BENSON, Arthur Max
| Service Number: | QX6090 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 March 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gundiah, Queensland, Australia, 3 March 1906 |
| Home Town: | Tiaro, Fraser Coast, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway employee |
| Died: | Accidental (Drowning), Mary River, Tiaro, Queensland, Australia, 25 December 1944, aged 38 years |
| Cemetery: |
Maryborough Lawn Cemetery, Queensland Plot B Row D Grave 8* |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Maryborough St. Paul's Anglican Church Book of Remembrance, Tiaro Shire Honour Roll WW2, Tiaro War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Captain, QX6090 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1940: | Enlisted | |
| 4 Mar 1940: | Enlisted QX6090, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Sep 1942: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Captain, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Dec 1942: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Captain, QX6090, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, Buna / Gona / Sanananda "The Battle of the Beachheads" - Papua, GSW forehead, chest and left leg | |
| 23 Dec 1943: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, Buna / Gona / Sanananda "The Battle of the Beachheads" - Papua | |
| 25 Dec 1944: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
QX6090 Captain Arthur Max Benson was born at Gundiah on a property called "Goorah Flats" on March 3rd 1906. He was a twin, his brother was Emmanuel William Benson.
The family was to have strong military links; by the time WW2 was under way there would be four of the Benson clan in uniform. Records show that Max enlisted in the militia in Sydney in 1926 and served with the 1st Battalion until 1929, then he served with the 30th Battalion at Liverpool until 1931. Following a three year gap, he was then shown as joining the 47th Battalion in Maryborough, where he became OC of the Tiaro detachment and OC of the Mortar Platoon.
At the outbreak of WW2, he joined the 2/9th Infantry Battalion at Enoggera and served with that unit in the Middle East desert campaigns and later in New Guinea.
While attacking a Japanese position near Buna in December 1942, Max, then a Captain, was struck by a piece of shrapnel in the head and was returned to Australia in January 1943. By March 1944 he had recovered sufficiently to be reposted into service and was in active service in Port Moresby. He was then returned to Australia in May to again be treated for the wounds suffered in Buna.
On Christmas day in 1944 Max was on leave and took his wife, 2 sons and daughter down to the Mary River at Tiaro to teach the boys how to swim. Unfortunately he disappeared under the water and could not be revived. Later a post mortem revealed he suffered a major stroke, probably as a result of the head wound he had been nursing for almost two years.
Captain Arthur Max Benson was 38 years and 9 months when he passed away.
Source: http://www.gundiahgazette.com.au/pdf/GG-12-03.pdf
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