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Louis Thomas was born in Redhill on the 1st August, 1918 the sixth child and third son of John and Mary Ann Kostera, a strong Catholic couple. His parents had a large family of eleven children which also included five brothers Paul Phillip, John Geoffrey, William Francis, Keith Anthony (‘Sam’) and Cecil Stanislaus, plus five sisters Eileen Frances Elizabeth, Verna Irene Joyce, Mary Edna, Helena May (Lena), and Patricia Josephine.
Louis’ grandfather was a Polish migrant who arrived in South Australia as a 19-year-old young man, farming in the nearby Blyth area. Louis and his siblings grew up in the Mid north farming district of Balaklava, on the banks of the Wakefield River. The area was popular for its strong wheat growing but also of being well located between the copper mining town of Burra and the Port Wakefield.
As a five-year-old, Louis and his family were actively involved in church-based activities, including a ‘Frolic’ conducted by the Sisters of St Joseph’s Convent in which over sixty children took part. Songs and a drama performance were followed by the children marching to the orange and green decorated Hall. Three of the Kostera children won prizes for their costumes: Louis as the most original, being a golliwog, Jack the most humorous as a candle and Lena as a wood elf.
Initially Louis was educated at the local Lakeview Public School before attending St. Joseph's, Balaklava. Post school, he returned to his family farm where he helped his father, also becoming a proficient truck driver. Both he and his brothers were also involved playing tennis, and coursing for the local Whitwarta club, plus cricket for Preston.
With the outbreak of WWII, a very strong recruiting campaign was conducted for the A.I.F. in a huge drive aimed at fit young country men. As an incentive for country-based men to enlist, intending recruits were encouraged to contact the Balaklava Recruiting Committee for their initial examination. The added inducement was that they would then receive a free rail pass to Adelaide for their second examination, as well as being met on arrival and conveyed to Keswick. Consequently, a month after his 22nd birthday Louis enlisted on the 23rd June, 1940 and was given the number SX6606. His friends, 20-year-old Max Reid and Raymond Young enlisted on the same day, (which was Raymond’s 26th birthday) and were given the numbers SX6604 and SX6607 respectively. The following week Louis’ older brother, 25-year-old Paul also enlisted on the 29th June, as SX7090. All four were allocated to the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. The local paper was quick to publish the names of the new recruits. They included Neil Gilcrest SX7266, Max Reid SX6604 (later taken POW with Louis) and Raymond Young SX6607 (later killed in action) who were all allocated to the 2/48th with Louis.
A huge farewell social was held in the Balaklava Institute to farewell the young men in October. They were escorted to the stage before the singing of WWI songs and other items Following speeches, the men were presented with an inscribed wristwatch from the district and various other gifts. Louis was also presented with a gift from his coursing club and the Preston Cricket Club. The President, in making the presentation commented that “cricket did one of two things to a man — it either made him more of a man or showed him up as a poor sport. From the way Pte. Louis Kostera, while only a new player, had faced up to fast bowling without flinching, he was sure into which category he could be placed. Louis would make a good pal under any circumstances.”
The group’s initial days were spent in the cold of the Pavilions, now part of the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. From Wayville, the new enlistees moved to Woodside for their preliminary training.
Following pre-embarkation leave, the 2/48th contingent embarked on the Stratheden for the Middle East, on the 7th November 1940, arriving on the 17th December 1940. Their 2/48th Battalion completed a few months training in Cyrenaica before moving to Tobruk at the start of April 1941 where the dust, flies, heat, minimal water supplies and constant bombardment were quite a challenge to these fresh new enlistees. They were to become the famed Rats of Tobruk, a title designed to be derogatory, but one worn with pride.
Less than a year after arriving, distressing news announced that, Louis’ 27-year-old brother Paul was killed in action in Libya on the 5th August, 1941. John Glenn in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described the conditions: ‘The days were unbearably hot. Conditions in the Salient were particularly bad, and at night cases of heat exhaustion had to be evacuated from the forward posts. This was the fifth month of the siege, and conditions were telling on the men. To add to this there was a marked increase in enemy fire from mortars, artillery and machine-guns, and our casualties were mounting. Private P. Kostera was killed by a sniper, and Privates Irvine, Hordacre and Ron Smith were wounded by shell fire’. The Mid-north Northern Argus carried the story. 'Another fine young man killed in action is Private P. P. Kostera, of Balaklava, being a member of the families of that name who have been well and favourably known in the Blyth, Kybunga and Balaklava and Snowtown districts for several generations.’
