William Bourke was born on 16 March 1905 in Sassafras Tasmania. He enlisted on 22 April 1941 at Royal Park. William was killed in action on 27 January 1942 and is remembered on the roll of honour at Railton Tasmania.
Filtering by Author: 2/29 Battalion
HACKNEY Ben Charles NX71148 HQ Coy F Force
Information from Lynette Silvers Book entitled “The Bridge at Parit Surlong”
Ben Hackney was a grazier in the Bathurst District where his family were among the early pioneers. At the age of 26, Ben Hackney became part of the 2/29th Battalion, training at Bathurst, then embarked with the Battalion for Malaya in July, 1941.
He was severely wounded in the Battle of Muar in January 1942. After 36 days in the jungle, Ben Hackney was captured and imprisoned in Pudu Gaol, Kula Lumpur, before being transferred to Changi on Singapore Island. He survived the experiences of F Force in Thailand. His evidence of the Parit Surlong massacre was crucial to the successful 1950 prosecution for war crimes of Lieutenant-General Takamo Nishimura.
With Nishimura dead and Australia entering into a peace treaty with Japan, the events of 1942 were now a fading memory, however Hackney did not forget. He did not marry the girl whose photo had sustained him during his ordeal, but he did marry in the early 1950’s. He fathered a child, a girl, but the marriage was short lived. Haunted by the memories when awake and tormented by dreadful nightmares when asleep - he remained on the land raising cattle and sheep on Wonolabee property near Bathurst, his only brother Tom died in 1947 in a horse accident. For the last ten years of his life he became a virtual recluse, crippled with arthritis, he never forgave or forgot those responsible for the massacre at Parit Surlong. He died of emphysema in May 1984, leaving this legacy to his old battalion, the 2/29th. Ben Hackney’s death went almost unnoticed, apart from the usual announcements placed in newspapers by the funeral director.
About Ben Hackney
[From the Australian War Memorial]
Lt BC "Ben" Hackney, 2/29th Australian Inf Bn
was one of only two men to survive the Japanese massacre of wounded at Parit Sulong during the fighting on the Malay Peninsula in 1942.
The force commanded by Lt-Col CGW Anderson attempting to withdraw along the Bakri to Parit Sulong road was stopped at the bridge over the river at Parit Sulong. Unable to withdraw on the road, Anderson's men were forced to disperse through the jungle and swamps.
They left behind 165 wounded who could not travel, including Lt Hackney. After they were captured by the Japanese the wounded PoW's were brutally herded together; many of the PoW's were forced into a shed from where on the evening of the 22nd January 1942 they were tied together in small groups and taken away to be killed.
Lt Hackney, feigning death, was left behind. He crawled away and eventually found another member of his battalion, Sgt Ron Croft, who had also escaped, and they were also joined by a British soldier. The three eventually reached a Malay house where they were given assistance. Hackney who could not stand, convinced the others to leave him. The Malays, fearing reprisals by the Japanese, carried him off some distance from the house and left him. He managed to crawl from place to place, but was generally refused assistance by Malays, who feared reprisals, but was given assistance by Chinese.
On the 27th February 1942, thirty-six days after he escaped the massacre, he was caught by a party of Malays, one dressed as a policeman, taken back to Parit Sulong and handed over to the Japanese. He was again subjected to brutal treatment by the Japanese, but after a series of moves on 20th March 1942 he arrived at the Pudu gaol at Kuala Lumpur. He was later taken with other PoW's to Changi gaol.
He survived the war and returned to Australia.
WARD Lindsey Francis VX36843 D Coy Sing
No. VX 36843 PRIVATE LINDSEY FRANCIS WARD
I was never fortunate enough to meet my Uncle Lindsey. He was killed in action on Singapore Island on 11 th February 1942.
My only connection with him are his Service medals, photographs and the numerous letters he wrote to his parents from Malaya.
No. VX 36843 Private Lindsey Francis Ward enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 9 th July 1940 at Royal Park. He grew up on an orchard in Stanhope, Northern Victoria, the son of a 14 th Battalion AIF veteran and first President of the Stanhope RSL.
