Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Bernard was born to Alma Gertrude and Carl Friedrich (Charles) Hoffman on the 25th March 1917, with the family living at Blumberg in the Adelaide Hills. (The original town was named by the early settlers from Prussia. Sadly, anti-Germanic sentiment from WWI caused the name to be anglicised to ‘Birdwood’.) Bernard was just seven months old when his 35-year-old father died as a result of an accident on the 27th October. Later, Alma remarried and moved to live in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth as Mrs Lee.
Post school Bernard became a lorry driver until the outbreak of WWII when, aged 23, he enlisted on the 29th June ’40. Just days beforehand, he married Dorothy Mary on the 16th June ’40 with the young couple initially living at Prospect.
Bernard was initially placed in the 7th Division. However, by September he became one of the originals in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion as SX7015. He ‘extended’ his pre-embarkation leave by a further two days to be with Dorothy, forfeiting 10/- pay and being confined to barracks for three precious days. Soon after, he boarded the Stratheden on the 7th November, arriving in the Middle East on the 17th December.
The following year on the 7th September ’41, news of the birth of his and Dorothy’s son (name?) reached Bernard
By mid-October ’42 Bernard was appointed to the role of Lance Corporal, but within days was wounded in action at the start of November ’42 with what was described as a ‘sucking’ wound to his chest. He was immediately treated by a field ambulance before being taken to hospital where the gunshot wound to his chest was further treated.
The Advertiser advised readers that ‘Mrs. B. O. Hoffman, formerly of Prospect, now living in Sydney, has been advised that her husband, Pte. Bernard Oscar Hoffman, has been wounded in action and dangerously ill in Egypt. He enlisted in June, 1940, and sailed for overseas in November. He served in Palestine, Libya, Syria and Tobruk.’
The November issue of the Advertiser listed those injured at a similar time, with fellow 2/48th members being Wounded In Action SX7825 Cpl. William O. Braund, Maitland. SX11862 Pte. Peter Coll, Gladeville. NSW. SX7014 Cpl Ronald J. Hanson, Croydon. SX7276 CpL Stephen. B. Lister, Birkenhead SX8871 Pte. Stewart A. Martin. Sandllands. SX13743 Pte. William. P. Martin. Largs Bay SX5294 SX12804 Pte. David. S. Richards, Wokurna. SX11155 Pte. Ernest W. Starkey. Port LincoIn. SX7271 Pte. Fauntal. R. Whitford. Middleton. Also on the Seriously ill list were SX7840 Pte Claude F. Hay Adelaide and Wounded In Action And Placed On Dangerously III list SX7015 Pte. Bernard O. Hoffman, Walkerville.
Murray Farquhar in ‘Derrick V.C.’ includes the detail of that time; the 25th October attack on Trig 29 where a savage dog fight ensued. ‘There were Jerry machine-gun nests cross firing from all angles. They had us in a real fix. We tried to dig in.’
Over the days at the end of October fierce fighting was unrelenting. John Glenn in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described how ‘The attack continued, however, without pause…it was only after hard fighting, with heavy casualties on both sides, that they were able to consolidate on their objective. The troops had never been more tired. The 2/48th had stirred up a real hornets’ 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.’ A comment was later made about the heavy casualties. Glenn also explained they were ‘running into particularly stiff opposition to the west of the Trig point. It was only after hard fighting, with heavy casualties on both sides, that they were able to consolidate on their objective. Gradually the platoon, small in number to start with, was being whittled away and those remaining were being forced to go to ground.’
Bernard was fortunate to survive. He and Claude Hay remained on the Chronicle’s wounded list in December ‘Seriously Wounded. — SX7840 Pte. Claud F Hay, Adelaide. Dangerously Wounded. — SX7015 Pte Bernard O. Hoffman. Walkerville’.
The remains of the 2/48th were able to return to Australia via Melbourne at the start of February ‘43 however, Bernard was still placed on the seriously ill list at the conclusion of that month The Chronicle at the time placed him and five others from the 2/10th Battalion on this listing. By March ’43 Bernard was finally placed on the hospital ship, Netherlands and heading to Australia, via Sydney with shrapnel still embedded in his chest and brachial plexus lesion. He continued to be treated in hospital, but inevitably, his condition and the seriousness of the wound rendered him unfit to continue serving as emphysema had also developed. Paperwork followed enabling Bernard to be granted a War Pension in November ’43, and he was finally discharged at the end of February ’44.
Aged 53, Bernard died on the 2nd July 1970. He was buried in Newton, in the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium North Ryde NSW In East Terrace 3 Wall 5. Dorothy died on the 20th April 1985 with her ashes also placed in the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Rose Gardens.
Tribute researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133 2/48th Battalion.