BAKER, Laurence Stanley
| Service Number: | SX7282 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 July 1940, Wayville, SA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Pirie, South Australia, 17 January 1917 |
| Home Town: | Mambray Creek, Mount Remarkable, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shearer |
| Died: | 31 October 1968, aged 51 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Derrick Gardens |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Jul 1940: | Involvement Private, SX7282, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Wayville, SA | |
| 1 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX7282 | |
| 8 Dec 1942: | Discharged | |
| 8 Dec 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX7282 |
Shearer to Soldier
Born in Port Pirie on the 17th of January, 1917 to Henry Edward and Florence Annie Baker, Laurie lived in Mambray Creek, to the north of Pirie. At the time, this was predominantly a farming area of South Australia which Laurie’s pioneering grandfather, William Edward had opened for farming. He survived droughts and, with the introduction of superphosphates, farming became reasonably safe.
With the outbreak of WWII, a huge enlistment drive was conducted, focussing on country regions of the state and aimed at fit, single young men. For many in the Pirie and surrounding region, the Depression had impacted on employment opportunities, so many immediately volunteered to serve, including 23-year-old Laurie. He had worked as a shearer, but at the time was unemployed in this predominantly seasonal occupation.
Laurie enlisted in Pirie on the 26th June ’40. That month was recorded as being the busiest month for the Pirie recruiting Depot with 137 young men applying to enlist and 92, including Laurie, passing the medical examinations and given a rail pass to travel to Adelaide. (Of those rejected, some were from reserved occupations, others had not undergone their health checks and a few were medically unfit.) Besides Laurie, others were from Tarcoola, Tarcowie, Booleroo, Ellendale, Three Chain Road, Port Augusta, Kimba Wandearah, Redhill, Crystal Brook, Solomon Town and Pirie. Once in Adeliade, he was allocated the number SX7282 and placed in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion.
His early days were spent in the cold of the Pavilions, now part of the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds, before he and other new enlistees headed to Woodside for their preliminary training. During pre-embarkation leave Laurie returned to Mambray Creek to have precious time with family. The 2/48th Battalion then embarked on the Stratheden for the Middle East, on the 7th November 1940 and disembarked on the 17th December. The young men then completed a few months training in Cyrenaica before heading to Tobruk at the start of April 1941 where the dust, flies, heat, minimal water supplies and constant bombardment were quite a challenge to these fresh new enlistees. Laurie was to become one of the famed Rats of Tobruk, but his life was to be irrevocably changed.
His battalion had barely arrived when at the start of May ‘41 he sustained a gunshot wound to his left thigh, resulting in him being evacuated to hospital but was discharged within a week to rejoin his battalion. His injury occurred in the fierce fighting for Hill 209 which also claimed the lives of seven others. John Glenn in his book, ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described conditions that day at Dimra: “At 3:50am on 1st May the men of the 2/48th stood-to to await the outcome of the battle which had raged all through the night. In thick mist, darkness, and bitter cold they snatched a quick breakfast of bully beef and hard biscuits.” In an attempt to take Hill 209 in the heavy dust storm marked by overhead enemy aircraft targeting their carrying vehicles, ‘D Company moved out steadily with two platoons forward- 18 Platoon under Lieutenant Larkins on the right and 17 Platoon with Sergeant Tonkin in command on the left.’ ‘The company then moved well forward under control, and came under small arms fire, but continued until they came under very heavy machine-gun fire from the direction of the Water Point and Post S4.’
The remainder of that day was chaotic, information scant, the men weary and under heavy fire and a raging sandstorm. The next morning there was a terrific dust storm, but a foot patrol set out to find their soldiers who had not returned. For a few of those missing men it was some time before their fate was confirmed. An appalling day for the close knit 2/48th.
