NEWMAN, John
| Service Number: | Q9620 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 25th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Nanango, Queensland, Australia, 1 November 1920 |
| Home Town: | Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Middle Creek State School, near Brooklands, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Foundry worker |
| Died: | Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 18 August 2012, aged 91 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Ayr Cemetery, Queensland Row 17 Grave 3 |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q9620 | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jul 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q9620, 25th Infantry Battalion, Embarked from Townsville on the vessel "Bontekoe". Slept in hammocks below water level. Couldn't talk to anyone because of the engine noise, and couldn't see anyone because no lights were permitted. There were no toilet facilities, only crudely arranged devices backed up to the side of the ship, where sea water frequently splashed over. Disembarked on the eastern tip of New Guinea. on 25 November 1941. | |
| 16 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q9620 |
Arrival at Milne Bay
This extract has been taken from John's written recollections of his service in New Guinea.
I could see the sheer drop of enormous green mountains drop straight into the water as we got closer and it was only then that we were told that this was Milne Bay, on the eastern tip of New Guinea. As Steve Sullivan said on page 77 of the book Brother Digger: "What a hell hole that place was. If you think of heat, mud, slush, torrential rain, mosquitoes, leeches, dense undergrowth, you are getting close to that malaria-ridden wilderness." Steve Sullivan was a 25th. I knew him well and he was a great bloke.
The horrible feeling of expectancy was always there. I wondered if the Japs saw us arrive and always wondered when they would decide to either visit us or bomb us.
Submitted 25 April 2026 by Annette Ferguson
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