunition’. The carriers complied but in returning over their own minefield, three were damaged and Corporal Bill Fletcher was fatally wounded. Ron was an essential part of the raid, with each carrier given an extra Bren gunner to bolster firepower. They circled to the north of the German position before charging back through their trenches, shooting up anything that moved. “It frightened the hell out of us and the Germans too” Ron later shared.
Events happened and were faced automatically. In later years they would re-surface. In another event, Ron was in a Carrier Platoon following D Company, carrying extra ammunition and supplies when a 88mm flak shell came floating towards them hitting the top of Sgt Ron’s carrier and wounding the gunner. Three shells hit them severely wounding one soldier whom Ron tried to get back to the stretcher bearers. Unfortunately, that soldier’s wounds were extensive and fatal.
Ron returned to the 2/48th and in April was promoted to Acting Corporal, Corporal and eventually Sergeant in January ’43. A much-anticipated return to Australia, via Melbourne followed in February ’43, spoilt only by an upper respiratory tract infection and, once home, by jaundice.
Ron was hospitalised with a staph type infection which had developed as a result of his injury and caused cellulitis in his left leg. While being treated, Ron was interviewed in March with those back home interested in their young men and the progress of the war. Ron explained that in the incident in which he earned his Military Medal had unexpected benefits. Two high ranking German Officers had been taken prisoner and gave important information of Axis positions, which the artillery later pounded. Ron also shared that he was so close to one gun, which was being swung round on them, that he "could have put his hand down the barrel and pulled out the 'shell." After giving the gun crew a few bursts, he left the Bren carrier and got down behind it. Soon afterwards he was knocked out when a shell tore into the carrier. He was picked up half an hour later when he found that his bayonet was smashed, and parts of it were in his own side. (And probably contributed to his cellulitis.)
Ron was granted a few days sick leave. Soon after, a joyous occasion on the 3rd June ’43 was the marriage of Beth Constance, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eckermann of Ethelton to Sgt. Ron Daniels (A.I.F., ret.), second son of Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, Rosewater Gardens. The couple chose St Paul’s Church at Port Adelaide on Saturday April 10th at 6 p.m.
Life, however, was not ready to return to ‘normal’. Ron and Beth had all too brief time together. However, there were memorable reunions with fellow Rats of the 2/48th. Some were planned, others incidental including meeting ‘Diver Derrick’ in the main street of Bridgewater, according to Murray Farquhar in Derrick VC. Eventually, being considered fit, Ron was posted to Queensland to train in the tropical conditions he would face in the humidity of New Guinea as he faced a very different enemy.
Ron arrived at Milne Bay in August ’43 but contracted an extremely high temperature called Pyrexia of Unknown Origin followed by malaria, eventually returning to Brisbane in February ’44.
About that time, back home his father, Percy had rescued a wharf labourer who had tripped and fallen into the Port River at 7:00am, remaining stranded unable to climb out or grasp the wharf structure. Percy threw him a lifebuoy and dragging him to safety. Despite suffering from shock and immersion, after a stay in the Royal Adelaide, the labourer recovered.
In an almost unforgivable faux pas, at the presentation of Awards at Government House on the 14th December ’44, Ron was erroneously described in the official report of the presentation of awards of the Military Medal as "the late Sgt. R. O. Daniels." His wife, Beth immediately assured reporting newspapers that her husband, who received the MM, was safe and well somewhere in Australia.
Malaria continued to erupt, but Ron returned to Morotai in April ’45 and thence to Tarakan for the closing days of the war. In June ’45 a further list was published of those, killed and wounded. Perhaps not unexpectedly, Ron was again wounded in action with a Bren bullet to his left leg. However, Ron chose to remain on duty, as did SX20074 Trooper John Phelan. They left Tarakan at the end of August with Ron eventually discharged on the 9th October ’45.
As did so many men who fought alongside or with ‘’Diver Derrick’ Adelaide to Alamein recorded that Sgt Ron Daniel believed Derrick was a fool to return to the front lines after receiving his VC and being commissioned. This was uttered in grief not malice for a man who was a hero in every sense of the word. Derrick died on the 22nd May 45, having been hit five times. He continued to lead, despite knowing his wounds were fatal.
Darren Paech’s honest but poignant summary of Ron, was that he ‘Carried both physical and mental scars. He was wounded several times and had two Bren gun carriers shot out from underneath him and two best friends killed in North Africa. Inevitably, he experienced many flashbacks, but returned to work and with Beth had two children. A hero is an inadequate word to describe him.
Both of Ron’s parents were buried in the Mitcham General Cemetery, Olive in May ’55 and Percy in March ’69. Aged 92 Ron died on the 12th Aug 2013 A simple funeral service was conducted for him at Port Adelaide with mourners bringing a single flower or garden bloom as a personal tribute.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.