Back home in May ’41, the Chronicle listed 29 wounded in action from his battalion. These included Pte. Laurence S. Baker, SX7282, Mambray Creek; Pte. Percival G. Bartholomew, SX7122, Narrung; Pte. Thomas Bell, SX8265, Snowtown; Joseph Buckley, SX8459, Albert Park, Vic; Pte. Robert W. Carvosso, SX7888, Glenelg; Pte. Ernest H. Chapman, SX7289, Koongawa; Pte. Ronald R. Collins, SX7163, Gulnare; Pte. M. G. Day. SX7434, Nairne; Pte. Harold W. Gass, SX7147, Mannum; Pte. Ronald A. Gepp, SX7884, Ashborne; Pte. Roy D. Goodes, SX6917. Cur ramulka; Pte. John Kennedy. SX7842, Adelaide; Lieut. Geoffrey D. Larkins, SX10332. St. Peters; Pte. Wilfred. J. Lewis, SX8856, Scott's Creek; Pte Henry O. Lohman. SX7771, Murray Bridge; Pte. Keith H. Pointon. SX7143. Prospect; Pte. Leonard G. Rex, SX7990, Colonel Light Gar dens; and Pte. Leonard J Rodda, SX7327, Moonta.
Part of Laurie’s service was alongside ‘Diver’ Derrick, who, at the end of May, ’41 drew up in his diary a list of the 34 men left in his platoon, including Laurie and my father, Bryan Holmes SX8133. Of those 34, nine did not return, some being killed at El Alamein the following year. Eight were subsequently wounded in action.
By April ’42 the theatre of war and the horrors associated with fighting contributed to Laurie being diagnosed with probable Psychosis, resulting in him being treated first by British CGS where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia (often associated with stressful life events) and evacuated to the 6 Australian General Hospital, where, inevitably he was assessed as ‘Permanently unfit for service’ by the Medical Board. In December that year, Laurie returned to Australia via Melbourne. He was initially sent to the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital at the end of July, but after a week was discharged to return to South Australia. He visited his family at Mambray Creek in October before returning to Adelaide.
Aged 25, Laurie was finally discharged on the 8th December, ’42. He was issued with a civilian suit to wear as he was in ‘necessitous circumstance’ and possessed no civilian clothes of his own. In a further blow for Laurie, his 60-year-old father, Henry died in the Pirie Hospital the following month.
Over the coming months, Laurie was reported in the Pirie Recorder newspaper as visiting relatives back home, including being part of the ‘welcome home’ celebrations held at the Port Germein Institute in September ‘45. The stage was decorated with flags, bunting, banners and flowers. The ‘Ode of Remembrance’ was recited followed by the poignant song ‘Home Sweet Home’. Fellow 2/48th Battalion soldier, Sergeant Charle Lampre was unable to be in attendance with Laurie. Each of the returned men was presented with a beautifully inscribed certificate. Singing, dancing and supper all followed.
By July ’57, Laurie’s mother, Florence died and was buried in the Dudley Park Cemetery at Port Adelaide.
Laurie was still an unwell man and was placed in the Northfield Mental Hospital, later known as Hillcrest Hospital. It was initially established in 1929 to relieve overcrowding at the insensitively named Parkside Lunatic Asylum. Laurie lived at Northfield during the ‘50’s, with records indicating that there were 835 patients residing in ’53. One section with 25 beds was set aside for ex-soldiers with mental illness. Changes occurred extremely slowly but early in ’62 patients at Northfield Hospitals were classified as having either a 'mental illness' or a 'mental disability'.
Service medals were not distributed until well after the war had concluded. In that time many of the original contact details for soldiers had changed. Hard earned, and a symbol of the service freely given, soldiers were proud to wear them. By 1960 Laurie therefore twice contacted the department, giving detailed information about his service and requesting that these be sent to him at Northfield. His awards included the 1939 -45 War Medal, the ’39 – ’45 Star, African Star and Defence Medal
Aged 51, Laurie died on the 31st October 1968. He now rests in the Derrick Gardens, Centennial Park Cemetery Path 10 Grave 670A, where he is remembered by his family and nephews.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.
Submitted 18 January 2024 by Kaye Lee
Biography contributed
Completed by St Joseph's School Port Lincoln
Lawrence (Laurie) Stanley Baker was born to Henry Edward and Florence Baker in Port Pire on the 17th of January 1917. Laurie had two brothers, Allan Edward William Baker born 8th of December 1909, and Clarence John Baker born 22nd of January 1913 and two sisters Ella Annie Baker born 4th March 1912 and Phyllis Peace Elizabeth Baker born 26th of December 1918.
