Circular Head RSL Sub Branch Inc in Smithton, Tasmania | Community organisation

Circular Head RSL Sub Branch Inc

Locality: Smithton, Tasmania

Phone: +61 3 6452 1523

Address: 123 Nelson Street 7330 Smithton, TAS, Australia

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• Community group
• Non-profit organisation
• Community organisation
• Non-governmental organisation (NGO)

24.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Private Geoffrey George Stokes TX5949 born in Alcomie on August 31st 1923 to Edward and Mary Stokes. Geoffrey grew up in Alcomie with the Kay family but left school early to go farming. When he enlisted he was working as a Blacksmith’s Striker. He enlisted in the army when he was 19 years old on November 19th 1941 at Brighton camp although he lied about his age to get into the war. ... On 16th December 1941, he was appointed to the 2/40 Australian Infantry Battalion. On the next day, he went to Victoria with the Battalion for training and on the 23rd December 1941, he went to Darwin. On the 17th January 1942, he left Darwin on the Coolama and arrived in Koepang with the 2/40 Battalion to defend the airfield. However on February 23rd 1942 the Battalion was captured and Geoffrey became a POW. He spent the next 7 months in Usapa Besar camp and then was transferred to Java which is where he remained until he was recovered by the allies in Jakarta. Geoffrey arrived back in Tasmania on the Nairana on October 31st 1945. He was shot in the leg in the war and he had to have his leg amputated because of gangrene. One story from his family is that he had several spare legs and each one had a sock and shoe so he could use them for special and specific occasions. Geoffrey was engaged in September 1946 to Grace Helena Button and they were married 1st October 1949 in St. Pauls Stanley. They had twin boys who were deceased, then Julie, Murray, Lee, Pamela, Rosemary, Katrina and Wilma. The family lived at Cyathea Road Forest and he owned a small farm there. He also worked on Spion Kop with a great mate, Les Holland who was deaf from the war - so Geoff was the ears for Les and Les was the legs for Geoff. He also loved going to cattle sales with Stan Collins all around the state and cut Swedes for people, even with one leg. Geoffrey was a very private man and never spoke with his family about the war. If he did speak about the war, it would be when mates come around and after the Anzac day services. However, he was badly affected by the war. He lost a leg, had malaria that kept recurring and suffered from nightmares. In the camps he ate rice and rats so the family was never allowed to eat rice after war at home. Geoffrey had a real dislike of doctors and died in Forest at home September 22nd 1991 from lung cancer although the main cause was prostate cancer. He was 68 years old when he died and his name is preserved at St Bartholomew's Cemetery, Forest, Tasmania. Lest we forget. Story written by Solomon a Grade 9 student at the Circular Head Christian School

23.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Private Terrence Russell Moore TX3538 born on August 16th 1919 in Smithton to John and Bertha Moore. After leaving school, Terry worked with his father as a carrier before enlisting at Brighton on June 21st 1940 and being allotted to the 2/40 Australian Infantry Battalion Terry left Darwin with the 2/40 Battalion to defend an airfield in Timor and was pronounced missing on April 24th 1942 which was later confirmed as being a prisoner of war on June 15th ...1942. He was later to tell the story of how the Japanese would treat the soldiers terribly and they would constantly be beaten every day. When he first arrived at the prison the Japanese searched him and found his gold fillings. Anything worth something would be taken. They stole his gold fillings and replaced them with melted down door knobs. When Terry and other inmates were retrieved by the Allies, they were very malnourished and Terry weighed in at only 30kg. Although Terry didn’t talk much about the war when he returned home he had little to no mental health problems caused by the war. However, he did tell one story of a boy called Peter who was with him in the war and got shot on his 16th birthday. That did affect Terry and it was something he didn’t forget. Terry married Ursula Farnham on the 16th of August 1947 who was six years younger than him. His daughter Judith was born November 21st 1948 followed by Margaret on January 18th 1950. His family tells the story that when he went to war the japs made him kneel down and pray to them. So when he went to church with his family he struggled to get on his knees and pray because it reminded him of what had happened to him in prison. After he returned home from the war he bought his own taxi service and also worked down at Savage River and Mowbray swamp for a short amount of time. He was exceptionally good with the rifle and won the 1975 Tasmanian Queen's event at Pontville. He was also awarded Life membership of the Smithton Rifle Club recognising his contributions to the club. In his later years he was not able to shoot anymore due to his age but he continued to travel around Australia meeting other fellow rifle shooters. On the 29th of April 2009 Terry passed away from lung cancer. Lest we forget. Story written by Mataya and Miah Grade 9 students at Circular Head Christian School

