BENZIE, Robert Alfred
| Service Numbers: | Q150000, QX52703, QX52703, |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 June 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Stafford, Queensland, Australia, 28 May 1924 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Stafford, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Asbestosis, Maclean, New South Wales, Australia, 23 November 2013, aged 89 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Ashes scattered at favourite fishing spot at Iluka, New South Wales, Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 27 Jun 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, Q150000, AMF Anti Aircraft units / Elements WW2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, Q150000, AMF Anti Aircraft units / Elements WW2 | |
| 3 May 1943: | Involvement Private, Q150000 | |
| 3 May 1943: | Involvement Private, QX52703, also Q150000 | |
| 3 May 1943: | Enlisted | |
| 3 May 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Nov 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703, 24th Heavy Artillery Battery, ex Brisbane to Port Moresby per Katoomba | |
| 6 Jul 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703, ex Moresby to Brisbane per Boschfontein | |
| 15 Jun 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703,, ex Brisbane to Morotai per Louis Pasteur | |
| 9 Jul 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703, ex Morotai to Balikapan per HMAS Kanimbla | |
| 21 Jan 1946: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, ex Macassar to Brisbane per HMAS Kanimbl | |
| 21 Jun 1946: | Discharged | |
| 21 Jun 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX52703, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Robert Alfred Benzie (Service No:QX52703) first enlisted in the ACMF as a Gunner (Service No:Q150000) on 27 June 1942 and served with 6 AA Battery until 2 May 1943. Private Benzie served in New Guinea from 1943 to 1945 and in Borneo in 1945/1946. Private Benzie was attached to 2/19 Infantry Battalion when he was Discharged on 21 June 1946. Three siblings - James, Alec and Frank - also served in WWII.
Born in 1924 in Brisbane QLD, Bob was the youngest of eleven children of James Benzie (b1869 in Aberdeen, Scotland) and Louisa Fanny Shove (b1881 in Surrey, England). Both James and Louisa immigrated to Brisbane, QLD and both arrived on the Jumna - James in 1889 and Louisa in 1900. James (a Van Driver) and Louisa married in 1902 in Brisbane, QLD where they settled and raised their family. James served in WWI (Private; Service No:2016) and worked as a Van Driver, Lorryman, Carter and Groom.
Bob worked as a Labourer in Brisbane before his enlistment in WWII, and remained in the Army until the mid 1950s. In 1951 in Brisbane he married Valma Dawn Fyfe (b1930 in Kilcoy, QLD). Bob and Valma settled in Brisbane where, by 1958, Bob was working as a Linesman. Bob died in 2013 and Valma in 2022.
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