Known as “Tinny” because of his lucky streak, he became known around town as a bit of a larrikin, finding trouble wherever he could find it. He was 20 years old when he enlisted, being allocated to the 2/29 th Battalion, D Company. Within twelve months he was on the Transport Ship “EE” HMT Marnix heading for Malaya.
It wasn’t long before he was up on a charge receiving 21 days detention. The charge being “Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline in that he was taking part in a fight in a public place”
After his release he was sent north along the Malay Peninsula to the village of Segamat where he joined the rest of his mates. Throughout his time overseas he wrote constantly to his parents describing all the new sights he was witnessing, the exotic animals he had not seen before, the farming techniques and how a Rubber Plantation operated, the bargaining with the local traders trying to sell him fake watches and the humidity which he hadn’t experienced before. Lindsey always signed off with at least half a dozen kisses to his Mum and Dad.
He of course, like many of his mates, contracted dengue fever and was hospitalised for some days which “knocked him around. “In his letter dated 20 th October 1941 he wrote “According to the papers here now we look like being stuck into the Japs any tick of the clock. It won’t come quick enough for me though. I’m dying to see a bit of action.”
His parents sent him a mouth organ he requested and it arrived in late October. This was one of the few personal possessions passed on to me which I treasured. In amongst the letters from him are three Xmas cards with the 2/29 th colours. One to his parents and the others to his two sisters.
His sisters enlisted, one serving in the Royal Australian Airforce and my Mother as a Gunner on Bofors guns. By February 1942 the Battalion was well and truly back on Singapore Island.
Lindsey’s last letter was written on 4 th February “I have been to the front as I presume you have guessed and came out safe and sound. We were up there for about eleven days and was not sorry to get out for a bit of a spell believe me. ………… no one could image what it is like until they see it. We were under rifle fire, mortars, artillery but compared with dive bombing and machine gunning from the air it was a mere trifle.”
On the 11 th February 1942 “Tinny” and his close mate “Ossie” were sent out with a Bren gun. “We moved forward against the enemy at Bukit Timah with Captain Bowring M.I.D in command and he placed the Bren gun which the inseparable Tinny and Ossie worked out on a flank to cover the advance and a sniper got onto them and silenced the gun.” Lieut Bill Smith. They were both shot where they lay next to the gun. (refer to page 90. A History of the 2/29 Battalion. 8 th Australian Division AIF). Lindsey and Ossie were buried in Kranji War Cemetery and ironically an Officer Lieutenant Oldfield, 2/26 th, buried between them. I wonder what they would have thought of that?
Lieutenant Bill Smith wrote a touching letter to Lindsey’s parents on the 24 th November 1945 writing that “we found ourselves cut off and although the rest of the company retired I didn’t receive the order and was left behind with a few men. I might still have been there if Tinny and his mate Ossie Francis had not stayed behind to warn us what was going on and so we were able to get through the Jap lines and rejoin the unit on the next day. So there are fourteen men who owe their lives to the risk that Tinny was willing to take- you can imagine how deeply I regret his loss.”
It appears that Lindsey parents were not informed of his death until November 1944 however they would have been aware that he was missing in action. The anguish and sadness expressed by the residents of Stanhope is revealed through the many letters and cards of condolence to Maude and George Ward. Lindsey’s name is etched into the Stanhope War memorial and can be seen on the Wall of Remembrance at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
My daughter’s middle name is Lindsey in honour of him and his great great nephew, her son, marched on Anzac Day 2023 proudly wearing his medals.
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN
LEST WE FORGET
Contributed by his niece Kate Kirton
NANKERVIS Franklyn William C coy F force Ponds
NANKERVIS Franklyn William C coy F force Ponds
It is with regret that we record the passing of our president Frank on the 6th April 08. He was a fine officer and well respected by his troops in Singapore, Malaya and Thailand. The 2/29th Association was formed in 1943 and has had only two presidents, Arthur Wimpole for 39 years, followed by Frank for 26 years. Over the years he has been a great leader understanding the needs of widows and members of the Battalion in general. He will be greatly missed by all.
Frank was to receive the Order of Australia Medal. "For service to the communities of Hurstbridge and Arthur's Creek through a range of veterans' welfare, municipal and service organisations." Frank's honour is being presented to his daughter Kate at Government House on the 11th September 2008.
