Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Laurence Horne Ford was born 17 Aug 1921 at Isisford Qld, the son of Joseph & Maureen Ford. His father worked on the railways as a Ganger or Fettler. They lived at Wondai during the 1930’s and must have been at Wooroolin in 1941 when their son joined the Army as that is the address Lawrence gave for his NOK. His mother was the Station Mistress at Manung in 1943.
Laurence, aged 20, joined the Army on 22 July 1941 and gave his occupation as Bridge Carpenter (Apprentice) which is what he continued after the war. “A bridge carpenter is a specialized carpenter that builds or produces wood components for bridges. As a bridge carpenter, their job duties were to build, maintain, and repair wooden bridges, as well as related wooden structures such as scaffolding, rigging, and safety signs.”
Laurence served in the 2/12 Australian Infantry Battalion, the same as Bill Pugh from West Wooroolin. Laurence records are available on the NAA website and his discharge papers show that he served at:
- Middle East – 1 Nov 1941 to 28 Mar 1943
- New Guinea – 10 Aug 1942 to 18 Jan 1943 – wounded in action – gunshot wound to arm and was returned to Aust until recovered. Also suffered bouts of Malaria.
- New Guinea – 17 Aug 1943 to 28 Feb 1944 – on his return from NG Laurence was AWOL for a while and when he returned was charged and served 24 days punishment.
- Netherlands East Indies - 28 May 1945 to 15 Nov 1945 – promoted to Corporal whilst at Balikpapan.
The AWM website has wonderful information on the 2/12 Australian Infantry Battalion on this link. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56055
Laurence was discharged at Redbank on 27 Nov 1945 and gave Wondai as his home address. He returned to the Maryborough district where he continued to work on the railways as a Bridge Carpenter. Laurence married Maureen Gabrielle Collie in 1952. Laurence lived in the Ipswich area, at Forest Hill, Bundamba and Booval and was a Railway Bridge Inspector by 1972. He died in 1992 and his wife joined in 2005.
Lest we Forget