21.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Private Laurie Grey TX3714 born in Smithton on January 16th, 1918 to Horace and Doris Grey. Laurie grew up in Marrawah and worked as a cheesemaker at Marrawah after leaving school. He was known to be good at sport. When the decision was made in 1940 to form a Tasmanian Battalion, to be known as the 2/40 Australian Infantry Battalion, Laurie Grey decided that it was necessary to enlist. He formally enlisted into the Australian Army on the 2nd of July 194...0 in Launceston, Tasmania. As a member of the Sparrow force, Laurie Grey left Darwin on December the 10th, arriving at Koepang (Timor) on the 12th to defend the airfield at Penfui. Unfortunately, the 2/40 Battalion was badly outnumbered by Japanese forces. They had to destroy the airfield and were forced to fall back. By February 23rd, 1941 the supplies and ammunition were running out for them and they were forced to surrender. Laurie Grey then became a POW. Laurie was eventually taken from Timor to Thailand and as part of H Force ended up working on the infamous Burma railway, also known as the Death Railway. The conditions there were awful and unfortunately, Laurie would not make it back home. H Force was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oakes. They left Changi on May 4 1943. From Bampong they marched 140 kilometres north to Tarsau and joined up with D Force. Their task was to cut Hell Fire pass. 179 men from H Force died and Laurie Grey was one of them. He died on the 16th of September 1943 due to Beri Beri and amoebic dysentery aged 25. He is buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand Plot 1.D.50 Lest We Forget. Written by Josh

19.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Driver Norton Donald O’Connor TX5611 born September 21st 1919 to Charles and Eva O’Connor in Forest. Norton’s twin sister Nelma grew up to marry Wesley Wilfrid House (TX3913) who, like Norton, became a prisoner of the Japanese during WW2. After his mother drowned in a dam in South Forest (1934) the family moved to Ridgley where his father met and married Ida McNab. ... Norton became involved with the local football and cricket clubs and was working on a potato farm at Cuprona when war broke out. On July 15th 1941 he enlisted and was taken on strength (TOS) as a driver to the 1 Company Australian Army Service Corp. He was allocated as a reinforcement for 8 Division Ammunition Sub Park to serve in Malaya on December 29th 1941. Norton was deployed overseas in January 1942, arriving in Singapore on the 26th. Due to the worsening situation there, Norton was allocated to basic defence duties rather than carrying up ammunition to the Peninsula as part of the 8 Division Ammunition Sub Park and when the Japanese took Singapore on February15th 1942, Norton became a prisoner of war. He was interned at Selarang Barracks in Changi. From there he was sent to work on the infamous Burma Railway where he died from malaria on September 28th 1943 just a few days after his 24th birthday. Norton is remembered with Honour at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Joint grave 1.0.61-62 in Thailand. Lest we forget.

11.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Gunner Arthur Raymond Oliver VX129378 who was born in Stanley on August 10th 1921 to Charles and Ivy Oliver. He was the third of 7 children and grew up in Mengha, Smithton and Christmas Hills before his parents separated in 1929 and he remained with his mother in Mengha. When his mother remarried Malcolm Radford from Burnie in1937 the family moved to Leongatha in Victoria. On April 12th 19239, after changing his date of birth Arthur enlisted in the Austr...alian Army militia. He also met and became engaged to Lorraine Gitt. His best friend was James (Jimmy) Kavanagh and on March 3rd 1941 they enlisted together and were taken on strength with the Light Heavy Battery Unit. Along with 17 other men from Leongatha they became part of Lark Force and left Sydney on the HMAT Zeelandia arriving in Rabaul on April 26th 1941 to act as part of a garrison force protecting the town. Japanese attacks escalated until on January 23rd 1942 they landed in force and the Australians were given the order by their Commanding Officer ‘everyman for himself’. Most of the Light Heavy Battery and 1st Independent Company were captured and became Prisoners of War. Arthur and Jimmy were interned in a stockade in Malaguna Road. When Japanese survivors of the Battle of the Coral Sea arrived in Rabaul, conditions worsened with overcrowding of the camp, less food and an increase of disease. Eventually the Japanese decided to move them to Japan and in late May 1942 they were loaded onto the Montevideo Maru to sail to Hainan and then on to Japan. The ship bore no marking to indicate it carried POW’s and on July 1st 1942 the USS Sturgeon attacked and sank it. Over 1,000 men were locked in the hold and there were no survivors. Both friends died in this disaster. Arthur is remembered on the Rabaul Memorial Panel 22. His enlistment number was changed after his death from V11740 to VX129378. Lest we forget Thank you to Lyn Skillern and the Leongatha Historical Society for the war record information

