DOUGLAS, Hugh Peter
| Service Number: | VX23958 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Devonport, Tasmania, Australia, 24 April 1920 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Presumed dead whilst a POW, Rabaul, Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, 4 February 1942, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Devonport WW2 and Korean Wars Supreme Sacrifice Memorial, Latrobe War Memorial, Rabaul Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, VX23958 | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX23958, 2nd/22nd Infantry Battalion |
Hugh
Hello.
Submitted 13 February 2022 by Suzanne Perry
Hugh Douglas
Hugh was brought up on the family farm at Moriarty Tasmania. He was dux of Devonport High School. He had two brothers
His service medals are with his great nephew and proudly worn on each Anzac Day
Submitted 12 February 2022 by Suzanne Perry
Biography contributed by Suzanne Perry
Hugh Peter Douglas as told by his big sister Estelle.
Hugh lived at Windy Ridge Moriarty on the family farm his nickname was Branigan. He used to play farms as a child with his brother Ronald who is a WW2 veteran they used sticks for fences and the prickly macrocarpa tree nuts for their animals mainly pigs and lambs . In his early teens he fancied himself as a bike rider. With his brother John they used to train on rollers. One day he entered a bike race,came home quite dejected and said 'I could have won that race,but sat in too long'
He was very clever at school and was dux of the Moriarty School. He later attended Devonport High but in 3rd year his mother received a phone call to see the headmaster Hugh had a punch up with his teacher. His mother said it was time for Hugh to go to work so he got a job at the Don Store
He made friends with a town boy who came to Moriarty to stay for a weekend Hugh took him rabbit trapping and they set traps when they checked the traps the next morning Hugh gave a demonstration of how to release the rabbit and then stomp on its head to kill it. The town boy proceeded to release his rabbit ok but the rabbit escaped and limped away
His name is on the Latrobe Memorial in Gilbert Street and in Canberra
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