Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Fauntal was born in the mid-Murray region of Sedan on the 30th May 1912 to Albert Ernest and Caroline Katherine Whitford. He was their fifth child and third son in a family of nine. He quickly became known as Roy. He and Doreen Emily Evans married in ’32 at Encounter Bay where Roy worked as a butcher. Two daughters, Patricia and Pauline, enriched their family.
However, with the outbreak of WWII both Roy and his younger brother Albert Gordon both enlisted. Gordon on the 22nd May ’40 as SX3229 in the 2/7th Field regiment. 28-year-old Roy enlisted at Millicent then travelled to Adeliade to officially be accepted on the 29th June that year as SX7271, serving in the 2/48th Battalion. His early training was at Wayville before having brief per-embarkation leave and boarding the Stratheden on the 7th November and arriving on the 17th December in the Middle East.
Roy was to earn the unofficial but proudly held title of being a Rat of Tobruk, with the term originally designed to destroy morale and encourage the men to surrender from their situation of living like rats in their hand-hewn bunkers, beset by heat, flies dust and repetitive diet. Not unsurprisingly, the taunt had the opposite effect.
By August ’42 Roy had become a Group III Driver Mechanic but within a few months was being treated for hepatitis, returning to his battalion just days before he was wounded in action in the fight for El Alamein and Tobruk returning to the hands of the Allied Forces. John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described at the time that ‘The 2/48th had stirred up a real hornet’s nest; from first light until nine o’clock, the enemy turned all their fury on the Trig area, with particularly heavy fire on 29 itself, hiding the position in a cloud of dust and smoke.’ Conditions at that time were ever-changing and the fighting continuous. Mongomery had ordered the 9th Battalion to attack northward. The subsequent action between October 25th and 26th 1942 meant that the survivors of an horrific explosion and ensuing fighting were not always able to immediately retrieve their fallen and injured men.
Back home the Advertiser announced that ‘Mrs. Doreen Whitford, of Middleton, has been notified that her husband, Dvr. F. R. Whitford, was wounded in action in Egypt on October 25. Dvr. Whitford has seen service in Palestine. Tobruk, Syria, and Egypt.’ An extensive list of those killed or wounded in action appeared in subsequent issues.
Following a month of treatment, Roy was able to return to his battalion. The timing was fortuitous as rumours had abounded regarding the battalion’s return to Australia. At the commencement of February ’43 the depleted ranks of the 2/48th returned home via Melbourne.
For Roy, hospitalisation followed as he was treated initially for appendicitis. Unfortunately, this was followed by bronchial pneumonia and a stint at Kapara Convalescent Home where he was also treated for abdominal pain. In what seems a petty charge, Roy failed to return his blankets and was fined 5/- for ‘Conduct to the prejudice of good order’. Soon after he was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer
Having been in the midst of action in the Middle East and experienced the after effects of this service, Roy was finally discharged on the 19th May ’45. The other highlight of that year was the arrival of his and Doreen’s son, Bryce. Doreen and Roy moved to ‘Tarcoola’ in Port Elliot where the girls celebrated their 21st birthdays. Roy was a strong supporter of the local Surf Life Saving Group. Bryce also very quickly became a Surf Lifesaver, excelling in swimming events from an early age. Roy and Doreen became very involved members of their community; Doreen becoming a Guide Captain, Secretary of the Victor Harbor School Council and involved in CWA and a host of other groups as well as being a talented artist.
In later years, Roy gained fame for his magnificent, productive tomato yield from two plants, one producing 120 fruit and the other 60 – well worth being a feature in the Victor Harbor Times of 1980.
Aged 47, Roy’s younger serving brother, Albert Gordon died in July ‘64 and was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery. Roy lived to be 69 and died on the 20th July 1981. He also was buried at Centennial Park, in the Derrick Garden of Remembrance. His grave is marked in Tree Bed 31 Position 4. Doreen lived to be 87 and was buried at Victor Harbor.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.

