Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

What a lot of surprises I found when researching Victor Jones, another of Dads 17 paternal cousins who joined the Australian Army during WW11.
Vic Jones was born in Gympie on 14 Mar 1906, the 3rdchild of James & Laura. Vic made up the 4th child in this family though as James & Laura had adopted James little brother, Reginald, in 1905 on the death of his father in a mining accident. Reg was just 4 ½ when he was orphaned.
On 23 Jan 1911 Vic was enrolled at Wooroolin School. The family had moved from Gympie during 1910 and owned the Butcher Shop business there as well as a farm.
Vic finished at Wooroolin School at the end of 1918 when he was 12 Years and we can assume he worked in the butcher shop with his Dad and brothers.
The Jones family were keen sports people. He attended the inaugural meeting of the Wooroolin cricket club ay the QN Bank on 30 Aug 1920. Vic also played football and is reported as recovering from an injury to his leg sustained in the 1924 Ambulance Cup Final.
Vic’s Dad took his own life in 1921 after suffering from depression. It would seem that Vic took over the family butcher shop as in Jul 1925 he sold the business to Bill & Norm Woltmann. Vic moved to Cooran with his mother and siblings and the electoral roll show that he was a labourer.
By 1934 Vic and his mother were living at Northcott St, East Brisbane as well as his elder brother Leslie and they ran a butcher shop together. The electoral rolls continue to report that Vic was a butcher through the following years but newspaper articles tell us that he was working in conjunction with Moores Silk Store, Brisbane. In 1940 when Vic joined the Australian Army he appointed Mr Douglas Nelson to conduct transactions for him.
Vic Jones enlisted at Kelvin Grove on 8 Aug 1940 and was assigned to the 2/25th Battalion. Per the AWM website this battalion trained in Grovely and Darwin before embarking Sydney for the Middle East in Apr 1941. The 2/25 served in Egypt and were part of the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. The battalion returned to Australia in Feb 1942 where they trained until sent to Port Moresby to reinforce the battered Australian units on the Kokoda Trail. The 2/25 served in various battles in New Guinea and Borneo (details on the AWM website) prior to its final operation of the war at Balikpapan in Borneo.
Vic Army records are not yet available on the NAA website but there is a line item that indicated he was court martialled on 7 Jun 1944. As he was discharged on 13 Dec 1944 the fine and charge cannot have been too bad. WW11 ended just 9 months later on 2 Sep 1945. NB: His “cousin” Viv Weller was court martialled in during his time in Bougainville for having disobeyed a direct order from a superior and given 21 months detention. The sentence was suspended in Nov 1945.
Vic returned to wool and silk industry as in Apr 1950 the following advertisement featured in the South Coast Bulletin: VIC JONES (East Brisbane), Brisbane's leading wool specialist, announces that he has appointed Daphne Hill and Noreen Bradford of Scarborough Street (5 doors from Post Office) as his Southport representatives...Wool stocked to suit all requirements.
How I would love to know more about him in this industry. By 1954 he had purchased a Newsagency in Lytton St, East Brisbane where he remained until his death in 1967, aged just 61 years. Vic is remembered at Mt Thompson Memorial Park.
I remember going to East Brisbane as a youngster with Dad to visit Vic and Les and know that he also visited our farm about 1960 as we have a photo taken with him that includes Pop (Alf), my Dad and his 2 sons and Bill Jessen. Shame I don’t remember more!