He lived in Mambray Creek to the north-east of Port Pirie. During his early life he worked on his family’s farm which his grandfather Wiliam Edward had pioneered and cultivated.
With the introduction of superphosphates farming became easier and safer for him and his father. Two days after Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on the 3rd of September 1939 Prime minster Robert Menzies announced that Australia was at war with Germany and her allies. This caused enlistment rates to skyrocket across the country which was only exacerbated by the Great Depression which left many eager for employment. Laurie was employed as a shearer however it was only a seasonal occupation which led to him enlisting on the 26th of June 1940 in Port Pirie. June was the busiest month for the Pirie recruitment depot with 137 men enlisting and of the 92 that passed the medical examination Laurie was among them and travelled to Adelaide. Once he got to Adelaide, he was given the service number SX7282 and assigned to the recently formed 2nd/48th Battalion.
After basic training at Woodside Laurie returned to Mambray Creek to see his family before he left for the War. On the 7th of November 1940 the 2nd/48th Battalion embarked for the middle east on the ship Stratheden. They then completed a few months of training in Cyrenaica before leaving for Tobruk in April 1941.
The Battalion was formed in Adelaide at the Wayville Showgrounds during August 1940. It was part of the 26th Brigade, along with the 2nd/23rd and the 2nd/24th Battalions and was originally part of the 7th Division but in 1941 was transferred to the 9th Division. On the 9th of April the 2nd/48th battalion entered the defences of Tobruk and with the rest of the 9th Division was tasked with holding the “Fortress” for three months, they were still there after eight months. On the 14th of April the Battalion helped defeat the Axis assault on Tobruk whilst defending the Red Line with the 26th Brigade. The Red Line was a line on the outer defences of Tobruk made up of concrete pillboxes. Between the 15th and 16th of April the 2nd/48th sent out patrols that captured almost 800 enemy officers and men. All of the 9th Division except for the 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion withdrew from Tobruk in October and were sent to Palestine and Syria for rest. The British 8th Army required support to halt the Axis advance in North Africa and thus the 9th Division was called back to Alamein and held the northern section for four months. By 1943 Japan’s advance into Southeast Asia was becoming dire so the 9th Division was recalled and quickly equipped for jungle warfare. The 2nd/48th participated in the amphibious landing at Red Beach to the north-west or Lae on September 4th, 1943. The Battalion continued fighting throughout the war in south-east Asia until the end when it was disbanded on the 25th of October 1945.
Siege of Tobruk
From the 11th of April 1941 Erwin Rommel, a Nazi tank commander who led the infamous “Ghost Division”, 7th Panzer Division to victory in France, surrounded the port city of Tobruk in North Africa with a combination of tanks and infantry both German and Italian.
In Tobruk there was only 14,000 Australians and 12,000 British and Indian troops defending against over 30,000 of Rommel’s forces. The defenders were able to be resupplied from the Port but lacked air superiority which led to many Luftwaffe bombings. The garrison was commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead and consisted of the 9th division, 20th, 24th, 26th, and the 18th brigade of the 7th division. Half of the Australians in the garrison were relieved in August and the rest in September to October. Despite this the 2/13 battalion wasn’t evacuated until December after the siege had been won. Throughout the siege 1,213 Australians lost their lives and 2,160 wounded and 476 listed as Missing In Action. The siege was a massive boost to Allied morale as it was the first time that the German Afrika Korps was defeated and despite Nazi propagandist William Joyce, (nicknamed Lord Haw Haw) dubbing the Australians defending Tobruk “rats who would be smoked out of their holes.” They took it as an ironic compliment and thus the Rats of Tobruk were born.
Laurie in the War
Once Laurie’s battalion arrived at Tobruk in April 1941 they were tasked with taking Hill 209 which saw Laurie shot and wounded in his left thigh. The fighting for Hill 209 was fierce and saw seven men lose their lives.