THIRLWELL Hal Rouvray VX59292 HQ Coy [F Force Ponds Party]
Hal Rouvray Thirlwell (VX59292) 1921 – 2012
March 29, 2012
Hal Thirlwell was born in East Melbourne, of Scottish and American ancestry, on 5 July 1921. Both Hal and his brother sang in the St James' and St Pauls' choirs and received scholarships to Trinity Grammar, and later to Caulfield Grammar. These scholarships were very welcome in the depths of the Great Depression: 'People had money, no doubt,' he recalled, 'but we didn't.' In 1936 Hal left school to work at Myer' s, and after a year he moved to Flinders Lane as an office boy for a firm of textile importers: 'They were all First World War fellows, and I was the general rouseabout. I was there until the war started.' He also enlisted in the Militia, and in 1940 was part of the 5th Battalion, Victorian Scottish Regiment.
Hal's older brother 'Mac' enlisted in the AIF and went away with the 9th Division to the Middle East, where at Tobruk he fought, was wounded, and won the Military Cross. In 1941 Hal also enlisted in the AIF: 'My mother wasn't very happy about it. But in those days people just - took it on the chin, as it were, when their sons enlisted. They had no real option, assuming that you're old enough.' Hal went AWOL to farewell his family, and was demoted from Lance Corporal to Private!
When he joined the 2/29th Bn AIF as a private on Singapore Island on Australia Day, 26 January 1942, the Battalion was being re-formed after suffering frightful losses at Muar and Bakri in Malaya. Hal was one of the few 600 reinforcements who had some training and experience, from being in the Militia, and he was given charge of a Great War-vintage Lewis machinegun. Hal's reminiscences of the frustrating defence of Singapore are featured in the book No Lost Battalion. On 15 February Hal became one of many thousands of Australians interned at Changi. He joined working parties at Thompson Road, and in April 1943 went away to Thailand with Pond's Party of F Force. They started with a forced march of almost 200 kms from Banpong to Koncoita, two-thirds of the way to the Burmese border. During the subsequent eight months of working up and down the line, almost three in every ten of the men of F Force died as a result of malnutrition, mistreatment, and disease.
Hal contracted malaria in May 1943, the first of what he calculated was about one hundred episodes: 'But you sort of got used to it. It was a way of life'. Cholera was another matter. Cholera almost guaranteed death. On 14 July Hal was thought to have contracted cholera at Takunun (120 km from Banpong), and along with 67 others was placed in isolation. He had had other health problems too, but in his self- deprecating way said 'lots of people had to put up with much worse.' On the last day of August 1943, debilitated, and suffering weakness in the limbs from beri-beri, he became one of Pond's Party evacuated south to the hospital at Wanyai. It was no easy passage. Paralysed from the waist down, Hal had to be carried out of Takunun, feeling guilty 'because these same guys who were carrying me were in very bad physical condition'. So when his right leg improved, he forced himself to walk, crab-like, sideways, with his left knee locked.
Hal's weight had dropped from a normal 12 – 12 ½ stone to around seven stone. He put his survival down to 'learning to live with' what befell you, insisting that 'it was just a fluke that I got through'. But another survivor of F Force and of that evacuation described Hal's literally dragging himself hand over hand along the railway as one of the most courageous acts he had ever seen.
Hal was in Changi when the war ended, and he was restless on his return to Australia. After some years managing Victorian country chain stores he went to the UK, where he met and in 1954 married Mary and brought her to Australia. Back in Melbourne he returned to the business of textile importing in Flinders Lane before he started his own business, which he sold upon his retirement in 1991.
Hal was devoted to the welfare of the fellow members of his Battalion and their families through his membership of the 2/29th Battalion AIF Association and his work as a Committee member. He died peacefully in the Epworth Hospital on 29 March 2012, survived by Mary, their two children and their two grandchildren. His ashes have been placed in a niche at the wall of remembrance at Springvale Cemetery. The family of the Battalion Association salutes him.
John Lack
PALLARES, Joseph Howard VX37260 C Coy [Maur]
Joseph Pallares was born 26 January 1916. He was killed in action on 22 January 1942 and is remembered on the roll of honour at Barham.
