MEGGITT, Spencer Purdue
| Service Numbers: | 414273, QX6620 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/1st Australian Topographical Survey Company |
| Born: | Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia, 12 December 1918 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Warwick State High School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Process Engraver (Telegraph Newspaper Coy Pty LTD) |
| Died: | Clontarf, Queensland, Australia, 23 December 1960, aged 42 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement 414273, later QX6620 (3/6/1940) | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1940: | Involvement Sapper, QX6620 | |
| 3 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6620 | |
| 18 Oct 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, QX6620, 2nd/3rd Anti Tank / Tank Attack Regiment, embarked Sydney for Middle East | |
| 11 Jan 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, QX6620, 2nd/15th Infantry Battalion, embarked Middle East for Sydney |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jul 1943: | Transferred Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, 2nd/1st Australian Topographical Survey Company |
|---|
World War 2 Service
| 5 Dec 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX6620 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sapper Spencer Purdue Meggitt (Service Nos:414273/QX6620) initially served in the Militia (14 March 1938 - 21 October 1939) as a Lance Bombardier with 11 Field Brigade, before enlisting in the AIF on 3 June 1940 as a Private with 2 Tank Attack Regiment. Bombardier Meggitt served in the Middle East (18 October 1940 - 11 January 1943) with 3 Tank Attack Regiment and 2/15 Infantry Battalion. Transferred to 2/1 Australian Topographical Survey Coy on 10 July 1943 - graded Helio Operator, regraded Helio Worker - Sapper Meggitt was attached to 2/3 Tank Attack Regiment at Discharge on 5 December 1944.
Spencer was born in Stanthorpe QLD in 1918, youngest of seven children of Arthur James Meggitt (b1872 in Yorkshire, England) and Beatrice Maud Purdue (b1872 in Durham, England). Both Arthur and Beatrice immigrated with their parents and siblings - Arthur arriving in Cooktown in 1883 on board the Duke of Buckingham, and Beatrice arriving in Brisbane in 1884 on board the Waroonga. Arthur worked in Brisbane as an Undertaker, and when his father died in 1893, took over the Office and Shop Fitting Business. Arthur and Beatrice married in 1895, and lived in Brisbane before moving to Ipswich in 1902. Arthur and Beatrice settled in Ipswich, where they raised their family, and Arthur worked as a Coach Builder at the Ipswich Railway Workshops. Following Beatrice's death in 1924, Spencer was adopted by his paternal Uncle Fred and his wife Gertrude - Fred was a Commercial Traveller in Warwick and Brisbane. Arthur remarried in 1927, and died in 1930.
Spencer worked with The Telegraph Newspaper in Brisbane as a Process Engraver, sometimes writing articles for the newspaper on cycling - he was a championship cyclist with the Valley Bicycle Club, winning the Valley Amateur Wheelers' 20 mile Barnet Class Road Race. In 1938 in Brisbane Spencer married his first wife Iris Camellia Graham (b1920 in Brisbane, QLD), and following their divorce, both remarried. In 1946 Spencer remarried to Cynthia Beverley Behan (b1929 in Alpha, QLD), and in 1949 married Dorothy May Wendt (nee Sproules; b1916 in Brisbane, QLD). Spencer and Dorothy settled in Clontarf, where they raised their family and Spencer worked as an Engraver until his death in 1960, Dorothy died in 1996.
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