ELLENBY, Malcolm Richard
| Service Number: | SX1166 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 November 1939, Wayville, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Plympton, SA, 4 June 1918 |
| Home Town: | St Peters (SA), Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Salesman |
| Died: | 17 November 1994, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Flinders Park Staff of the South Australian Gas Company Roll of Honour, Municipality of St Peters Citizens Who Have Enlisted Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, SX1166, Wayville, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jan 1942: | Honoured Military Cross | |
| 6 Apr 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, SX1166, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion |
WW2
The details provided are taken from the book "Purple and Blue, the history of the 2nd/10th Battalion AIF (The Adelaide Rifles), 1st published in 1958. Malcolm's name is mentioned a number of times throughout the book, and detailed in the index at the rear of the book, as is the citation for the Military Cross awarded for service at Tobruk in 1941.
Submitted 15 June 2020 by Maxwell HILL
Biography contributed by Woodville High School
On the 4th of June, 1918, Malcolm Richard Ellenby was born in Plympton, South Australia. His hometown was St Peters when he enlisted on the 3rd of November, 1939, in Wayville.
Ellenby served in the Middle East, stationed in Dimra, Palestine, fighting in the Battle of Tobruk in Libya. Tobruk was a harsh desert, with burning heat by day, bitter cold by night, and hellish dust storms. The 2/10th and other Australians that fought in the battle, now called “Rats of Tobruk”, stayed in dug-outs, crevices, and caves.
Ellenby left Australia from Sydney on the 5th of May, 1940, aboard the RMS Mauretania. During this trip, he was afflicted with Coryza (Inflammation of the mucus membranes in the nose) on the 7th of May, and Tonsillitis on the 5th of June. In both cases, he was subsequently admitted to the Ship Hospital. He then arrived at Gourock, Scotland, on the 18th of June. Through his time there, he attended a sniper course from the 15th of July to the 2nd of August, before he was admitted to the Tidsworth hospital on the 20th of August, for Tonsillitis again. He was discharged from the Hospital on the 27th of August.
He was confirmed as a Lieutenant while on the ship in October 1940. He had previously been appointed Lieutenant on probation before his embarkation on the 1st of March, 1940. He also attended an intelligence course from the 1st to the 7th of September. The rest of his stay in England was uneventful until his embarkation on the 17th of November, from the U.K., to Palestine, where he disembarked on the 31st of December, New Year's Eve.
Three months after his disembarkation, he was admitted to the 8th British General Hospital due to Tonsillar Hypertrophy (enlargement of the Tonsils) from the 5th to the 19th of March, 1941. He was then transferred from the 8th British General Hospital to the New Zealand Convalescent Depot. because he needed a Tonsillectomy on the 19th of March (It gave him enough trouble already), and on the same day, he was evacuated to the A.I.F. Officers' Hostel as a convalescent to recover from his tonsillectomy, until his discharge on the 8th of April, 1941.
He then transferred to the 18th Australian Infantry Brigade on the 9th of April, after training the previous day. He fought in the Battle of Tobruk in the 18th Infantry Brigade, a rather easy siege, and the conquest of the city, however, was a long, defensive battle as the Germans started to attack. During one of these many fights in a lengthy battle, Ellenby was injured.
An excerpt of a newspaper states that “Lieutenant-Colonel A. D. Verrier, who has command of a South Australian unit abroad, wrote that Pte. Fallon carried Lieut. Ellenby about a mile and a half under heavy fire.” followed by a quote from Colonel Verrier. Mrs Ellenby's brother, "Malcolm, did a grand job the night he was wounded. Even though badly hurt, he made sure that all his men got away safely." Ellenby’s gallantry, holding the Germans back until his men got away safely, earned him a Military Cross, which he was announced to receive much later on the 30th of December, 1941, and he obtained on the 14th of December, 1944 (Awm.gov.au, 2025). His wounds included gunshot wounds to his head and both knees, which he miraculously survived, and he was placed on the Dangerously Ill List, having been evacuated to the 11th Australian General Hospital on the 27th of July, 1941. It was stated on the 11th of August that his condition was improving, and he was moved from the Dangerously Ill to the Seriously Ill list on the 20th of August. On the 9th of September, he was transferred to the 2nd Australian General Hospital. He was then deemed Permanently Unfit for Service by the medical board on the 5th of October, exactly a month later, embarking on a ship back to Australia.
On the 29th of November, he arrived in Australia, Wayville, and was granted convalescent leave for 10 days while being admitted to the 6th Hospital, Wayville. He was interchanged with Kapara at Glenelg, then back to Wayville on the 10th of December, 1941, and the 6th of March 1942, respectively. He was granted 16 days' leave on the 23rd of December 1941, and 14 days’ leave on the 31st of January 1942, which is supposedly due to his marriage to Grace, a substantial day in his life, becoming a regular citizen again (Trove, 2025a). Then, pending a termination appointment, he was granted 32 days of leave from the 6th of March. Then, he had his A.I.F. appointment terminated (he was discharged) on the 6th of April.
He married on the 31st of January, 1941. He became a star announcer for ABC, covering events
Bibliography
2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion AIF Association. (2023). MIDDLE EAST. [online] Available at: https://www.2-33australianinfantrybattalion.org/history-post/middle-east/ [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Army Museum of South Australia (n.d.). Siege of Tobruk - Army Museum of South Australia - Anzac Highway, Keswick. [online] amosa.org.au. Available at: https://amosa.org.au/museum-exhibits/wwii-exhibits/siege-of-tobruk [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Australian War Memorial (2011). Rats of Tobruk 1941 | The Australian War Memorial. [online] Awm.gov.au. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/tobruk [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Awm.gov.au. (2025). Malcolm Richard Ellenby. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1577039 [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Naa.gov.au. (2025). View digital copy. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6643757&S=3&R=0 [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Nla.gov.au. (2025a). This content is blocked! [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/261860344?searchTerm=Malcolm%20Ellenby [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Nla.gov.au. (2025b). Welcome To Zscaler Directory Authentication. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48783960?searchTerm=Malcolm%20Ellenby [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Trove. (2025a). M.C. WINNER MARRIES - The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) - 31 Jan 1942. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55768092?searchTerm=Malcolm%20Ellenby [Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].
Trove. (2025b). Saved By Private’s Courage - The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) - 23 Aug 1941. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55833449?searchTerm=Malcolm%20Ellenby
[Accessed 6 Nov. 2025].