SARKIES Walter Andrew VX27723 HQ Coy [F Force Ponds Party]
Walter Andrew Sarkies (VX27723) 1923 – 2012
Walter Sarkies VX27723 (Pte), who served as a machine gunner with HQ Company (Carriers) and later with A Company, and was a POW with F Force ('Pond's Party') in Thailand, died in Melbourne on 17 June.
Walter was born on 2 February 1923 in Glenhuntly and spent his youth in Reservoir. In June 1940, aged 17, he enlisted in the 2nd AIF, and after basic training joined the 2/29th at Bonegilla. At 18 Wal was with the battalion at Segamat (Malaya). When the Japanese entered the war in December 1941, his unit was assigned to defend airfields and he experienced bombing at close range with only the protection of a shallow slit trench.
Too young to become a carrier driver, he was reassigned to A Company. As part of a small unit he went behind enemy lines to bomb bridges to slow the Japanese advance down the peninsula. After successfully destroying two bridges, the unit found its way back to allied lines, following creeks and avoiding the Japanese. He was wounded in action against advancing Japanese as the unit attempted to rejoin the main body of the 2/29th which had been sent north to Muar. Unable to break through, the commandos regrouped with British gunners. After his wound was dressed at a British aid post (RAP), he was sent on the last train south to the makeshift Australian field hospital at Jahore Baru before being evacuated to Singapore. He was in hospital in Singapore when the Allies surrendered. A few days later, with other wounded he marched to the Selarang Barracks, Changi. Wal's closest friends, Tommy Hall and Donny McCallum, had been killed at Muar.
As a POW in 1942, Wal was with work parties ordered to build the Japanese Bukit Timah Hill memorial, and on the Singapore wharves. Later he worked making timber supports for the network of tunnels constructed under Singapore. In April 1943, Walter was sent to Thailand with F Force (Pond's Party). Disembarking from the train at Bampong, the men were force-marched, always at night after days of labouring, 160 miles north to Konkoita camp where they began work on the Burma- Thailand railway. In poor health since being wounded in January 1942, Walter succumbed to severe illness after only three days and was sent to a 'hospital' camp ("a funny name to give it", he said) back at Bampong. Walter attributed his 'good luck' in this to Dr Roy Mills. His friend Geoff Forster died on the boat that took these desperately ill men away from 'the line'. Walter remained at Bampong camp for some months before returning to Changi, having rejoined the F Force survivors as they came south.
In Changi hospital Walter took up drawing, with paper and pencils supplied by his friend Frank Day who worked in the camp library. The Walter Sarkies Collection of 41 drawings of Changi life is held at the State Library of Victoria. Walter remembered the day of the Japanese surrender, and the early days of freedom in liberated Singapore. Interviewed in 2011, he remembered the sweet taste of ice cream after years of near starvation. He also remembered 'marvellous' days and nights on the Esperance Bay, which brought the 2/29th home. Walter was 23.
In 1947 Walter married Betty. He had a lifelong career with Shell. He and Betty travelled extensively, including business trips to Japan. In later years, Walter and Betty lived with their son Richard at Wallan. Brian Cleveland represented the Battalion at Wal's funeral, which was held at Fawkner Cemetery on Thursday 21 June.
Marguerita Stephens
[Marguerita, the daughter of 2/29th veteran Bob Stephens, interviewed Walter Sarkies for the Battalion Association in 2011.]
MARSHALL Albert Clifford VX37246 A Coy Muar
Born 10 July 1913 in Bendigo. Albert lived in Barham when he enlisted on 13 July 1940. He was killed in action on 22 January 1942.
Albert is remembered on the roll of honour at Barham, NSW.
LARAGY, Leo Christopher VX43170 A Coy [F Force Ponds Party]
Hayley McClure, great granddaughter of Leo Christopher Laragy (VX43170), was awarded the inaugural Ben Hackney Trust Education Grant. Hayley’s essay follows:
My name is Hayley McClure. I am commencing Year 11 at Mentone Girls’ Grammar School in 2019.
My Great Grandfather, Leo Christopher Laragy (VX43170), born 1913 and died 1983, is our family hero, and it is through his stories passed down through the family that we are able to achieve a deeper understanding and appreciation for the life he led.
