HOOLEY, Ernest James
| Service Numbers: | QX47691, QX47691 (Q186150) |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 May 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Kent, UK, 19 November 1901 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Stanthorpe State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Linesman, PMG |
| Died: | Natural causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2 June 1995, aged 93 years |
| Cemetery: |
Albany Creek Memorial Park-Cemetery & Crematorium, Queensland Wall 12 Side 19 Niche 39 |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 30 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Warrant Officer Class 2, QX47691 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Warrant Officer Class 2, QX47691 (Q186150) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Kym Hyson
Ernest James Hooley was born in Kent, U.K. in 1901. He was only eight years old when he left England to settle in Australia. They first lived in Jericho then settled into Stanthorpe.
Ernest left school when he was only twelve to work on his father's farm. When he got older he went to Emerald and got a job in the railways. A few years later he moved to Brisbane where he got a job as a warder at Boggo Road Gaol.
He married Edith May Campbell in 1926. They had two daughters. At the beginning of the Depression, he was one of many who lost his job and life became very difficult for them. He was able to acquire some work delivering loads of firewood. Eventually he got permanent work in the council. It was not long after that the war broke out. He enlisted in the A.I.F. and was posted to New Guinea.
He returned to the council after the war then got a job in the P.M.G. His first appointment was a postman but later a linesman. He stayed with the Department right up until his retirement at the age of sixty five.
He was a hard worker all his life and did not stop when he retired. He was always busy doing carpentry, gardening, cementing, playing lawn bowls and Lodge.
In 1961 he was in Kenmore Repatriation Hospital as he had contracted TB while he was in New Guinea. While in hospital, he learnt the craft of woodwork.
He was very meticulous at woodwork. He made great toys for his children and grandchildren. Some of his toys are still being used by his great-grandchildren so they were very solid toys. His family had the best toys in the neighbourhood.
Ernest became very involved with the Department of Veteran Affairs where he helped a lot of war widows. He was Qld President and Federal Vice-President of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors TB Association. He travelled a lot to attend meetings and seminars. His involvement earned him a British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) in 1989.
He had always been a healthy man but in latter years he suffered from emphysema. Like his father he had been a heavy smoker early in his life both usually smoke pipes. He died at the age of 93.
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