Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

David was born in Adelaide on the 17th December 1917 to Annie Ethel Stark, who later became Annie Welsh.
Working as a farm hand, 22-year-old David was one of the early enlistees to serve in WWII on the 24th June ’40. He was given the number SX6891 and allocated to the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. David’s early days were spent in the Motor Pavilion of what is now the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. His ‘bed’ was straw filled hessian on wooden pallets. The battalion then trained in the Adelaide Hills before he had brief pre-embarkation leave.
David arrived in the Middle East on the 23rd March ’41 as part of the battalion’s reinforcements. He initially had training time at the Amiriya Staging camp and was briefly with the 2/24th battalion before returning to the 2/48th.
In September ’42 David sustained an inflammation to his left knee which resulted in a month of treatment, but by February the following year he and the battalion returned to Australia via Melbourne. However, he contracted an upper respiratory tract infection whilst onboard causing him to spend time in the ship’s hospital. By the time David arrived in South Australia, he was able to head to Kingscote, Kangaroo Island with several others from his battalion including George Johncock SX7400 and Perce Weatherspoon SX8249. At the time, his mother Mrs Welsh, stayed with friends at Kingscote to have time with him.
Following leave, David then trained in Queensland, preparing for service in New Guinea, against a very different enemy in tropical conditions. He arrived in Milne Bay in August ’43. By November he was badly wounded in action with a complicated injury to his abdomen, resulting in a perforated bladder and bowel. In the compilation and annotation of ‘Diver’ Derrick’s diaries, Mark Johnson in ‘Derrick VC In His Own Words’ wrote an entry on the 17th November ’43 from the White Trunk Tree area, Sattelberg Road New Guinea. “B Company were pushed in and a glorious display and attack dislodged enemy from well dug in posn.’ Derrick recorded the events of the 18th November ‘43 near Coconut Ridge in the Sattelberg Road. ‘Tanks now operating again and ridge occupied after a brief but hard fight. A Coy moving up to take over advance 9Pl, 7Pl, 8Pl. Had only gone 150 along road when 2M.Gs opened on the fwd tank and 9PL were pinned down. A detour by No 2 tank found him in between both guns which kept firing foolishly at the turret. A move fwd by 9Pl resulted in 2 casualties, Ptes Stark and Rowe – finally 8 Pl scrambled over the ridge to silence the right flank gun.’
John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described the surrounding area as being dearly bought and dearly held. Bordering the road and lining many of the crests were tangled messes of almost impenetrable bamboo, ideal for concealing an enemy. In the fighting along the six thousand yards dividing Jivevaneng and Sattelberg, and in the final storming of the stronghold itself, the battalion’s casualties were, though we could not know it then, to number more than one hundred.’ David was one of these.
Glenn then described the unpredictability of the conflict when David was wounded. ‘Back on White Rock Ridge some Headquarters Company men were just enjoying a brew of tea when the enemy landed several shells right near them. A reinforcement lad who had just arrived was understandably a little nervous; he stuck to his hole. Jacky McMahon, noticing this, jumped in beside the youngster, and had just finished telling him that the Japs could not hit a country privy when a shell landed between them. Both were wounded.’
The Chronicle in December announced that in the 2/48th Battalion, SX7212 Corporal Thomas Woodall from Exeter had died of his wounds, SX6891 Private David Stark of Lower North Adelaide was seriously wounded and two others, SX7823 Privates Albion St. L. Gray from Magill and SX7330 Allen R. Harris from Moonta were also wounded. It was not until January the following year that David was removed from the seriously ill list. He was particularly fortunate.
A hospital ship brought David back to Brisbane, where he was again hospitalised. The following year he was transferred to the Kapara Convalescing Home where his injuries continued to be treated as was a malarial infection. David was finally discharged on the 13th October ’44, classified as ‘medically unfit’.
Post war, David married Joan Doreen Watson, who had worked in the manpower office. She served with the WAAF since late ’42, gaining a commissioned rank in July ’45. (Her sister, Margaret had obtained her commission in ’43.) David and Doreen welcoming their son, Reginald David in July ’46.
Aged 61, David died in Port Pirie on July 22nd 1978 and was buried in the RSL section of Enfield Memorial Park Cemetery, Eastern niche wall No 2 RSL AG4. Joan lived for more than a decade longer and died in 1991 at Woodville West.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.