Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Albert was born on the 21st January 1920 in Broken Hill, to Edward John Pascoe who named Albert after his brother, Lance Corporal Albert Charles Pascoe, Number 1098 who was killed in the battle of Armentieres, in northern France on 25th April, 1917. The family continued to mourn the loss of Albert, placing annual memorials to him, including ‘Far from his home and childhood, Away o'er the ocean so deep, In a far away land our dear brother Is taking his last long sleep. His duty nobly done. Inserted by his loving brothers and sisters, Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Pascoe, Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Pascoe, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. N. Roberts, Lily and Pearl, Lieutenant A. Black, also Mrs. M. and J. Delbridge.’
Albert, known as Jack, attended the local Broken Hill School, riding his bike from home and storing it in the purpose-built shed. Unfortunately, senseless vandalism occurred during class when many bikes were attacked with tyres slashed and mudguards wrenched off. Fifteen-year-old Jack was one of the affected students, with police in a search for the offenders.
Post school, Jack worked as a labourer when aged 20 he enlisted on the 3rd June ’40. The local Barrier Miner newspaper reported that 233 young men enlisted with Jack, catching the express train to Adelaide. His early training was at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills until he had brief pre-embarkation leave before boarding the Stratheden on the 17th November. Unfortunately, a fortnight later Jack was hospitalised for almost a week, but had recovered once he disembarked in the Middle East on the 7th November.
During the Battle for Tobruk, an attempt to demoralise the troops was made with Germans dropping leaflets deriding the conditions under which the men were living ‘like rats’ in their hand-hewn dugouts. Typically, the Australian’s adopted the term as one of pride, claiming the title of being a Rat of Tobruk as a badge of honour.
At the end of May ’41, ‘Diver’ Derrick made a list of the men left in his platoon, which included Jack. The numbers were to be badly decimated. Derrick kept an almost daily diary, which has since been documented with meticulous explanatory notes by Mark Johnston in ‘Derrick VC In His Own Words’.
Jack was injured in an encounter which killed his friend Jack Brice, also from Broken Hill. Derrick recorded that the ‘pasting continued for days. On 4th July, American Independence Day, he wrote “Fritz has just scored a lucky one on our firing aperture, and Jack Brice has been killed, Tommy Hill a nasty head wound, Jack Pascoe face injuries and head wounds. A stretcher bearer also slightly wounded’ ‘Cleaning up after such an incident is gruesome.’
The following day Derrick wrote of the effects of losing a fellow soldier. ‘Put in a ghastly morning sweeping up the remains of young Jack (Brice). The other three have been moved to Toby. Fritz still sending over plenty and making things very uncomfortable.’
Jack was listed as being wounded in action with a gunshot wound to his face. He was hospitalised for almost three weeks. Back home the 24th July issue of the Chronicle reported the names of others from his 2/48th Battalion. They included: Killed In Action.— Pte. John B. Brice, SX6827, Broken Hill, N.S.W. Died Of Wounds.— A/Cpl. Arville T. Todd, SX9384, Berri, S.A.; Wounded In Action.— Pte. Albert J. Pascoe, SX4804, South Broken Hill (N.S.W.) and Pte. C. B. Rule, SX7313, Fullarton.
In Broken Hill, the local Barrier Miner reported that ‘Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Pascoe, of 141 Wills Street, have been advised by the Minister for the Army (Mr. Spender) that their son, Pte. Albert John Pascoe, has been wounded in action. The date is not given. Pte. Pascoe enlisted in the A.I.F. last year. He was 21 years of age in January.’ The following day the newspaper had gleaned more scant information: ‘Pt. Albert John Pascoe, who was reported as wounded in action yesterday. Before enlisting lived with his parents at Wilton Street, South Broken Hill. He was last heard of in Northern Africa.’
The following month more information was shared; ‘Pte. Albert John Pascoe, of 141 Wilson Street, South Broken Hill, who was reported wounded in action last month, is improving, according to a letter received by his parents. He has been discharged from hospital and is now in a rest home.’
Almost immediately after being discharged from hospital, Jack went Absent Without Leave, the first of many times. By the end of August Jack was back with his battalion but still experiencing ill health with a fractured right clavicle and a chip off his thoracic vertebrae and was again hospitalised, this time in the British Hospital, before again returning to the 2/48th in March the following year. His absenteeism escalated for the remainder of the year and was punished with a hefty fine of 28 days’ pay being forfeited. The commencement of ’43 continued to include more absenteeism and the resultant loss of pay and freedom in serving a sentence.
For the 2/48th Battalion and Jack, it was time to head home to Australia via Melbourne at the start of February ’43.
He married Marjorie Emma Fahy on the 9th March ’44 whilst home on leave, adding an ‘unofficial‘ extra day of leave for a brief honeymoon. Inevitably, it resulted in the loss of two more days’ pay for Jack. Their son, Brian Albert was born in December ’44 with the couple having another son, Graham.
Training in Queensland followed before Jack left Cairns for Milne Bay in August ’43. On arrival he again was AWL and again faced both loss of pay and a fine. The heat and tropical conditions contributed to Jack developing a painful ear infection, followed by an abscess and the development of an extremely high temperature (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin). A litany of health conditions followed, including malaria, tinea and Dengue fever.
He finally left New Guinea, arriving in Brisbane in February ’44, still with malaria. Over May, Jack again absconded, being declared an illegal absentee and a warrant issued for his arrest. A fine and being confined to barracks followed, as did ongoing health issues of malaria and high temperature, then in November a fracture to his ankle.
Jack’s last days of service were back in New Guinea at Tarakan until October ’45 when he returned to South Australia to be finally discharged on the 8th November ‘45
Jack and Marjorie eventually moved to Valley View where he lived to be 55 and died on the 5th January ’76. He rests on Path 33 Plot 528B. Marjorie lived a further three and a half decades and died on the 20th February 2001. A headstone commemorates their lives at Centennial Park Cemetery Plot General H Path 12 Grave 597
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.