RODEN, Alexander
| Service Number: | NX27353 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 103 aka 3 Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment |
| Born: | Wee Waa, New South Wales, Australia, 24 December 1910 |
| Home Town: | Wee Waa, Narrabri, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Alamein Memorial, Column 90, Egypt |
| 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 Gunner, NX27353 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX27353, 103 aka 3 Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Alexander was the youngest of 13 children born to Robert and Rachel. Three of his siblings died in childhood. His parents were both from Victoria, where they married in 1888 and where his two eldest siblings were born. The family moved to NSW in about 1892.
By the early 1900s, the family had a farm just out of Wee Waa, named 'Cumberdeen'.
Alexander's three eldest brothers served in WWI. One was killed in action in Gallipoli (George, 1251). His eldest brother enlisted under a pseudonym, Richard JONES (276).
Two of his other four brothers served in WWII, Frank (NX40368) and Donald (NX17377). Frank was also a POW.
Alexander 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.