Fauntal was born in the mid-Murray region of Sedan on the 30th May 1912 to Albert Ernest and Caroline Katherine Whitford. He was their fifth child and third son in a family of nine. He quickly became known as Roy. He and Doreen Emily Evans married in ’32 at Encounter Bay where Roy worked as a butcher. Two daughters, Patricia and Pauline, enriched their family.
However, with the outbreak of WWII both Roy and his younger brother Albert Gordon both enlisted. Gordon on the 22nd May ’40 as SX3229 in the 2/7th Field regiment. 28-year-old Roy enlisted at Millicent then travelled to Adeliade to officially be accepted on the 29th June that year as SX7271, serving in the 2/48th Battalion. His early training was at Wayville before having brief per-embarkation leave and boarding the Stratheden on the 7th November and arriving on the 17th December in the Middle East.
Roy was to earn the unofficial but proudly held title of being a Rat of Tobruk, with the term originally designed to destroy morale and encourage the men to surrender from their situation of living like rats in their hand-hewn bunkers, beset by heat, flies dust and repetitive diet. Not unsurprisingly, the taunt had the opposite effect.
By August ’42 Roy had become a Group III Driver Mechanic but within a few months was being treated for hepatitis, returning to his battalion just days before he was wounded in action in the fight for El Alamein and Tobruk returning to the hands of the Allied Forces. John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described at the time that ‘The 2/48th had stirred up a real hornet’s nest; from first light until nine o’clock, the enemy turned all their fury on the Trig area, with particularly heavy fire on 29 itself, hiding the position in a cloud of dust and smoke.’ Conditions at that time were ever-changing and the fighting continuous. Mongomery had ordered the 9th Battalion to attack northward. The subsequent action between October 25th and 26th 1942 meant that the survivors of an horrific explosion and ensuing fighting were not always able to immediately retrieve their fallen and injured men.
Back home the Advertiser announced that ‘Mrs. Doreen Whitford, of Middleton, has been notified that her husband, Dvr. F. R. Whitford, was wounded in action in Egypt on October 25. Dvr. Whitford has seen service in Palestine. Tobruk, Syria, and Egypt.’ An extensive list of those killed or wounded in action appeared in subsequent issues.
Following a month of treatment, Roy was able to return to his battalion. The timing was fortuitous as rumours had abounded regarding the battalion’s return to Australia. At the commencement of February ’43 the depleted ranks of the 2/48th returned home via Melbourne.
For Roy, hospitalisation followed as he was treated initially for appendicitis. Unfortunately, this was followed by bronchial pneumonia and a stint at Kapara Convalescent Home where he was also treated for abdominal pain. In what seems a petty charge, Roy failed to return his blankets and was fined 5/- for ‘Conduct to the prejudice of good order’. Soon after he was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer
Having been in the midst of action in the Middle East and experienced the after effects of this service, Roy was finally discharged on the 19th May ’45. The other highlight of that year was the arrival of his and Doreen’s son, Bryce. Doreen and Roy moved to ‘Tarcoola’ in Port Elliot where the girls celebrated their 21st birthdays. Roy was a strong supporter of the local Surf Life Saving Group. Bryce also very quickly became a Surf Lifesaver, excelling in swimming events from an early age. Roy and Doreen became very involved members of their community; Doreen becoming a Guide Captain, Secretary of the Victor Harbor School Council and involved in CWA and a host of other groups as well as being a talented artist.
In later years, Roy gained fame for his magnificent, productive tomato yield from two plants, one producing 120 fruit and the other 60 – well worth being a feature in the Victor Harbor Times of 1980.
Aged 47, Roy’s younger serving brother, Albert Gordon died in July ‘64 and was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery. Roy lived to be 69 and died on the 20th July 1981. He also was buried at Centennial Park, in the Derrick Garden of Remembrance. His grave is marked in Tree Bed 31 Position 4. Doreen lived to be 87 and was buried at Victor Harbor.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.