Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George was my grandfather (my mum's father). He enlisted on the 9th of January 1942 a few weeks after his 20th birthday. Most of 1942 for George, was spent training whilst the Japanese were inching closer to the Australian mainland. At the end of 1942 the 15th Battalion were shipped off to Townsville in preparation for deployment to Milne Bay on the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. George first stepped foot on Milne Bay on the 13th of January 1943. His battalion spent the first few weeks establishing camps and setting up defences. The hot and humid conditions they arrived to, were only broken by the massive thunderstorms which lashed the area every afternoon - this area receives around 4.5 meters of rain yearly. Apart from the weather and the unforgiving terrain, diseases such as Malaria, Dengue Fever and Scrub Typhus were running rampant, and many of the battalion's strength suffered terribly with Dysentery.

The 15th Battalion went on to fight in battles along the northeast coast. They reached Mubo by mid 1943 but were ordered to keep moving toward the heavily fortified Japanese held town of Salamaua. It was around this time that the whole battalion transferred from the CMF to the AIF.

By November 1943 George was suffering terribly with Malaria. He was transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station and then on to the Australian General Hospital. He briefly rejoined his unit again in April 1944 but was struck down again with Malaria. At the end of May 1944, George was evacuated from Lae on the 'Sea Snipe' and returned to Brisbane in early June 1944.

Three weeks later (24 June 1944) while recuperating in Brisbane, he married his sweetheart Thelma in a simple ceremony at Thelma's local church.

George slowly recovered from his illness, and by September had rejoined his unit in Brisbane. On the 23rd of November the battalion boarded the troop transport 'Cape Victory' bound for Torokina in the Solomon Islands. Thelma's brother Arthur was also serving in the Solomon's at this time, so it would have been a trying time for her and her family.

George served in the Solomon Islands with his unit until the end of the war and the subsequent 'mopping up' operations. It wasn't until 2 days after Christmas 1945 that George's unit were transferred from Torokina on board the 'Katoomba' were they were bound for Sydney.

George's unit disembarked in Sydney on the 4th of January 1946 and within a fortnight he had been discharged from the army.