BOYLE, Gordon William
| Service Numbers: | Officer, Commissioned Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 September 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Commander |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Goorangai |
| Born: | Cordinhap, Vic., 14 February 1905 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Librarian |
| Died: | Accidental Collision with MV Duntroon, Port Phillip Bay, 20 November 1940, aged 35 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Plymouth Naval Memorial to the Missing / Lost at Sea, Queenscliff HMAS Goorangai Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Sep 1939: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Lieutenant Commander, Officer, HMAS Goorangai | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Nov 1940: | Involvement Royal Australian Navy, Lieutenant Commander, Commissioned Officer, HMAS Goorangai, Homeland Defence - Militia and non deployed forces |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of William and Catherine Annie Boyle; husband of Marjorie Helena Boyle, of Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia.
Most people who frequent Robertson and Mullens’s bookshop in Melbourne knew Lieut.-Commander Gordon Boyle, who was lost with all his crew when the minesweeper Goorangai collided with a larger ship in the stormy marine entrance to Melbourne last week. He sold books for them and for their predecessors, Melville and Mullens, for 20 years, occupying his spare time by rising from the ranks to a commission in the R.A.N.R. He was one of the Reserve’s crack shots and skippered many winning teams in competitions.
The commander of the Goorangai, Lieut.-Commander Gordon W. Boyle, in pre-war days was assistant librarian at Robertson and Mullens Ltd., Melbourne, He lived at Surrey Hills with his wife and two small children. He was called up for active service with the R.A.N.R. at the outbreak of war. Commander Boyle, who was well known throughout Victoria as a rifleman, was recalled from leave last week to take part in thc Bass Strait sweep that followed the loss of two ships from enemy mines.
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