HAZEL, Harry Curwen
| Service Numbers: | WX864, wx864 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 November 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | New Brighton, England, 4 June 1910 |
| Home Town: | Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peters College, Adelaide,South Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Manager (Pastoral Industry) |
| Died: | Congestive Heart Failure, Adelaide, South Australia, 5 September 1986, aged 76 years |
| Cemetery: |
Leasingham Upper Skilly Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Hackney St Peter's College WW2 Honour Roll |
Middle East Area of Operations Service
| 11 Nov 1939: | Involvement Lance Corporal, wx864, 2nd/11th Infantry Battalion, Awarded the Greek Medal at the Greek consulate in Adelaide in 1983 to all members of the 2nd 11th for the defence of Greece and Crete |
|---|
World War 2 Service
| 11 Nov 1939: | Enlisted WX864 |
|---|
Harry Curwen Hazel
My late father joined the AIF in 1939, his whole shift working in the Golden Mile walked out and enlisted that morning as soon as war was declared. He had his enlistment interrupted for a minutes silence for the 1st World War boys.
He was bagged up on Crete, after defending Rethymno airfield. They were using German supplies, arms and ammunition at the finish. Communications had broken down completely, they were all pretty well done in at the finish. He spent 3 1/2 years as a German Pow, eventually escaping when they were being marched into Germany at the end of the war. He and a mate hooked up with sherman tank crew who were part of Pattons' tank column. He did see the General at a distance, once.
He eventually made his way back to England, spending a few months in London before being shipped back to Australia.
Submitted 7 February 2020 by Gordon Hazel
Biography contributed by Gordon Hazel
My late father came to South Australia by ship with his mother Beatrice, this stepfather Herbert Frank (Boer and WWI Veteran) his younger sister Joan and youngest brother Gordon.
He went to school at St Peters' College in Adelaide, till his stepfathers American Tractor Company went broke during the Great Depression. He left school and went jackarooing on Koonamore Sheep Station in the far north of SA in 1924.
In the early 1930s he came to Western Australia and worked in mining, a couple of small shows near Leonora, then in under ground in the Golden Mile in Kalgoorlie from where he enlisted. He belonged to the CMF , enjoyed it and became a musketry instructor. They would spend weekends shooting with their long toms at long ranges and developing their marksmenship. He enlised with most of his shift on Armistice Day 1939 at 11am. They all walked off shift as soon as they heard over the wireless
Click images to start slideshow.