REED, Max Collingwood
| Service Number: | SX7137 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 June 1940, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 14 January 1920 |
| Home Town: | West Croydon, Charles Sturt, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Salesman |
| Died: | Lung Cancer, 24 October 1987, aged 67 years, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 29 Jun 1940: | Involvement Private, SX7137, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Adelaide, South Australia | |
| 29 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX7137 | |
| 23 Aug 1945: | Discharged | |
| 23 Aug 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX7137 |
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Son of Charles Collingwood REED, 67 Palmerston Road, North Unley, SA
Max enlisted for the army at age 20. He lied about his age so that he could volunteer. He was in 2/48th battalion and fought as a "Rat of Tobruk".
He ended up in a prisoner of war camp but escaped. When he was about to be caught again he assumed the identity of a Canadian airforce pilot with the name "Jack Hopin" DOB 16/12/1922 which was his fiance's actual date of birth.
The first time he was sent to the Stala XVIII-A in Klagenfurt, Austria. The second camp he was sent to under the name Jack Hopin is unknown. He was awarded the Star of Africa for his duty in the African campaign.
He returned home in July 1945 and married his wife Edna Hale one week later. He was debriefed and discharged in August at the woodwide oakbank barracks. He suffered severe PTSD in his life after the war and passed away in October 1987 from lung cancer leaving his wife, two daughters and son: Helen, Susan, and Ron.
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