08.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Chaplain Albert Henry Thompson TX6093 born in London, on the 27th March 1903 to Ruth Thompson who later married George Abbott. After some years’ experience in Church Army work in England, Albert moved to Tasmania and took charge of the Church Army caravan here, for several years doing the work of an evangelist in many parts of Tasmania. Early in 1934 he returned to England, where he married Gladys, and soon after returned to Tasmania. He was ordained to the... Deaconate in December, 1934, and to the Priesthood in 1935. From 1935 until 1937 he was Rector of Campbell Town, and from 1937 until September, 1941, he was Rector of Smithton. His wife later donated candlesticks to St Stephens which were dedicated to his memory. The plaque can still be seen there today Chaplain Thompson received his commission as a Chaplain in the A.I.F in September 1941 and his wife, Gladys, moved to Launceston. Deployed overseas with the 13 Australian General Hospital, he was caught in the fall of Singapore in February, 1942, and became a Prisoner of the Japanese. He was held in the famous Changi Prison before being sent out as a component of B Force (made up of 1,494 POWs) to Sandakan in July 1942 where the Japanese were constructing a runway. In mid-1945, when the Japanese were in retreat they moved their prisoners out from Sandakan to Ranau on the opposite side of the island. Chaplain Thompson was just one of the hundreds of soldiers who died whilst on the infamous death marches from the prison camp he was held at Sandakan through challenging tropical jungle terrain to the west coast destination of Ranau. Of the 2400+ Allied prisoners of war forced on the journey, around half died whilst en route, the rest died at their destination. During the march, Chaplain Thompson was walking with difficulty because of a large suppurating ulcer on his foot. He was removed from the line by two Japanese officers and ordered to go no further. Whether he was killed or died from his deteriorating condition isn’t clear but his official date of death was July 19th 1945. Lieutenant Selwyn Shand QX16532 from Queensland later wrote to Albert's widow, Gladys telling her: "Of one thing I am sure-Albert Thompson died as he lived, steadfast in his faith and his Church, and setting an example in fellowship and self sacrifice to those about him." Albert Henry Thompson is remembered at Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia: Section 21, Row C, Plot 6. Lest we forget. Written by Jotham a Grade 9 student at the Circular Head Christian School

07.01.2022 We have finished posting the stories completed by Grade 9 students from the Circular Head Christian School. There were 71 POW's associated with Circular Head in WW2. Some stories have been started by the students and are not yet ready for publication while some are still be looked at. The school is still interested in adding to these stories and working on the other men's stories. Please pass on any information to Patrick Bakes on [email protected] The attache...d photo shows the names in alphabetical order of the 71 POW's. We hope you have enjoyed reading the stories recognizing the sacrifice so many soldiers and their families have given and endured. Lest we Forget

05.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Chaplain Harold Wardale-Greenwood VX38675 who was born in April 1909 at Blagdon-On-Tyne in Durham England to Harold and mary Greenwood. Harold more or less followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a Presbyterian minister after studying at Melbourne University. After his ordination in 1937 he was posted to Stanley, Tasmania ministering at St James’ Presbyterian Church. It was there that he met and formed a friendship with Reverend Albert Henry Thompson,...Continue reading

05.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Corporal Roy Arthur Harman TX5121 who was born in Smithton on January 12th 1919 to Arthur and Amy Harman. However it appears as if Roy was brought up by his grandparents Charles and Maria Harman who lived in Stanley because his school record lists Charles as his father. His actual parents moved to Victoria at some point in time and his brother Donald went with them. Growing up in Stanley, Roy lived in Rougemont Street and attended the local school. When h...Continue reading

