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Born on the 3rd October 1918, to Harriet Elizabeth and Angus Underwood, Angus was named after his father, also called Angus Abram. Angus Jnr was one of six children including Ethel, Dorothy, Roy, and William Frank. A further son Henry Michael died in September 1920 aged just three months.
Angus was particularly fortunate to survive a cliff fall of 80 feet in the summer of ’32. He fell at Valley Lake, landing on his back between two large boulder and miraculously was eventually able to walk home. Rather unkindly the Border Watch wrote ‘Commonly known as "Pud” he weighs approximately 12 stone and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. A.A. Underwood, of Bertha Street, Claraville. Running down a narrow track towards the water's edge at the-lake the boy found, the earth. giving way beneath his feet, and he shot over the edge of the cliff. A stout sapling snapped off as he struck it and he crashed about 80 feet to the base of the cliff. Bathers on the narrow beach below watched him, horror-stricken, and heard the crash as he landed. Expecting to find a mangled corpse they went forward and found the lad between the boulders. He came round within five minutes and later, with the assistance of the bathers, was able to make his way to the top of the cliffs, from whence he walked home.’
The ‘First Aid’ given was questionable by today’s standards, with no reference to concussion. ‘Angus thought that his back was broken, but by pulling him forward by his arms it was proved that it was intact, and similar methods assured the rescue party that there was not a bone broken. Though very groggy the boy was raised to his feet, and by slow degrees managed to reach the top of the cliffs with the help of the bathers. It was after 9 o'clock before he reached the rear of the hospital. Today Angus is bruised and stiff but is able to sit up and take things quietly at his home.’
Angus first attended the Mount Gambier School where he was regularly named as the most successful student in his year level and by 1932, (the year of his fall) had also gained his Woodwork Certificate. He then attended the Marist Brothers’ College in Mount Gambier. He did not use his woodworking skills to gain employment, instead becoming a baker. He was unfortunate to be behind the wheel of a large blue buckboard being driven in an easterly direction, towards the intersection of Bay Road and Commercial Street where, according to a colourful witness statement reported in the Border Watch, he “heard the engine of the vehicle roar, and the buckboard slackened its speed from 30 miles an hour to an estimated speed of 20 miles an hour. At that speed the vehicle turned the silent cop into Bay Road, where it was stopped with a "howl" of brakes. During the car's course around the cop it was necessary for pedestrians about to cross Penola Road from the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to Gifford’s Hotel to stop abruptly, and to run back to the footpath for safety. Two cyclists were riding their machines in a westerly direction towards the main corner, and they were forced to hastily dismount their machines to avoid being knocked down. Witness approached the vehicle and spoke to the driver, asking him what was his idea in driving in such a manner, and whether he wanted to kill someone. Defendant had replied that he changed gears, and perhaps he did travel a little too fast.”
Angus spoke in his defence with a less entertaining statement that “on the night in question he was travelling at between 20 and 25 miles an hour approaching the main corner. He changed gears, and his speed dropped to below 15 miles an hour. The only traffic about at the time was a couple of cyclists travelling from east to west towards the main corner. There were few people about at the time, and he cleared the south-eastern corner post by about two feet. He stopped the vehicle and left the machine, returning about 10 minutes later.” The newspaper continued ‘Cross examined by Inspector McDonald, defendant said that the car in which he was travelling was a heavy 1925 or 1926 model, which was his father's property. It was hard and stiff in the steering.’ Resultantly the court decided to convict, but in view of the youth of the defendant, who was 19 at the time, to Inflict a fine of £1, with costs of 10/. In light of Angus’ later war service, these driving skills came to be of particular use.
The following year, as a 20-year-old, Angus and his motor bike were involved in an accident on Bay Road which proved to be expensive. For failure to register his motor cycle, he was fined £2 10/, for not being licensed £2 10/, and for not being insured £15, with 10/ costs on each charge. However, he did not lose his icence but was berated for having ‘done everything you should not have done and have left yourself open to fines’. Angus appealed for leniency on the grounds that he had been out of regular employment for 12 months and had only recently obtained a regular position. He bought the motor cycle during the holidays, when the business places were closed, and wanted to try it out.
