DREWS, Henry
| Service Number: | QX30802 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 March 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, 16 March 1912 |
| Home Town: | Bundaberg, Bundaberg, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sewerage Pipe Layer |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 14 January 1984, aged 71 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Bundaberg Crematorium & Memorial Park |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 24 Mar 1942: | Involvement Private, QX30802 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Mar 1942: | Enlisted | |
| 24 Mar 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 22 Nov 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Townsville for Port Moresby on board Katoomba | |
| 7 Feb 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Finschafen for Townsville on board Andrew P White | |
| 22 Apr 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, embarked Townsville for Morotai on board General McRae | |
| 10 Jan 1946: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion, emplaned Labuan for Brisbane | |
| 22 Jan 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX30802, 2nd/32nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 22 Jan 1946: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Eldest of three brothers (Monty and George) who served in WWII, Private Henry Drews (Service No:QX30802) enlisted in the AIF on 24 March 1942 and was posted to 29 Training Battalion and 17 Labour Coy. Private Drews was attached to 2/32 Infantry Battalion on 22 November 1943 when he embarked with his Unit from Townsville for Port Moresby on board the Katoomba. Embarking from Finschafen for Townsville on 7 February 1944, Private Drews then served in Borneo (22 April 1945 - 10 January 1946), and was attached to 2/32 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 22 January 1946.
Henry Christian Drews was born in Bundaberg, QLD in 1912, fifth of nine children of August Ernst Drews (b1879 in Eckertsberge, Germany) and Sarah Ovinia Gaffel (b1883 in Bundaberg, QLD). August immigrated with his parents and siblings in 1881, arriving in Brisbane on board the Windsor Castle, and living in Laidley before settling in Bundaberg. August and Sarah married in 1903 in Bundaberg, where they settled and raised their family and August worked as a Labourer and Dairyman. August 'was a keen athlete, and his sons are well known cyclists in the district (Trove; 1938).
Henry worked as a Labourer in Bundaberg, where in 1937 he married May Frances Cooper (b1913 in Bundaberg, QLD). Henry and May settled in Bundaberg, where they raised their family and Henry worked as a Labourer - in 1942 when he enlisted in the Army, he was working as a Sewerage Pipe Layer. Following his Discharge from the Army, Henry and May remained in Bundaberg, where Henry was a Labourer. Henry died in 1984 and May in 1996.
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