Two platoons were sent, 18th platoon lead by Lieutenant Larkins on the right and then 17th platoon under Sergeant Tonkin on the left. The company moved out through the dust caused by German bombing of their supply vehicles; they came under small arms fire but continued until they came under heavy machine gun fire. Whilst serving, Laurie fought beside Tom “Diver” Derrick who wrote a list of the 34 remaining men in his platoon in 1941 which included Laurie. Derrick would go on to receive the Victoria Cross. Laurie was discharged to a hospital for his wound but only stayed for less than a week before returning to the front. By April 1942 Laurie was diagnosed with probable Psychosis due to the horrors of war, because of this he was treated by the British Chief of General staff and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and evacuated to the 6th Australian General Hospital and by December he was taken back to Melbourne.
Back Home
He was sent to the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital at the end of July 1943 but only stayed for a week before being discharged and he returned to South Australia to see his family. His father, Henry Edward Baker, had died earlier that year at the age of 60 in the Port Pirie Hospital on January 2nd, 1943. Laurie went to the Port Germein 1945 “Welcome Home” party where the “Ode of remembrance” was recited followed by singing of “Home Sweet Home.” Unfortunately, another 2nd/48th Battalion soldier Sergent Charle Lampre was unable to make it to the celebration. Each of the returned service members present were given an inscribed certificate for their efforts in the war. On the 15th of July 1957 Laurie’s mother Florance died and was buried at the Dudley Park cemetery in Port Adelaide. Despite Laurie’s metal illness he was still able to live a functioning life and was still able to be part of the community such as still going to the horse racers; however, people could notice that Laurie was severely distressed and anyone who knew him before the war knew that he was a changed man after coming home. During the 50s Laurie was still suffering from his mental illness and was placed in the Northfield Mental Hospital later renamed to the Hillcrest Hospital which closed in 1994. In 1953 there were 835 patients, one section of the hospital was sectioned off for returned service men with 25 beds. In 1961 there was a report into state-run mental health services which found that they were having both the intellectually disabled and people suffering from mental illnesses together, by 1962 the patients there were sorted into whether they had a “mental illness” or “mental disability.” Even though it had been 15 years since the end of World War Two many service men still hadn’t received their medals and when they started handing out their medals many of the soldier’s original contact information had changed. Laurie had tried twice to receive his medals and eventually received them in 1960 his medals were the “1939-45 War Medal” the “39-45 Star” the “African Star” and the “Defence Medal.” These medals were well deserved as Laurie is a perfect example of the ANZAC spirit as despite the terrible conditions in the heat, dust and files of Tobruk Laurie persevered and continued to do his duty and even though his was shot after only a few days he was back out on the frontline displaying his courage in the face of overwhelming odds. On October 31st, 1968, Laurie died and is buried in the Derrick Gardens, Centennial Park Cemetery Path 10 Grave 670A (Figure 7). He was 51 years old.
References
Lee, K. (2024) Laurence Stanley (Laurie) Baker, Virtual War Memorial | Laurence Stanley (Laurie) BAKER. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/601950 (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
Acknowledgement of traditional custodians (2023) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/tobruk (Accessed: 01 September 2024).
2nd/48th Infantry Battalion (2024) Vwma.org.au. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/404 (Accessed: 4 September 2024).
Northfield Mental Hospital | Find and Connect (2024) Find and Connect. Available at: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/entity/northfield-mental-hospital/ (Accessed: 4 September 2024).
‘The North African Campaign | Animated History’ (2019) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeHo-3Klmx0.
29 June 1941 - Panorama of Hill 209 (aka ‘Ras el Medauuar’) - Siege of Tobruk Sketch Map No. 1 (2024) Flickr. 29 June 1941 - Panorama of Hill 209 (aka ‘Ras el Medauuar’… | Flickr. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/88572252@N06/32647973297 (Accessed: 4 September 2024).
Mcarthy, G. and Sharon, F.G. (2001) With Toil He Won ‘Alderman’ Family Update 2001. 2nd edn. Adelaide: The Alderman Family Reunion Committee.
Robert Baker nephew of Lawernce Stanley Baker | 3rd of September 2024
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