Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Deirdre Noelle Young, J.P. (nee’ Borlase)

Was born in in 1915 Palmerston North (New Zealand) and spent most of her early childhood growing up in the scenic district of Waitangi, where her father (Edward Norris Borlase) managed a large sheep farm.

On 4 February 1941, the formation of an air force women's auxiliary was approved by the War Cabinet. It had taken 14 months of difficult discussion and opposition to achieve this final outcome.
The formation of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) set a precedence for the formation of other women's service organisations such as The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) and the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS).

Approximately 27,000 women enlisted in the WAAAF between 15 March 1941 and 24 August 1945.

In September 1943 Deirdre volunteered for service in the Women’s Australian Auxillary Airforce (WAAAF), saw service in the RAAF’s Sydney Headquarters as an Aircraftwoman (pay clerk), and remained in service until the end of the war, being demobilized during October 1945.

During WW2 Deirdre met and fell in love with Lieutenant James Hay-Archer Young, and they were married in August 1944.

Whilst Jim’s unit was posted in Queensland (prior to deployment to the Pacific Theatre of operations), Deirdre would take every available opportunity to visit Jim.

On one such occasion, Deirdre (as a WAAAF) was able to “hitch” a ride aboard an RAAF Avro-Anson. During the flight to Queensland, the aircraft flew through a powerful storm that caused it to be violently thrown around. The experience so terrified Deirdre that for subsequent visits to Jim she chose the very much more “comfortable” but excruciatingly slow “Troop Train” option.

During one of these very long train journeys, looking out the window Deirdre saw a large factory with the name “Massey Ferguson” painted on the roof. To Deirdre’s surprise, her remark to the troops sitting in the carriage with her that they were passing a cheese factory was met by a burst of laughter.

Unbeknownst to the shy and somewhat naïve Deirdre, the Massey-Ferguson company produced agricultural equipment, which included “binders” – Australian troops had given cheese the nickname Massey-Ferguson because they believed cheese was prone to cause constipation, thus,
“binding you up”


NO. 2 WAAAF TRAINING DEPOT
ROBERTSON HOTEL, ROBERTSON (THEN BRADFIELD PARK), NSW
No. 2 WAAAF Training Depot was established during WW2 in the 1924 English Manor house originally built as the Hotel Robertson.

The large three-story brick building with its 80 or more rooms, was situated on 13.5 acres of land on the corner of the Illawarra Highway and Fountaindale Road, Robertson near the Macquarie Pass. Living conditions at Robertson were very 'spartan', with 'trench style' latrines.

No. 2 WAAAF Training Depot was disbanded on 18 February 1943 and its personnel were incorporated into No. 5 WAAAF Training Depot at Bradfield Park, NSW.


One former WAAAF member recalls:
"I joined the WAAAF in 1942 and after a memorable month of rookies at Robertson, was posted to Area Finance Headquarters, Dymock's Building, George Street, Sydney.

Chips Rafferty would always join our section for morning tea - quite an event in the life of an eighteen year old country girl".


A former Salvation Army Welfare Officer recalls:
"Following interviews with senior WAAAF officers, I found myself at Robertson in New South Wales, where at the one time Ranelagh Hotel, hundreds of rookies were in training - tall and short, stout and thin, clad in navy blue overalls and berets, wearing black service shoes, and I fell among this exuberant mass. Squadron Officer Gwen Stark (CO in charge) initiated me forcefully, yet kindly, and made available a room in which to store welfare equipment and to which WAAAF were encouraged to come.

Early in my residence I found I became an official 'shopper'. In dense fog most mornings, I set out on foot for the one village shop to buy sweets, biscuits, cordial, bobby pins, etc. Transport was very limited, but was made available when possible. Leave passes were sparse, hence this service was appreciated.



FAMILY BACKGROUND
Deirdre was born into a distinguished English (from Cornwall) family who are able to trace the origins back to the year 886 AD, where the earliest recorded forebear was a Norman Knight named Taillefer, the name being of Latin origin: Incisor ferri, meaning "hewer of iron".

According to document history Taillefer was given this name following an extraordinary feat of single combat between himself and a German Knight. It is said that with his heavy broad-sword Taillifer cleaved the German Knight from shoulder to breast-bone through the German Knight’s armour.

