WEIR, Hugh Martin
| Service Number: | SX7353 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Glasgow, Scotland, 8 January 1915 |
| Home Town: | Magill, Campbelltown, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Magill Primary School, Norwood High School |
| Occupation: | Accountant |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Magill, 27 October 2004, aged 89 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Magill St. George's Church Roll of Honour WW2, South Australian Garden of Remembrance |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, SX7353 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Lieutenant, SX7353, 2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, Enlisted Adelaide, SA | |
| 8 Jun 1941: | Involvement Lieutenant, SX7353, 2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, Syria - Operation Exporter | |
| 28 Feb 1942: | Involvement Lieutenant, SX7353, 2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, Australia's Northern Periphery, Part of "Blackforce" in Java, disembarked from the 7th Division convoy aboard the 'Orcades' | |
| 11 Mar 1942: | Involvement Lieutenant, SX7353, 2nd/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, Prisoners of War | |
| 11 Mar 1942: | Imprisoned Prisoners of War | |
| 4 Jan 1946: | Discharged | |
| 4 Jan 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, SX7353 |
Syria - Operation Exporter
‘The unit I was in went through the Damascus route and after the French had capitulated we went to a place in Syria called Rayak. One day I took some of my platoon on a vehicle up the B’kaa Valley, which is between the Lebanon Range and the Anti-Lebanon Range. These two ranges are parallel and the Lebanon Range is the one nearest the coast. After travelling a considerable distance we arrived at a ruined town, Baalbek, which had been built by the Romans: they were very impressive ruins. A bit further on up the valley we noticed on the side of the Lebanon Range a roadway running right up to the top. It had been built in great sweeps from left to right because it would have been impossible to have driven a vehicle up if they had tried to go up the mountainside. After some travel, we got to the top and we found a monument of some sort, which had been erected in honour of the French Foreign Legion, which had built this long road up the mountainside. It mentioned the height of this memorial: I think it was 8,500 feet.
From Hugh Weir's memoir
Submitted 22 December 2015 by Steve Larkins
Biography
Hugh Weir was born in Scotland on 8 January 1915. When he was 3 months old his father died. Hugh and his family migrated to Australia when he was 10 years old, living initially in the South Australian Mallee country.
The family moved to Rostrevor where Hugh attended Magill Primary and Norwood High Schools. During his early years, Hugh displayed leadership characteristics and a strong sense of right and wrong. After joining the Public Service as a Hansard Clerk, Hugh began his career with the Taxation Office and qualified as an Accountant. Hugh met Gwen Turner in late 1939 and they were engaged prior to his leaving for war service overseas.
He had been commissioned in the militia 18th Light Horse Regiment between the wars. He resigned as an officer in the Light Horse in order to enlist with the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, which was subsequently deployed to the Middle East and fought in the Syrian Campaign in 1941.
In early 1942 the Battalion was recalled along with the rest of the 7th Division to defend Australia, but on the way, the 'Orcades' on which the 2nd/3rd MG Battalion was embarked, was diverted to the Dutch East Indies where it was landed on Java as a gesture of support to the Dutch East Indies Government facing invasion by the Japanese. After a short battle with the Japanese, the Battalion surrendered when the Dutch East Indies Government capitulated.
As a result, Hugh was a prisoner of war of the Japanese for three and a half years. Returning to Australia after the war, Hugh married Gwen, and the couple built a home at Rostrevor and raised four children.
Hugh took a keen interest in community affairs and was an active tennis player, swimmer and ballroom dancer. He went on two overseas trips with Gwen and had a distinguished career in the Taxation Office until his retirement at 65. Hugh enjoyed music and foreign languages as well as being a home handyman. He was a devoted husband to Gwen and in later life enjoyed reading, walking and the companionship of his dogs. Hugh died on 27 October 2004 after living a long and interesting life with more than its share of hardship. Above all, Hugh’s life had been a life of integrity.
Glenn Weir son 2007
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