Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George, known as ‘Jim’ was born and grew up in the picturesque town of Naracoorte, on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, on the 31st January 1911. His parents were Arthur Edgar and Winifred Nora Flavel. His siblings including Elizabeth Mary, Dominic Thomas Southland, Ann, John Joseph and Hector Hubert. Jim attended the local Merambro School, which opened in 1920 with just 23 children. (Lack of numbers contributed to its closure in ’53.)
As a thirteen-year-old, Jim and his family attended a Pioneers’ Day celebration with bullock wagons leading the parade of motor lorries and other cars. Each school was involved with Merambro School in their colours of brown and velvet and their 17 students part of the march. Besides stalls and Sideshows were relics from the Museum. Children’s events were then conducted on the oval, with Jim performing creditably in the under 11 race (winning 6d), and the Under 13 race (earning 1/-) As were his brothers, Jim was a capable footballer and, growing up in a farming area, was known for his ability to work with animals, including horses and working dogs.
With the Depression affecting work prospects, there was a huge need to address the plague of the introduced pest – rabbits which were severely affecting farming properties. Consequently, Jim worked on the family farm but also gained extra income from being a rabbit trapper.
The outbreak of WWII gave the opportunity for employment, adventure and travel. Enlistees were particularly sought in country areas where it was hoped to target, fit, single young men. So many from Naracoorte heeded the call to arms.
29-year-old Jim enlisted on the 4th July 1940 and was given the number SX7818, then allocated to the 2/48th Battalion. He and other new enlistees were initially housed in the Motor Pavilion of what is now the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. Their ‘beds’ were straw filled hessian on wooden pallets. The young men were later given kitbags on which their names were stencilled. The young men then headed to Woodside in the Adelaide Hills for preliminary training. Returning home for a week’s pre-embarkation leave, Jim and others from his battalion including Charles Lawrie SX8497 and his brother Eric SX8498, Archie Lennard SX6939 and Victor Atkins SX7814 were farewelled with a civic afternoon, hosted by the Mayor of Narracoorte who expressed his appreciation to the guests in the task they had undertaken. The young men were provided with a sumptuous afternoon tea provided by the Cheer-Up Society, before each was presented with a parcel from the members.
Following a week’s pre-embarkation leave Jim boarded the Stratherden, arriving in the Middle East on the 17th December ’41.
In the poor sanitary conditions of the desert, Jim contracted scabies in May ’42, spending several days being treated.
Finally at the end of January ’43 Jim’s battalion left the Middle East, returning to Australia via Melbourne and well-earned leave. Training in Queensland followed to prepare the troops for a very different enemy in the tropical conditions of New Guinea. He arrived in Milne Bay in August. Within months, he was being treated for an very high temperature called Pyrexia of Unknown Origin (PUO). Eventually returning to Brisbane, Jim received his first fine for non-attendance at a Parade. He soon after turned his hand to learning bakery skills, gaining his qualifications in November ’44. He did particularly well in the written aspect of the exam, with the added comment that he was ‘A quiet, clean and hard worker. Average intelligence. Conduct and bearing good’. In terms of the skills he had acquired he was praised for his ability to produce bread in the field under any conditions.
Within weeks, he again contracted a high fever in January ’45 which developed into pneumonia. When this had cleared, Jim again set sail in April, this time to Tarakan for the final months of the war. With the ‘mop up’ completed, he was discharged on the 15th November, ‘45
Jim’s 18-year-old brother, John, also a farm worker, enlisted the following year on the 21st July ’41. He was placed in the 2/7th Battalion as SX13768. Dominic also desperately wanted to serve with his brothers but was rejected several times. Undaunted, he joined the Militia as S5521
Jim’s brother, 20-year-old John Joseph was killed in the fighting in New Guinea on the 4th December, ’42. The distressing news was shared in the local Naracoorte Herald in January the following year. ‘Word was recently, received by 'Mrs. A. E. Favel, of Padthaway West, that her son, SX13768 Pte., John Joseph action in New Guinea on the 4th of December, 1942. Pte. Flavel was born at Lameroo on May 7th, 1923. He was 18 years of age when he enlisted from Naracoorte on the 23rd. July, 1941. He sailed for overseas in October of the same year, and returned to Australia in March, 1942. He then went to New Guinea, where he was killed in action. Pte. Flavel was the second youngest son of a family of five. Two other boys are serving, in the forces. They are James (Egypt) and Dominic (Adelaide).’
Each year the family placed an In Memorium to John, the first in January ’43. ‘FLAVEL.—In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Pte. John Joseph Flavel, who was killed in action in New Guinea on 4th December, 1942. Ever remembered by his loving mother, father, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, aunties, uncles, and cousins. "May he rest in peace."
The local community also continued to remember the loss of their young men. In May ‘51 the War Memorial to the Fallen of World War II was unveiled and dedicated in what was described as the most impressive ceremonies in the district's history and was attended by a crowd estimated to number one thousand. Over 160 ex-servicemen took part in a street march to the Memorial, led by the Naracoorte Pipe Band. Other organisations, including Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Red Cross and B Squadron of the 3/9 South Australian Mounted Rifles followed. The Memorial was engraved with 36 names of local young men, including John Joseph, whom had paid the supreme sacrifice. In reciting the specific stanza of Laurence Binyon’s "Ode to the Fallen", a vow was made by Mr Eastick to “remember them -remember them not only in word, but in deed. We must remember them by the lives we live; remember them by striving forward and upward towards that great goal of peace on earth and good will to all.” A poignant promise.
Jim returned to his hometown, resuming as best he could, the life on the land. In an attempt to put his experiences behind him and in respect for the loss of his brother, John, Jim’s medals were put away. Age 68, Jim died in his hometown of Naracoorte on the 5th November ’79. He now rests in the local cemetery in Plot G231. His older sister, Elizabeth continued to be proud of Jim’s service and attempted to find out the fate of his medals and to keep them in his honour. She found they had been sent in September ’68 and included the 1939/45 Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and Australian Service Medal.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.