Angus also enjoyed being part of the Catholic Young Men’s Society activities, including an exhibition of boxing and wrestling at one and being involved in a mock court where Angus had the role of being the Court Police Constable and exercising his powers by ejecting one person for contempt of court. He also was active in preparing the Caledonian Hall for the annual Marist Brothers' College Ball in ’38. The Rainbow effect of lights, streamers and flowers contributed to the feeling of luxury.
War then intervened. 21-year-old Angus enlisted on the 25th June 1940 as SX6789 and was allocated to the 2/48th Battalion. (His younger brother, William Frank enlisted the following year on the 10th March ’41 as VX50924 in the 2/7th Battalion. Unfortunately, aged 22 he was accidentally killed in Ceylon on the 27th June ’42.) Many other local young men enlisted around the same time as Angus and were to frequently catch up in the Middle East.
Following pre-embarkation leave Angus and his fellow 2/48th Battalion, headed overseas for the Middle East. in February 1941 and disembarked on the 23rd March. Their 2/48th Battalion completed a few months training at Amiriya. Henry Kennedy SX7784 also of the 2/48th Battalion, wrote home with his letter published in the January ‘42 edition of the Border Watch. He had been at a training battalion, waiting to return to the 2/48th when he met up with many of his old friends from Mt Gambier. They included Angus ‘Angy’ Underwood SX6789, Hedley Buchanan SX7066 and Gerald Bellinger SX8878, all from the 2/48th Battalion.
A fellow Mount Gambier man, Corporal Ken Harrington, SX4117 who was with the Army Pay Corps wrote home in May ’41 saying he had met Gordon McCallum SX5595, late of the Shell Co., Mount Gambier, in a rather sandy spot; Dick Tothill SX9591 of the 2/43rd a few days later in the Jordan Valley on the banks of the Dead Sea; the two Buchanan boys (Hedley SX7066 and John SX6471 both in the 2/48th) and Angus Underwood's son, when passing through a town. "There are quite a number of Mount Gambier boys scattered around these parts but so far I haven't been able to contact many of them.”
That same year in July Corporal Henry Kennedy SX7784 wrote a letter to his brother, Bill describing his meeting with Ben Hunt and Angus Underwood, both of Mount Gambier. His description is reminiscent of Angus’ pre-war driving record, but which certainly came in handy in these circumstances. He wrote, "We reached a town and here transports were waiting for us. Ben Hunt was in charge so I had a few words with him. Ben was full of business, clad only in grey flannel, and his trousers were hanging loosely on his hips. But Ben doesn't get excited. We had quite a yarn, though people were running and yelling orders to everyone else. "
"The next thing I knew I had to bundle my section into a truck. One of them got in the front seat. Normally I don’t mind this as I always like to be with the boys and share whatever discomforts they have to put up with, but I saw "Angy" Underwood driving the bus, so I bundled the lad out and got in with Angy. Angy could give me some water and some bully beef and news of the boys, as I had not seen Pegler (Alan Pegler) or any of them for weeks. The convoy of trucks started and away we went. We did not waste much time. Angy was determined to keep his place in the convoy. But there are always other convoys travelling this way and that and often they get mixed up. Eventually we were well behind with a dozen trucks, between us and the one we should be following, so Angus began to step on it.
"I don't know," Cpl. Kennedy continues, "What he weighs, but I think he put all his weight on the accelerator and once down he kept it down. Some of the other drivers were determined he should not pass, but old Angry had his head down and away we went. He got on the side of the bitumen and heaps of road metal or holes and ditches didn't stop him. I was too frightened to talk, but just hung on. I was sure the lads in the back would be all thrown out. However, we passed through a fair size town at this rate and out on the other side we caught up with our convoy. It wasn't a very pleasant trip, the writer reflects "but perhaps it was just as well we travelled fast as the enemy entered that town that afternoon, so they were not far behind us."
Henry Kennedy again wrote home with his letter again published in the January ‘42 edition of the Border Watch. He had been at a training battalion, waiting to return to the 2/48th when he met up with many of his old friends from Mt Gambier. They included Angus ‘Angry’ Underwood SX6789, Hedley Buchanan SX7066, Alan Pegler and Gerald, all from the 2/48th Battalion. “I had a great couple of days meeting them all again."
Angus Snr received the unwanted news that his youngest son, 19 year old William was accidentally killed on June 27th in Ceylon.
