Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"William Clarence Heatley, Gold Coast trawler owner, grazier and businessman, was born in Townsville, Queensland, on 11 July 1920. He was the son of William John Heatley, a businessman and later Mayor of Townsville, and his wife Minnie, née Williams. An Anglican, he was educated at All Souls School in Charters Towers and at Townsville Grammar School. He matriculated from The Southport School on the Gold Coast in February 1938, and immediately commenced an arts degree at the University of Queensland, though he did not sit the examinations at the end of the year. By 1940 he was a tarboy and jackeroo on sheep and cattle properties in the Gulf Country and in the Charters Towers and Cloncurry districts.

Heatley enlisted in the AIF on 15 May 1940 at Enoggera, Queensland, and was commissioned lieutenant. He had served as a reservist from 1936, first with the 15th/26th Battalion, then with the 31st Battalion. On Boxing Day 1940, he embarked on the Queen Mary with the 2/15th Battalion, disembarking in February 1941 in the Middle East, where he saw service at Tobruk, in Syria, and at El Alamein. In September 1942 he was wounded in action near El Alamein during operation ‘Bulimba’ in which his battalion suffered heavy casualties. His war wounds troubled him for the rest of his life. From August 1943 until March 1944 he served in New Guinea. Heatley was promoted to captain in October 1942, and mentioned in despatches in March 1945. On 14 March 1944, immediately on his return from New Guinea, he married Barbara Patricia Haynes of Brisbane, the ceremony conducted at the residence of the Catholic Archbishop, James Duhig..." - READ MORE LINK (biography.senate.gov.au)