LOBAN, Tel Geoffrey
| Other Name: | LOBAN, Ted Geoffrey - Different spelling on medical record |
|---|---|
| Service Number: | QX6557 |
| Enlisted: | 15 December 1939, Thursday Island |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment |
| Born: | Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia, 4 November 1918 |
| Home Town: | Thursday Island, Torres Strait, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Transport Driver |
| Died: | Heart disease, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 29 September 1988, aged 69 years |
| Cemetery: |
Thursday Island Cemetery |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 15 Dec 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6557, 1 Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Thursday Island | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Embarked from Sydney, disembarking in Scotland on 17 June 1940. | |
| 14 Nov 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Embarked from Liverpool, England, disembarking the Middle East on 29 December 1940. | |
| 3 Jan 1941: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Libya/North Africa, The Regt. moved forward with the 6th Aust. Div for the assault on Bardia from 3 January, deploying anti‑tank guns in support of the infantry breakthrough and the reduction of Italian strongpoints. They continued the advance west into Cyrenaica. | |
| 21 Jan 1941: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Siege of Tobruk, The Regt. took part in the attack providing anti‑tank defence as the outer perimeter was breached and organised resistance collapsed. | |
| 13 Apr 1941: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Wounded in action on 13 April 1941 during the German advance through the Servia Pass sector of the Greece campaign, while the Regt. was engaged in delaying actions covering the Allied withdrawal. Sustained multiple GSWs from enemy Tommy‑gun fire, resulting in the amputation of left arm. Pte Loban remained on the Seriously Ill List until 26 July 1941. | |
| 16 Nov 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, QX6557, 2nd/1st Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, Discharged as medically unfit due to permanent disability. |
Help us honour Tel Geoffrey Loban's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Gertrude LOBAN, John Street, Thursday Island, Qld.
Biography contributed by Cassie Horsley
Ted Loban (1922 to 1988)
Source: Courtesy Sadiar Loban
Ted Loban's mother was from Mabuiag Island and his father, an Indonesian, was from the village of Banda Niera. He was one of eight children and went to school on Thursday Island. Before the Second World War Ted worked in the pearling and trochus industries, then joined the Thursday Island Garrison Force in 1939. Ted enrolled in the 2nd AIF and trained in England before serving in North Africa. He was repatriated home to Brisbane in 1942 as a result of war injury.
In the postwar period Ted's achievements were significant. He married Sadie Ahmat in 1943 and together they worked to achieve improvements in educational delivery for Torres Strait Islanders. Among other initiatives Ted founded the Torres Strait Islander Co-operative Limited, as well as a fishing co-operative.
In 1946 he led a delegation of Thursday Islanders to the Trades Hall in support of pearling divers who were exploited. He supported the vote YES campaign in 1967 and was an active member of the Thursday Island Advancement League. He represented this League at the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as well as at the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
Ted was elected to the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee when it was formed in 1973. He also served on the National Aboriginal Council which followed this body. He founded the Torres Strait Cooperative Society and became a councillor for the Torres Shire in 1982. He was involved in the push for Torres Strait Island independence.
In 1976 he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to Torres Strait Islanders.
Information supplied by the Loban family
Source: Collaborating for Indigenous Rights (indigenousrights.net.au) webpage
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