MULLANE, Richard Mervyn
| Service Number: | WX4960 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 17 November 1918 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Packer |
| Died: | Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Col 96 |
| Memorials: | Alamein Memorial (El Alamein), Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX4960 | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX4960, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Richard Mervyn Mullane's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Richard was one of 41 Australian POWs killed when the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident, four died later by execution. Most of the Australian casualties were from the 2/28th Infantry Battalion.
Biography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Richard was actually born in 1921 (reg. Perth 2875/1921) but gave his year of birth on his enlistment papers as 1918. The age on his CWGC record (20) is correct.
His parents William and Maudie married in 1919 in Perth (reg. 834). Richard was the second of their nine children. Two brothers also served in WWII.
Richard's father served in WWI (209, 11th Battalion). He died in 1936 aged 46 (see death and funeral notices: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25146103).