DESLANDES, Roy Charles Austin
| Service Numbers: | V125361, VX105949 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 April 1940, Seymour, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 29/46 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | Fitzroy, 9 December 1920 |
| Home Town: | Fitzroy, Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gusika, Papua New Guinea, 6 December 1943, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery Lae War Cemetery, Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 18 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Private, V125361, 29 Garrison Battalion (WA), Seymour, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Corporal, VX105949 | |
| 5 Oct 1942: | Transferred Private, 29/46 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 25 Aug 1943: | Promoted Corporal, 29/46 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 6 Dec 1943: | Involvement Corporal, VX105949, 29/46 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF, New Guinea - Huon Peninsula / Markham and Ramu Valley /Finisterre Ranges Campaigns |
Help us honour Roy Charles Austin Deslandes's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
The Deslandes Sports Oval in Nagada, PNG was named in honour of VX105949 Corporal R.C.A. Deslandes, D Company, 29/46th Infantry Battalion, who was killed in action while charging a Japanese machine gun position near Gusika on 06 Dec 1943
"During the advance from the Huon Peninsula last December, the Japanese were making a savage stand near the
Masaweng River, which is about 13 miles north of Finschhafen. Within an hour of zero, when one company went into action. Signaller E. L. L. Cressington, of Albert Park, and Lance-Corporal K. C. Killalea, of Wagga, were wounded. At this stage the Japanese were holding up the advance from the jungle with a light automatic weapon. Corporal R. C. Deslandes, 23, of Fitzroy, became the hero of the day, but he gave his life to capture the enemy post. Leading in his men, Deslandes took the Bren gun after successive members of the crew had been put out of action. Deslandes, holding a grenade in one hand for emergency, grabbed the gun, and with Private L. A. Pike, of North Fitzroy, as No. 2 gunner, continued the advance. But Deslandes fell with the burst of an enemy grenade. Pike surviving with marks from the blast on him." - from thed Sydney Morning Herald 04 Apr 1944 (nla.gov.au)
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