COSTELLO, Ernest John
| Service Number: | TX2817 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/40th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bellerive, Tasmania, Australia, 12 May 1906 |
| Home Town: | Bellerive, Clarence, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Bellerive State School, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Illness whilst a Prisoner of the Japanese, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies, 12 May 1945, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
Jakarta War Cemetery, Indonesia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Corporal, TX2817 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, TX2817, 2nd/40th Infantry Battalion |
Ernest "Cossie" Costello
I Jennifer am the step grandchild of "Cossie" Costello.
Cossie was born 12 May 1906,in Bellerive, Tasmania, he died when he was 39 years of age in a POW Camp in Sumatrea, Indonesia, ironically own his birthday 12 May 1945.
He died before I was born, but upon doing my family Ancestry, I have found that he was a soldier regarded very highly by his fellow army men. I have a personal diary of his that was sent to my grandmother Alice Maud Costello, Cossie's wife, upon his death.
They had only been married for five years, a beautiful human being, they were very much in love before he headed off to war, never to return....
An extract from his diary states:
Received first letters from home, from wife whilst at POW camp Maccasura on the 24 May 1944, dated 6 October 1942. Our chaps left Tamong Priosk, January 5 1943, for Thailand and Burma, lived in several POW Camps at Java finally leaving on June 23 1944, short sixteen days at Singapore."
Lovely tributes from his army mates to my grandmother, written after he died, in the same diary sent to Alice upon his death.
Submitted 16 January 2025 by Jennifer Sharman
Biography contributed by Jennifer Sharman
Ernest John Costello was born 12 May 1906, ironically died 12 May 1945 on his birthday, while in a POW Camp in Sumatrea, Indonesia. He was born to John Owen Costello and Lilly May Christie, Bellerive, Tasmania. He was a labourer by trade, met and married Alice Maud Short in 1940, they had no children, "Cossie" as he was affectionately known to his family and friends, had been married for only 1 years before enlisting into the Army, married only five years before his death. Such a waste of life, a handsome man, kind and gentle.
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