Leo enlisted in the AIF in 1941 and was a private in the 2nd/29th battalion. He trained in Bonegilla and Bathurst and was deployed to Malaysia. He was held as a Japanese POW from 1942 to 1945.
My interest and understanding of the 2nd/29th Battalion first began when researching for a school Anzac Day presentation in Year Six (2014), and then again while writing an Australia History essay in Year 10 (2018) on World War II. Following this, I commenced tracing the family genealogy to understand the connections that we have to his life and experiences.
My father and I began discussing the connection we have with our own family hero, whom was held and survived the brutal captivity of the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. In our family, my Great Grandfather is seen as a remarkable hero, and together, my dad and I have begun to catalogue his story.
My research has been undertaken with my father, whom holds a variety of primary and secondary sources which allow us to map Leo’s life before, during and after the Second World War. My father owns the family collection of books and artefacts, which include messages and letters from Leo to his wife and family during his war service. The books we hold include A History of the 2/ 29th Battalion – 8th Australian Division AIF, No Lost Battalion and Surviving Captivity. Our library also contains Changi Brownlow, Weary Dunlop Diaries and Grim Glory – the AIF in Malaya. Although having not read all these myself, I have used them as resources and references in investigations and have had the assistance of my father to understand the content. I have watched many documentaries on Changi, Thai Burma Railway that are available on YouTube and ClickView.
My father spent time with Leo before his passing and without knowing that it was insensitive to ask veterans about their experiences, he was able to obtain information not previously known by the family.
Life before service
Before enlisting, Leo worked for the Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) where he completed an apprenticeship as a photo engraver. Originally based in Melbourne, he was transferred to Brisbane to work on Courier Mail before the outbreak of the war. He married in Brisbane and then returned to Melbourne just before the outbreak of WWII, buying a house in Elsternwick with his new wife. He only had one occupation and one employer for his working life. He would return to the HWT after the war, and continued with this job until his retirement in 1977.
Leo was athletic and would occasionally play football for North Melbourne reserves. He would follow North Melbourne for his entire life.
Details of service
As Leo lived in Elsternwick, we understand he volunteered in Caulfield Melbourne in 1941. Although not keen to participate in the war, he did see it as a part of his civic duty to volunteer. Also, he understood that conscription was imminent and that this had a social stigma associated. Leo preferred to be seen as a volunteer than conscripted as this was more socially acceptable and important to him and his family.
I understand from my Grandmother (Leo’s daughter) that he was trained in Bonegilla and Bathurst NSW before transporting to Queensland. By reading his letters, we can see he connected with family in QLD before travelling overseas to complete his service. From these letters I assume pay in the army must not have been very good as he was continually asking for money to be sent to him. Through his service records, we can see that he seemed to be frequently injured during training as he has many days in recuperation.
Service in Malaysia/Singapore
Leo saw action in Malaysia. He received a minor wound when a bullet was shot into his back. Fortunately, the bullet ricocheted off his buckle in his backpack and instead hit his helmet. We understand this to be his luckiest escape!
He was a part of the retreat down the coast and was taken as a prisoner of war immediately following his landing return to Singapore.
On stepping off the boat from Malaysia to Singapore, Japanese greeted them with guns drawn. The Japanese soldier whom captured the company showed an element of kindness and offered them cigarettes. Leo had never smoked a cigarette until that time (and never did again).
Life as a prisoner of war
Leo would talk about his time in Changi prison before his role on the Thai Burma Railway. He described the cramped, disease-ridden conditions and recalled how rats would run across his feet at night whilst trying to sleep.
Telegram cards and communication cards show us that Leo had access to one of the hidden radios in prison, which the POWs cleverly developed using transistors and batteries. The radios were wired to the Allied Force’s radio stations which allowed them to receive news of progress on the war. The prisoners’ use of these radios highlights a key aspect of the ‘Australian Spirit’ of ingenuity and courage, as I understand from watching documentaries that it was extremely dangerous to be in possession or use these radios.
The telegram cards also show that they reached main land Australia in Cape York and have been handed from person to person in a journey many thousands of kilometres to arrive at Elsternwick, Melbourne.
