COUSINS, Ernest James
| Service Number: | NX46202 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/12th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia , 8 December 1913 |
| Home Town: | Wickham, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Cabinet Maker |
| Died: | Presumed to be dead, Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 20 February 1942, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated ~ Column 7, Ambon Memorial, Indonesia. |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, NX46202 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX46202, 2nd/12th Field Ambulance | |
| 20 Feb 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX46202, 2nd/12th Field Ambulance, Executed by the Japanese after the Battle of Laha. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Bonald
Private Ernest James Cousins (NX46202) was a member of the 2nd/12th Australian Field Ambulance, which formed part of “Gull Force”.
This force consisted of 1131 Australian soldiers, Dutch and local native troops whose objective was to occupy Ambon Island, which is located approximately 350 miles North Northeast of Timor in the Banda Sea and hinder the Japanese advance Private Ernest James Cousins was a member of the large garrison (Laha Garrison), positioned around Laha Airfield prior to the Japanese invasion of 30 January 1942.
After a series of short but fierce battles, fighting on Ambon Island ceased on 2 February 1942. Although many of those captured on other parts of the island survived the war. The troops who had survived the “Battle of Laha” (approximately 315 personnel) were systematically executed and buried in one of four mass graves. The executions took place on the 2nd, 5th, 10th and 20th February 1942 at or near Laha Airfield.
Investigations after the war determined it was impossible to positively identify many of the remains found at Laha. Therefore these ‘war dead’ were declared “Become missing and for Official Purposes Presumed to be Dead, 20 February 1942”. Unfortunately, and sadly Private Ernest James Cousins was one of these servicemen to which the fortune of war, has denied a formal burial given to his comrades in death."
The remains of these gallant soldiers have now been reinterred in the Ambon War Cemetery as “Unidentified Australian Soldiers” and it is quite possible, Private Ernest James Cousins maybe one of them.
“Not one life can we call lost, for with it will be riven, the sacred memory of a life, unto his country given." -
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