POLLOCK, Gerrard Horace
| Service Number: | NX784 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1939, Hamilton Drill Hall, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE |
| Born: | Merewether, New South Wales, Australia, 8 November 1918 |
| Home Town: | Newcastle, Hunter Region, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Iron Worker |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 9 Oct 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, NX784, 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE, Hamilton Drill Hall, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX784 | |
| 19 Mar 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, NX784, 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE, Embarked for Greece | |
| 3 Jun 1941: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Reported missing | |
| 23 Jun 1941: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, International Red Cross reported him as captured and in German hands. | |
| 1 Jul 1941: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Stalag XVIIID | |
| 2 Aug 1941: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Working Camp 410/GW | |
| 2 Jan 1942: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Working Camp 76/HV | |
| 2 Jan 1943: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Working Camp 511 | |
| 1 Oct 1943: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Stalag XVIIIA | |
| 1 Apr 1944: | Imprisoned "Operation Lustre" Greece 1941, Working Camp 107/GW | |
| 8 Aug 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, NX784, 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE, Embarked in UK for return to Australia | |
| 10 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX784 | |
| 13 Sep 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, NX784, 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE, Demobilized in NSW. | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Sapper, NX784, 2nd/1st Field Company / Squadron RAE |
Capture in Greece
Gerrard was captured in Greece with SPR Henry Steilberg and PTE Ralph Churches. PTE Churches later on led a large escape from a POW camp that was covered in the book 'The Greatest Escape' that was taken from the notes he kept during his time. The book goes through and shows the conditions that the prisoners were put through while moving from Greece to Germany. On reading the book I finally understood why mt Grandfather never talked about his experience during the war except for one or two small stories.
Submitted 25 November 2022 by David Harvey
Biography contributed by David Harvey
Gerry was Born in Merewether and ended up working for Lysaghts Steel works in Newcatle NSW. He enlisted early in the war and ended up in Palestine then Greece. WHile in Greece he was captured by the Germans while trying to escape in a small boat.
His version of his capture was that he and a mate swam out to the boat naked (to keep the uniforms dry) as as they were trying to start it a German Patrol boat came past. The Germans shot at the boat to give them incentive to surrender which they did.
He then spent the rest of the war in POW camps, including STALAG18. He escaped at one time with the help of a guard but was captured and returned to the camps. He and the others were released by the AMericans and they had to stay with them for a few days prior to being sent back to England. He said he was amazed that the Americans would advance until they received fire, halt, then unleash artillery until the firing stopped.
He returned to Newcastle and his job at Lysaghts who helped him out as much as possible by giving him an office job but due to his PTSD he could not work there anymore. He ended up working on the Snowy Mountain Hydroelectric Dams then moved to Brisbane with my Grandmother. He stayed there until his death.
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