We have read his letters that were passed through the Red Cross to his family in Melbourne. These letters contain lots of insight into his life and also the censorship applied by his Japanese captors. Being conscious of the censorship, Leo would use language that would enable him to advise his family of information that would otherwise be redacted. An example of this was how he communicated the death of another friend POW. He used his own code to make his wife aware of the death to inform his friends’ family.
Leo talked of how his friends died of cholera and dysentery. I understand he suffered from beriberi swollen legs while working on the railway. Leo only talked of deaths of friends from dysentery and that his friend, a doctor, whom was very particular about hygiene, succumbed to dysentery and died.
Leo did not discuss much of his experiences on the railway other than the story where of one Korean guard, spotted Leo’s crucifix around his neck. The guard asked if Leo was Christian. Fearful, but ever honest, Leo responded. Fortunately, the Korean guard was also Christian and as a result, he kindly allowed Leo to work in food preparation. We expect this meant that Leo’s nutrition was not as dire as many of his fellow POW’s. We believe that this deed may have contributed to his good fortune and enabled him to better survive in the appalling conditions.
In undertaking his duties in food distribution, I understand that Leo would look to ensure the men that were in worst condition were looked after with their portion of food, even when they were unable to line up to receive it, further displaying acts of mateship and comradery, important characteristics of the ‘Australian Spirit’.
At the end of their time as POWs, Leo described that some of the men felt shame when being liberated. The fit soldiers had a look of shock and disbelief that these men were in fact soldiers. This must have been another very difficult moment for the proud soldiers that had been through such an atrocity.
Life after the war
We understand that Leo spent time at the repatriation hospital in Heidelberg. He returned to his place of work and continued there, where he attained 50 years of service.
As with many returned POWs, Leo was a changed man. We understand he had relapses related to malaria. His main form of release was to surround himself with his friends at his local RSL. The Elwood RSL became a very important part of his life. I understand that he and his friends relied on each other and alcohol to help them through.
Leo would also attend lunches and dinners with ex POWs and we still have restaurant menus signed by his friends in the 2/29th. We understand that the bond that Leo shared with the men had on their return was like no other due to the mateship that developed during their time of service and captivity.
Throughout the 70’s, Leo stopped attending the Anzac Day marches, however we are unsure why. It was not until encouraged by his grandchildren (where they wanted to see him on television) that he resumed in 1980.
Leo died on the 15th August 1983. Strangely this was the same date as his liberation from captivity some 38 years later.
Why this history is important to me
I have a deep interest in history and understanding my family’s role in it. I am studying both History and Japanese in Year 11 & 12. I know the Japanese culture well and struggle to connect the brutality I understand from my Great Grandfather’s experiences. Although my Great Grandmother could not forgive the Japanese, the only evidence Leo showed of any negativity towards the Japanese was the increasing awareness of Japanese cars in the 70’s and 80’s and disappointment of Australians to support them.
Some things I have learnt from my investigations on my Great Grandfather and the 2/ 29th. I believe I have a different perspective on events especially in relation to the end of the war to many others my age. I understand that the controversial and rapid end to the war, as brutal as it was to the Japanese people, meant that my grandfather was released earlier that what would have been the case. As such, all of us, as decedents of returned Japanese POW soldiers, are somewhat indebted to the United States for ending the war in the manner and time that they did.
I think that more students should look into their families’ past and understand the sacrifices, experience and achievements. It has helped me connect my place in the world and I am keen to connect with other surviving families as we have a common remarkable history that should never be forgotten.
Hayley McClure
READ, Geoffrey Gordon VX61306 A Coy [F Force]
V66516 & VX61306 Corporal Geoffrey Gordon Read
Geoffrey Read was born in Lane Cove, NSW on 24 March 1909. He enlisted in the AIF on 7 August 1941 and was assigned to the 4th Reinforcements to the 2nd/29th Battalion.
Read his story here:
https://taylor.id.au/READ_GG_VX61306.htm
Shared by Brad Read, son, with research undertaken by Clive Mitchell-Taylor.
WEST Albert Benjamin TX5828 A Coy [F Force Ponds Party]
Article written by Dr Tim Flanagan from Tasmania and published in 'Barbed Wire & Bamboo' Feb 2016.
‘F’ FORCE SURVIVOR – STILL AT HOME
Albert Benjamin ‘Ben’ WEST TX 5828
Ben West, ex2/29, an F-force survivor and still at home.
