DEVENPORT, Rex Lamington
| Service Number: | NX80187 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 December 1941, Paddington, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 10 March 1922 |
| Home Town: | Double Bay, Woollahra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Woollahra & Crown St Public Schools, Sydney, New South Wales Australia |
| Occupation: | Journalist / Writer |
| Died: | Accidental (Injuries - aircraft crash), New Guinea, 8 September 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea CWGC Grave No: Section B. Plot 2. Row A. Grave 19. Inscription: "A GALLANT SON PAYS THE SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR THOSE HE LOVED". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 26 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Private, NX80187, Paddington, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX80187, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Sep 1943: | Involvement Private, NX80187, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Rex Lamington Devenport's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Rex Lamington DEVENPORT was born on 10th March, 1922 in Sydney, NSW
His parents were Leslie George DEVENPORT and Doris Irene HAZLEWOOD who married in Sydney in 1920
Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald
On Tuesday, September 7th, 1943, at Jackson Field in Port Moresby, New Guinea, a B-24D Liberator bomber from the 403rd Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bombing Group USAAF, crashed during take-off, likely due to pilot disorientation in the dark. The aircraft hit trees and slammed into a convoy of trucks carrying over 130 soldiers from D Company, 2/33 Infantry Battalion of the Australian Army, who were waiting to board C-47 transport planes to move to the front lines. The bomber’s 500-pound bombs and 2,800 gallons of fuel exploded, killing 15 Australian soldiers instantly and severely injuring 47 more, who later died. Another 90 soldiers were wounded but survived, and all 11 crew members aboard the bomber were killed. Unfortunately, Private Rex Lamington Devenport was one of the 47 severely injured (burns)he died the next day in the 2/5 Australian General Hospital, Port Moresby, New Guinea.
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