The English branch of the family started when a descendent of the original Taillefer travelled to England during the Norman conquest of England of 1066, in the train of William the Conqueror.

It is recorded that at the Battle of Hastings, Taillefer asked permission of King William to have the honour of leading the first charge against the English.

When this request was declined, Taillifer instead alone rode out in front of the English troops and while tauntingly juggling his sword, sang the Chanson de Roland, an ancient ballad that extolls the fighting prowess of the Normans.

An English soldier ran out to challenge him and was killed by Taillefer, who then charged the English lines and was engulfed, thus being the first Norman Knight to have been killed during the battle.

Although Taillefer’s action was indeed heroic, he is not depicted (at least by name) on the famous Bayeux Tapestry. It is speculated that the reason for such omission was that it was punishment for having defied William’s instructions.
The family name changed from Taillefer to Borlase after Willia the Concorer’s son Rufus, granted a large section of land in Cornwall to the Taillefer family. The local Cornwellian name for the area was Borlas, meaning “Green Hillside”.
As apparently was the custom at the time, the head of the family was known by his first name, with the name of his “family seat” added on, for example: John of Borlas.

Somewhere around the 14th century, the surname Borlas seems to have been permanently adopted by all family members, with the spelling changing slightly to be spelt as Borlase, which has continued to the modern day, but have retained their connection to Taillefer through the Borlase coat of arms which in one form or another, has always depicts iron being torn apart.

Castle Horneck is also known as Iron Castle, that once existed near Penzance, Cornwall in SW England. was the traditional seat of the Borlase family.

Throughout the centuries, there have been many distinguished Borlase’s which have included, Knights, Members of Parliament, senior officers of the Army & Navy, Doctors, Lawyers, Historians, Artists, Naturalists etc…….Deirdre’s Great Grandfather (Charles Bonython Borlase) was a member of the NZ Parliament and Mayor of Wellington, the capitol city of New Zealand.

During the latter part of the 1920’s, Deirdre received her formal education at “Chilton House Finishing School”, in Wellington, New Zealand, where amongst other things, she received instruction in singing, a skill which will again receive mention later in this biography.

Interestingly, Chilton House has connection with an earlier school established on the orignial site of Chilton House School (57 Ellice Street), the former being named the “McDonnell’s Ladies Collegiate”, which was founder and operated by Deirdre’s Great Aunt, Mrs. Henrietta McDonnell, the wife of Col Thomas McDonnell, NZC.

With the onset of the 1929 Great Depression and resultant sharp downturn in the New Zealand economy, Deirdre’s family re-locate to Australia where her father (Edward Norris Borlase) attempted to secure appointment as a sheep farm manager.

Like most other families during this sad period, times were hard and so soon after arriving in Australia Deirdre commenced her working life, initially as a banking cashier / pay clerk with the large department store in Sydney, Anthony Horden’s.

In clear demonstration of Deirdre’s superior singing ability, throughout the 1930’s Deirdre was able to supplement her banking clerk income with payment for singing over the radio, and in 1934 made the semi-finals in the Australian Women’s Weekly “Our Great Screen Quest”.

During the course of Deirdre and Jim’s marriage, they had three children together, they being: Felicity, Anthony & Rosemary.

From the end of WW2, and apart from the period 1950-1957 when Jim served as an officer in the Australian Regular Army, Deirdre & Jim worked jointly together in various business ventures.

The most notable of these business ventures being the last – KB Mercantile J & D Young Pty Ltd, which was a Commercial Agency and Insurance Investigation company.

As many of the documents involved with this business were legal in nature and thus often required “notary” witnessing, Deirdre applied for and was appointed a Justice of the Peace (NSW).

Deirdre & Jim operated these business so successfully that they were able to provide all three of their children a wonderful start in life be sending each to prestigious and thus highly expensive private schools in Sydney….Felicity to SCEGGS, Anthony to Scots College, and Rosemary to Kambala.

Sadly, Deirdre suffered from ill-health during the last two decades of her life, and tragically died from a sudden deterioration in her health, in December 1976, just one week short of her 61st birthday.