DARLINGTON, Bernard Olsson
| Service Number: | QX2770 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 November 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Mullett Creek, Queensland, Australia, 14 November 1915 |
| Home Town: | Wowan, Banana, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Wowan State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 31 May 2008, aged 92 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
St. Matthew's Anglican Cemetery Mitchelton Queensland, Australia |
| Memorials: | Loyal Wowan Lodge M.U.I.O.O.F. Honour Board |
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Bernard Olsson Darlington (Service No:QX2770) enlisted in the AIF as a Gunner on 20 November 1939 - graded Gun Layer. Promoted to Bombardier, he served with 2/3 Field Artillery Regiment in the Middle East, Greece and Crete from 4 May 1940 to 17 March 1942, and in Cape York (September - December 1942). Sergeant Darlington then served in New Guinea (Aitape, Wewak) from 5 November 1944 to 4 September 1945, and was attached to 2/3 Field Regiment at Discharge on 2 November 1945. Older brother Herbert served in the ACMF, and brother Peter enlisted in the AIF on the same date and also served with 2/3 Field Regiment in WII.
Born at Mullett Creek via Bundaberg, QLD in 1915, Bunny was youngest of eight children of Joseph Henry Darlington (b1867 in Middlesex, England) and Catherine (Kate) Elizabeth Olsson (b1888 at Woongarra Scrub, Kalkie, QLD). Joseph immigrated in 1879, arriving in Brisbane on board the Ben Cruachan, and in 1866 was awarded agricultural land in the Littlebella Region via Bundaberg. Joseph was a Farmer at Enfield Farm, Waterloo in 1901 when he and Kate married at Battle Creek via Bundaberg. The couple settled at Enfield Farm, where they raised their family and Joseph was a Farmer. By 1911 Joseph and Kate were living in Bundaberg with their family, and Joseph was a Restaurant Keeper. In 1918 Joseph was an inmate in the Diamantina Hospital in Brisbane - a Protection Order was awarded by the Court to protect his interests - and he died there in 1929. Kate and the children remained in the Bundaberg/Rockhampton region.
From the early 1930s Bunny worked at Pheasant Creek, Wowan as a Farm Labourer and Farmer. Following his Discharge from the Army, in Kilcoy, QLD in 1947 he married Gladys Beryl Hall (b1917 at Deep Creek, Mt Brisbane via Esk, QLD) - Beryl had worked in Kilcoy as a Cook, and served in the AWAS (Signalwoman; Service No:QF266017). Bunny and Gladys settled in Brisbane, where they raised their family and Bunny worked as a Builder's Labourer and Porter. Gladys died in 1973 and Bunny in 2007.
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