Within a year, Louis’ fate was also shared. By July ’42, the conflict reached a critical point. John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan described how ‘The sky roared with battle; great clouds of dust billowed up from the combat. To the sullen rumble of the gun, reminiscent of Tobruk, the 2/48th dug in and prepared to make a stand should the German forces break through.’ On the 9th July, word was received that the focus was on attacking and capturing Point 26, Point 23 and Tel el Eisa Railway Station near the ridges and Points 23, 26 and 33, all considered strategically essential to the Allied’s advancement. This was preceded by German tanks charging and running over the slit trenches in which the Australians were sheltering. The fighting was ferocious but also resulted in remarkable acts of courage by individual soldiers against the might of the tanks. It was during this intense fighting that Louis was captured whilst attacking and capturing Tel El Isa Railway station to consolidate their position. The enemy counter-attacked; the company withdrew leaving two forward sections in position which were later surrounded by enemy infantry and tanks. Sydney Kinsman SX8953, captured at a similar time, explained that he was taken prisoner having been captured at the Tel el Eisa railway station when the Germans counter attacked with tanks and artillery. As dark approached, the remainder of his company withdrew without telling the two forward sections, which included Syd. They continued to fight until they were attacked from the rear while also facing tanks and infantry fire from in front, making it impossible to hold out and therefore having no other option that to surrender. Syd was captured with his section leader, Corporal Alvine Montgomerie SX7967, Lieutenant Colonel Max Richardson SX7532 and Private Ronald Irwin SX7858. John Glenn described how the intense action continued “for the next fortnight, bitter and bloody fighting was to rage around this feature until it was finally occupied by A Company… The capture of this coastal ridge turned the whole tide of battle; Rommel’s advance petered out on the slopes of the Tel el Eisa. He had sent counter-attack after counter attack to remove this spearhead that had been thrust deep in his side. The 2/48th Battalion’s casualties for the first day were six men killed in action, eighteen wounded, thirteen missing.” Louis and his friend, Max Reid, were some of those reported missing.
For all of those captured, their clothing was only what they were wearing – shorts, shirt and boots. It was to be a bleak future as they left the desert. It took some time before the news was published that Louis was missing. A list of POWs, all from the 2/48th Battalion appeared in the Advertiser’s August edition: ‘Missing, Believed Prisoner Of War SX10598 Pte. R. Bannister, North Adelaide. SX8953 Pte. Sydney G. Kinsman, West Thebarton. SX66O6 Pte. Louis T. Kostera. Balaklava. SX6604 Pte. Max G. Reid, Balaklava. SX7532 L-Cpl. Max Richardson, Elliston.
The following month, the Reid and Kostra family received confirmation that both young men were officially Prisoners of War.
By May ’43 Louis and Max was interned in Camp 57 PM 3200 but continued to be moved to a series of different camps in Italy and then Germany, including Camp 106 and Stalag 4B. Rather than his 2/48th number SX6606 of which he was justifiably proud, Louis was given a POW number, 269215. The prisoners from Australia and New Zealand had been divided according to their surnames, with the A – L group with Louis Kostera aboard, being shipped on the ‘Sestriere’ and the M-Zs, including Max, being on the new SS ‘Nono Bixio’ Italian troop carrier with other POWs in August ‘42. Max’s ship was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS ‘Turbulent’ soon after leaving Benghazi Harbour. Fortunately he survived.
With the war coming to an end, welcome news was received in May that Louis’ and Max’s almost three years as prisoners in Italy and Germany, was over. They were in England and well. From there the men travelled back home to Australia, arriving in Sydney in July ’45, then recovered in hospital the following month before finally being discharged in September.
Louis’ mother, Mary Anne lived to see him return home to Australia. Aged 67 she died on the 20th October 1950 and was buried in the Balaklava Cemetery. Louis’s father John retired to Prospect and lived a further almost 17 years. He died on the 17th June, ’67 just prior to his 87th birthday. Both parents were buried at Balaklava.
Louis died on the 4th August 2006. He is remembered on a memorial in the South Australian Garden of Remembrance at Pasadena.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.