03.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Private Frederick William Howe TX3449 born on February 24th 1915 in Smithton, Tasmania, to Eleanor Rachel Holmes and Ernest Cecil Howe. He was one of 5 children three of whom were born and raised in Smithton living on Tier Hill. Fred was a good scholar earning a Junior and a Senior country bursary for his studies and winning the Institute of Accountants Special Prize in his final year at Devonport High School. As a child Fred would have seen his father w...Continue reading

03.01.2022 Honouring WW2 POW Reginald Burton Keogh, born on the 23rd February 1919, Stanley Tasmania. His father, Louis Michael Keogh was aged 20 and his mother, Annie Elvira Smith was 19. Reginald was the first child of Annie and Louis, with his brother Lyndon Lyell being born on 3rd April 1923. His sister, Betty Ismay was born on the 31st August 1924 and sister Audrey Joyce on the 21st May 1928. Finally John Raymond Keogh was born November 29th 1931. On 21st July 1940, Smithton Tasm...ania, Reginald enlisted in the Australian Army while living in Forest Tasmania, working as a Blacksmith. After training in Victoria and the Northern Territory he embarked for overseas service on the 8th December 1941 serving in D Company with the 2/40 Australian Infantry Battalion. Like other men in Sparrow Force, he was taken as a Prisoner of War when the Japanese overran Timor and the Australian troops surrendered. Reginald spent the rest of the war in a range of camps, spending time in Java and Thailand before being taken to Fukuoka camp Japan in early 1945. He was recovered from there on September 13th arriving back in Australia in October. In November 1945 after he arrived home in Circular Head a welcome home was held at the Forest Hall. Reginald attended alongside other POW’s: James Murray TX3919, Henry Boys TX3902, Wesley House TX3913 and Geoffrey Stokes TX5949. He continued to live in Forest and Wiltshire Junction working as a stoker and a railway employer/repairer before moving to Hale street in Wynyard, Tasmania in 1954. He married Lavinia Medwin on February 5th 1949 at ‘Our lady star of the sea’ church in Stanley, was the place of Reginald and Lavina’s marriage. Their first child, Lucille, was born on October 14th 1954. The family continued to live in Wynyard Reginald Burton Keogh passed away aged 74 at home, while living at 49 Saunders St, Wynyard on 6th July 1993, and was buried at the Forest Gospel Hall, Forest, Tasmania. Lest we forget Written by Luke, a Grade 9 student at the Circular Head Christian School.

02.01.2022 Reposting this story Honouring WW2 POW Private Charles Arthur Bond TX3728, born in Melbourne Victoria on May 20th 1918 to Charles and Ethel Bond. Charles and Ethel were married in Marrawah which is where Charles grew up after birth, until he enlisted on the 2nd of July 1940. He had two other brothers who also enlisted: Lance Corporal William Bond VX48728 and Trooper Ellis Bond VX130385 neither of whom became prisoners of war like their brother Charles.... On July 3rd he was allotted to the 2/40th Battalion and on the 7th of January 1941 he was transferred to Bonegilla Training camp in Victoria from Brighton onboard the SS Zealandia. It took a further 12 months before his Battalion was deployed overseas. Finally on the 8th of December he embarked for overseas service and disembarked at Koepang where he fought until the Japanese overran Koepang on the 22nd of February 1942 and his Battalion surrendered. He spent the rest of the war in a range of POW camps in Timor, Java and Thailand Charles was 25 when he died on the 22nd of September 1943 as a POW in Thailand from malaria and dysentery. His name is preserved in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Lest We Forget Written by Joseph a Grade 9 student at the Circular Head Christian School

01.01.2022 Reposting this story Honouring WW2 Private Charles Payne born on the 15th of June 1922 in South Forest to Kenrick Payne and Mary Winifred Burke. Charles Payne, age 19, joined the A.I.F. on 19th November 1941, enlisting at Burnie, Tasmania. His initial training was at Brighton Army Camp and then he moved to Victoria with the 2/40th Battalion for further training, eventually leaving for Darwin. ...Continue reading