Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Stan was born in 1912, the 8th child of John & Annie GRANT who lived in the small town of Jondaryan, Queensland.

Unfortunately, Stan's mother, Florence (aka Annie) GRANT, died from childbirth complications after giving birth to Stan. She was 32 years old.

Stan's father, John GRANT, then married, Florence's sister, Mary also a widow. John took in Mary's 4 children and had to more children, Leslie & Doris. Leslie & Doris also served in the Australian Army.

At 28 years old, Stan enlisted and formed part of the 2/10th Field Regiment from July 1940 Redbank Camp, Brisbane, in one of the 8th Division's three artillery regiments.

Stan was a Gunner & during October to December 1940, trained with his regiment using 18-pounder guns from the First World War.

A high point of their training was a 9 day field manoeuvre through the Brisbane Valley, with live
shooting. After some well earned leave, Stan moved
from Redbank Camp to Sydney where they boarded Queen Mary.

This Cunard passenger ship had been converted from a passenger ship to a troopship (dubbed "The Grey Ghost" was part of a convoy taking troops to Malaya and Singapore.

The regiment, including Stan's 2/10th, trained and carried out manoeuvres at Mersing, where the regiment was located for about a year.

When Japan attacked British positions in the Pacific,  the 2/10th was in action from then on, defending in the Mayang Estate and Lalang Hill.

In January 1942, the whole brigade withdrew to Singapore Island over a causeway - one gun at a time - then demolished it.

The 22nd Brigade, supported by the 2/10th,
defended the island's north-west coast.

As a gunner, Stan was part of the 2/10th firing 2,100 rounds on Bukit Timah village. The next day the
regiment moved to the Tanglin golf course, where it came under enemy artillery fire and air strikes.

The garrison surrendered to the Japanese on 14 February, 1942.

For the next three-and-a-half years Stan endured the brutality of being a prisoner of war of the Japanese.
He was initially imprisoned in the Changi POW camp.

In April 1943, Stan & 120 members of  the 2/10th joined 7 000 British & Australian POWs to be part of "F" Force. Unfortunately for Stan, "F" Force were sent to build the Japanese Army's strategic Thai-Burma Railway.

They walked 300km for 15 nights with a 10 minute halt every hour to arrive at the most distant, under-supplied & crudest POW camps. Despite exhaustion & sickness, they were yelled at & forced to build the railway, including at Hellfire Pass. in the first 2 weeks, 47 of "F" Force had died.

Alongside his mates, Stan slaved in shifts of up to 18 hours, in intense tropical heat, going without food & water for up to 36 hours for 36 hours. The latrines were open - cholera, malaria & dysentery outbreaks commonplace. Weary Dunlop was one of the doctors.

Stan somehow survived his ordeals and was released in September 1945, returning to Brisbane. He was officially discharged from the army in December 1945.

Stan never spoke of his war service or ordeals. It just wasn't how things were in the 20th century.

He married Eileen ROSS (new O'BRIEN). They lived in Perth Street, Camp Hill until they passed.

Dr Bob Goodwin OAM served alongside Stan. Bob is author of the excellent book, Mates and Memories: Recollections from the 2/10th Field Regiment, and attended Stan's funeral in 1997.

SOURCES: Darling Downs Gazette, 10 April, 1912

Australian War Memorial Records

AWM52/4/2/10: 2/10 Field Regiment war diary

Anzac Portal, Department of Veteran Affairs, Commonwealth Government, Australia

Goodwin, Robert; 2/10 Field Regiment Association, Mates and memories : recollections of the 2/10th Field
Regiment R.A.A., (Rochedale, Qld.: Boolarong Press with 2/10th Field Regiment Association, 1995)