That year was to also be a challenging one for the 2/48th. Orders had been received to capture West Point of Tel el Eisa in a dawn attack. In late June ‘42 with Rommel crossing into Egypt, the 2/48th were in an offensive to capture Trig 33, which was achieved on the 10th July. In doing so, over 400 Italian prisoners were taken. The 2/48th battalion then advanced south, capturing the Tel el Eisa station and repelling numerous counter attacks. However, they were eventually forced to withdraw, having suffered over 100 casualties. It was during this attack that Private Stan Gurney was awarded the 2/48th Battalion’s first VC having captured two machine gun posts and bayonetting the gun crew firing on his company but was killed attempting to take a third. The 2/48th battalion suffered 215 casualties between the 7th July and 23rd October. Of that number, 64 men were killed and six, died of their wounds. 125 other men were wounded but survived.
In July the battalion was attempting to capture West Point in a dawn attack. In his book, ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’, John G. Glenn described the ferocious encounter.
‘When the troops were well forward of the start-line they came under terrific fire from shells and mortars from the front and left, and suffered heavy casualties. With the slow deliberate movement of perfectly trained soldiers both companies continued the advance in perfect formation, over ground that trembled and erupted with vicious explosions. Through this, sometimes obscured by the smoke and dust, the men moved, and, as they advanced, the fire kept place with them, leaving behind the still shapes of fallen men among the camel bush and sand.’
Home on leave in March ’43 Angus and Muriel Zed of Adelaide were married at St. Patrick's Church in Adelaide, on March 4th. Distressingly just three weeks later, Angus’ 42-year-old mother, Harriet died suddenly. She was interred at Centennial Park. Angus Snr lived to be 84 and died on the 2nd may ’81. He was interred with his infant son at the Mount Gambier Lake Terrace Cemetery.

Angus rose to become a Lance Corporal and was finally discharged in September ’45. He continued to remember those with whom he served and travelled to Adelaide for the 38th Anniversary of ANZAC. In his typically evocative writing style, Max Fatchen wrote a moving tribute which appeared in the Mail in April ’53.
“The uniforms were different, but the reunions were there, with the handshakes and heartfelt fellowship. Then somewhere the music began, and we could see the heads of marching men beyond the ground. We slowly sorted ourselves into a line. The old briskness, had gone, the old snap and spring ; and a squadron leader shook his head sadly. But when we heard the music, when we swung out into King William street and the sea of faces along the barriers burst into islands of sound, it was different. The old swing seemed to come back, we dressed by the right like old timers, and we kept in step. As we inarched we looked for the faces we knew, took in the eager, excited children and the older, more thoughtful faces behind them with sometimes a sad one. And we thought a bit, all of us in that long, winding parade. Maybe, the chaps in the march would be thinking of Tobruk, the harsh country, with its deep wadis and the white dust that the shells threw up. Ex-Sgt. Bert Polkinghorne, of Forestville who was in Tobruk 6 1/2 months would think about that. He and Angus Underwood, who came down all the way from Pinnaroo they'd remember particularly the hot curried bully beef, their favourite Tobruk dish.”
From a life in the Army, Angus turned to the sky, learning to fly with the Pinnaroo Aero Club. He went on trips to Jamestown ‘going along just to make the weight right’ before in ’54 gaining his A Class Pilot licence, making the total of locally trained A licence pilots to seven. Angus quickly turned his skills to learning to fly an Aster, having learnt in a Tiger. The difference was described as being more or less a right hand “drive” similar to our cars, whereas the Auster is a left-hand drive similar to the American cars. Angus also turned his had to extending his aeronautic acrobatic skills. For the ’54 ANZAC march in Adelaide he hired an Auster plane from the Pinnaroo Aero Club and flew from Pinnaroo, where he lived, to join his comrades for the ANZAC march and reunion dinner.
May Bridget and Angus had four children, Gary, David, Michael and Naomi. May, lived to be 65 and died in 1996. Aged 96, Angus died on the 2nd February 2015. A plaque in their memory is in the Carinya Gardens at Mount Gambier with Angus’ enlistment number of SX6789 and a rose for May. Angus was buried in the Eucalyptus garden of the Carinya Gardens Cemetery at Mount Gambier in Niche 40 Row Z.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion