JOHNS, Norman Mackelcan
| Service Number: | NX22527 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 May 1940, Paddington, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 4 June 1919 |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | School Teacher |
| Died: | Kahiba, New South Wales, Australia, 15 June 2006, aged 87 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Whitebridge Cemetery Charlestown, Lake Macquarie City, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 29 May 1940: | Involvement Corporal, NX22527 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 May 1940: | Enlisted Paddington, NSW | |
| 1 Mar 1941: | Involvement Private, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Libya/North Africa | |
| 28 Aug 1941: | Wounded Private, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Siege of Tobruk, B.W. (R. thumb) | |
| 10 Jul 1942: | Involvement Private, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, El Alamein, Tel el Eisa | |
| 4 Sep 1943: | Involvement Private, NX22527, 2nd/9th Divisional Carrier Company, New Guinea - Huon Peninsula / Markham and Ramu Valley /Finisterre Ranges Campaigns | |
| 10 Jun 1945: | Involvement Corporal, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Borneo - Operation Oboe May - August 1945 | |
| 30 Nov 1945: | Discharged | |
| 30 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, NX22527, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Corporal Norman Mackelcan Johns (Service No:NX22527) enlisted in the AIF on 29 May 1940, and was a Private attached to 2/17 Infantry Battalion on 19 October 1940 when he embarked with his Unit for the Middle East. Private Johns was WiA on two occasions whist serving in the Middle East (12 September 1941 and 17 October 1942), and returned to Australia on 27 February 1943. Private Johns served in New Guinea with 9th Division Carrier Coy (26 July 1943 - 9 April 1944), and was a Corporal attached to 2/17 Infantry Battalion in Borneo (6 May 1945 - 15 November 1945). Corporal Johns was attached to 2/17 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 30 November 1945.
Bill was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1919, youngest of two children of Herbert (Bert) Arthur Johns (b1885 in Melbourne, Victoria) and Elizabeth Brown (b1890). Bert (a Clerk) was in Perth WA in 1913 when he and Elizabeth married, and settled in Perth where they raised their family and Bert was a Clerk. In 1917 Bert applied for a Gold Mining Lease at Tuckabianna in the Murchison, and was a Merchant in Broken Hill NSW through the 1930s/1940s. By 1950, Bert was an Agent in Safety Bay in Perth, WA.
Bill competed his teaching qualifications at the University of Sydney, where he served in the Sydney Unversity Regiment, and in 1940 was a Teacher in Broken Hill when he enlisted in the Army. In 1947 in Mudgee NSW, Bill married Bethel (Peg) Maude Armstrong (b1921 in Armidale, NSW) - Peg was a Teacher in Mudgee. Bill and Peg lived in Broken Hill - both Teachers - before moving in the early 1950s to Newcastle/ Lake Macquarie region, where they raised their family and Bill was a Teacher. Bill died in 2006 and Peg in 2012.
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