At the 2015 annual reunion of the 2/29th Battalion, held in Melbourne, there was only one former POW present- Ben West. He was though surrounded by the next three generations of his own family, all testimony to the remarkable life he has lived, and person he is.
I visited Ben at his home, still on the Soldier Settler block his father was granted after returning wounded from World War One. Ben came to live there as a 5 year old. The farm is on north-west Tasmania’s Table Cape, just outside the town of Wynyard. The cape is now famous for the tulips grown on it, and their colours which with the rich brown soil, sea and a lighthouse perched on a high cliff makes for a photographer’s paradise. On this farm Ben and his wife who died earlier in the year, raised their 7 children, one of whom now works the farm, 3 others live nearby.
In all likelihood walking up and down the steep paddocks as a lad helped attune Ben for what was to lie ahead.
Ben is the only bloke left, from a group of about 80 Tasmanians who enlisted in September 1941. After initial training at Brighton camp near Hobart they went to Victoria. In January 1942, about midway through the Malaya-Singapore campaign, they were amongst 3500 personnel who sailed from Sydney on the Aquitania. The Tasmanians were part of a draft of about 500 reinforcements who were sent to Johor in southern Malaya to reinforce the 2/29th Battalion shortly after ‘it was cut about badly at (the battle of) Muar River’ on 20 January 1942. Then the retreat back to Singapore- all on foot.
Ben sees life’s various turns as lucky- in Singapore only two days after the surrender he was put in the first work party to go to the city, and did not return to Changi until ten months later. As a result he told me he missed out on being put in A-Force which went to Burma, or B-Force which went to Borneo and as he says ’And only six of them survived’; or the Selerang Barrack affair.
His luck deserted him when he was drafted to F-Force, 7,000 men slightly more than Australian and British POWs. F-Force was ‘loaned’ by the Japanese command in Singapore, to the Japanese command in Thailand, which was an added complication, and added to the groups’ deprivations. They left Singapore by rail in ‘….. April 1943, in F Force, Pond’s Party, 700 of us, we never had a permanent camp, just carried our gear, you’d walk and work – finished up at Nieke, up near the border with Burma’ (which is 302 km from Bampong where they had got off the train that bought them up from Singapore). The group carried their chunkels and qualies, and few worldly possessions on themselves; and eight men to a stretcher but soon only four left capable of doing that; and on top of this still expected to work by day.
Ben quietly tells me of his experiences, and I am mesmerised as I listen to this humble old man. ‘ The Japs set us up in companies, in alphabetical order; Hec Watson, Jimmy Welsh. It was all night time travel, about 20 km a night. I remember when we pulled into Tarsau, only a little bloke, got him up …he told me to stop and have a break, I said “If I put you down cock, I’ll never be able to pick you up again”…put him and his pack up on my back and pack, sort of like a fireman’s lift’.
Did you ever see him again? ‘No, I don’t think he made it, half of them (F-Force) never returned’.’
After the Thai-Railway was completed, Ben started the long walk back down the Line, but inevitably ill health came and he travelled part of the way on a barge.
Ben though does not see life in terms of misery and suffering. He was a tough footballer, who knew how to take a blow; and a realist so when a Japanese guard abused them for being too slow going down a greasy slope, and showed them how but slipped and landed on his backside the group of Australians all laughed, which I commented on was a brave thing to do ‘Not really, they couldn’t shoot us all, they had to have someone to do the work’.
Ben was in Thailand for 12 months. Upon his return to Singapore he spent much of his time working on Changi airport. On the 15 August 1945 when the Japanese surrendered he was in the River Valley Camp, working on Tagglin Hill digging foxholes for the Japanese. Coincidentally, this was the same place where he had been at the time of the British surrender on 15 February 1942, at that time he had been with other Australians guarding a crossroad.
The Japanese initially made no announcement of the surrender, it was a growing presumption, badly interrupted a few day later when a British plane flew over, and the Japanese opened fire with their Ack Ack guns. The surrender became real, when a 6 feet 3 inches tall British lieutenant who had parachuted onto the island, commandeered a car and came to their camp. It was to be a little longer before they saw the next ally, but it was none other than Lord Louis Mountbatten himself with his wife and entourage, but the delay had caused the Australians to begin to refer to the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia as ‘Linger, Louis longer’
Ben returned to Australia on the Esperance Bay, via Darwin where they were issued with new uniforms, then to Sydney. As he says, by this stage he had completed a circumnavigation of Australia!
