MOLLOY, Desmond Baines
| Service Numbers: | QX59477, Q1218370 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, 2 September 1922 |
| Home Town: | Ipswich, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, New Guinea, 7 December 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Booval War Memorial, Ipswich Soldier's Memorial Hall WW2 |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, QX59477 | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, Q1218370, 61st Infantry Battalion | |
| 21 Feb 1943: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, QX59477, 61st Infantry Battalion , ex Brisbane per Willis Van der Vanter for Milne Bay | |
| 21 Sep 1943: | Enlisted | |
| 21 Sep 1943: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, QX59477, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 21 Sep 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QX59477 | |
| 7 Dec 1943: | Discharged | |
| 15 Dec 1943: | Wounded Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, QX59477, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Reported MiA 17/12/1943 reported Died of Wounds |
Private Desmond Baines Molloy
Desmond (Des) Baines Molloy (2 September 1922 • Ipswich, QLD - 7 December 1943 • Lae, Morobe, New Guinea) was the youngest of 2 sons of Henry Rowland Molloy and Moyra Irna Elf Baines of Ipswich, QLD Henry was a Coal Miner
was killed in action in New Guinea.
Des enlisted 21 September 1943 in the 22 Australian Infantry Battalion, as a Private (Service No: QX59477 (Q128370) and died in New Guinea on 7 December 1943 - he was 21 years old.
Des is buried in the Finschafen War Cemetery (Grave CB12).
His name is listed on the Cameron's Park Memorial. The story of his death is in Graeme Macfarlan's book (1961), 'Etched in green; the history of the 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-1946'.
Des' older brother Edward Rowland also enlisted, but as a Coal Miner in an essential industry, the mine refused to release him. Edward was paralysed in an accident in the Aberdare Extended Mine, where he was working as a rope rider, (not his usual job), holding skips together, when he slipped. He spent eight years at the Ipswich General Hospital as a patient. He had some mobility in a motorised wheelchair.
(Article in Queensland Times newspaper dated 14 April 1942)
Submitted 18 December 2019 by Chris Buckley
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Des Molloy was the youngest of two sons of Henry (Rollie) Rowland Molloy (born 1901 in Newtown, Ipswich, QLD) and Moira Elf Baines (born 1900 in Ipswich, QLD). Rollie was a Coal Miner in Ipswich in 1920 when he married Moira. The couple settled in Silkstone, Ipswich where Rollie was a Miner.
Des was a Grocer in Ipswich, QLD when he enlisted in November 1941 and served as a Private (Service No:Q1218370) with 61 Infantry Battalion until he enlisted 'in the field' on 21 September 1943 and served with 22nd Infantry Battalion in New Guinea. Des was originally reported as MiA on 15 December 1943, and reported as Died of Wounds on 17 December 1943. Des was first buried at Langement Bay, then in 1944 was reburied at Finschafen War Cemetery and finally laid to rest in 1946 at Lae War Cemetery. Older brother Edward Roland (born 1920 in Ipswich, QLD) was a Coal Miner when he enlisted, but the mine where he was employed refused to release him, so he was discharged. He was later paralysed in an accident at the Aberdare Extended Coal Mine and spent most of the next eight years in Ipswich Hospital before his death in 1954.
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