Then a train to Melbourne, and boat to Burnie. The Wynyard RSL had a bus for the 4 or 5 other POWs from his town returning home. Later in the day when Ben and I went for a drive in Wynyard, he showed me where the bunting was up in the street, and the townspeople had gathered to greet the survivors home.
Returning home was to have its own sadness, as he was to find out that his oldest brother Jack -Bertram John West TX3397, a member of the 2/40th Battalion, who was captured on Timor in March 1942; after escaping and going bush, was betrayed, recaptured, tortured then executed by the Japanese there in October of that year.
HART Ephram Edward VX55386 A Coy [F Force, Ponds Party]
Ephraim Edward HART (VX55386) was born on 16 April 1905 in Holbeach, England. He enlisted on 9 May 1941 at Royal Park, Victoria. He died a prisoner of war on 19 September 1943 and is remembered on the roll of honour at Newborough Victoria.
LEECH, Henry Frederick VX60451 A Coy [A Force]
Tributes
Henry Leech
Henry enlisted in the army at Hamilton on 29 July 1941 and served in the 2/29th Infantry Battalion as a Bren Gunner. He left Australia in September 1941 and served in Singapore and Malaya.
In February 1942, the Allied Forces in Singapore surrendered and Henry became a prisoner of war. He was taken to Singapore and Burma and was put to work in Changi, Mergui and Tavoy.
In December 1942 he was sent to work on the notorious Thai-Bumra Railway and remained there until the end of the war. He returned to Australia via Singapore.
Henry’s valiant battles through recent bouts of ill health were also a source of pride but this time, it would seem, the Lord had different plans for Henry. On Friday the 12 August, Henry did his daily exercise routine on the bike and thereafter joined Phyllis tending the garden. It was not until late afternoon that he began to feel unwell. In typical form Henry insisted he would be fine but the next morning he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. On Monday evening he suffered a heart attack and it became evident that his big old heart was failing. He was moved from intensive care to a private room surrounded by loved ones where on Tuesday he put his final order in for fish and chips. This, his favourite meal, was delivered by Jeanette. It was not long after, in the early hours of Wednesday morning the 17th of August that Henry passed away peacefully with family by his side.
LETTS Norman Carson VX63740 C Coy [F Force]
Norman Carson Letts (VX63740) 1922 – 2012
September 16, 2012
Norm Letts was born in Wedderburn, where he was known from boyhood as 'Digger'. His father was the mail driver (horse and buggy), and 'Digger' milked cows for cocky farmers around Boort. He enlisted at 19 in September 1941, trained at Darley near Bacchus Marsh, at Bonegilla and at Queenscliff, before embarking on the Aquitania from Sydney. Arriving in Singapore on 10 January 1942, he became a 2/29th Battalion reinforcement, as part of C Company. After the surrender, and the march to Changi, Norm went into Singapore on work parties, including building the Japanese shrine at Bukit Timah. With F Force on the Thai-Burma Railway at Kami Songkurai in Thailand, Norm worked with Jack Coffey, 'a good bloke', and 17-year- old Bobby Harvey [Nancarrow], 'a good worker'. Other mates Norm recalled were Queenslander 'Snowy' Reid, and Doug Cameron and Gordon Wilson (both from Camperdown). Norm also was part of a six-man team on a pile driver sinking bridge poles. Cholera was the big killer: 'there was a big red-headed Queenslander got it. He was crook all right. He was a married bloke, four kids, and I abused him something terrible [to try to save him], but he said "I'll be dead in the morning, Norman." . . [And] he was dead in the morning.' Norm was at Hellfire Pass, where he survived beri-beri and Japanese brutality. 'Some [officers] tried, put it that way, they tried to get a bit less work out of you, but there wasn't much they could do. They'd stand up for you, but they copped their share [of bashing] then. They didn't miss out.' Back on Singapore Island, Norm dug tunnels at River Valley Road, but they were not permitted to timber them properly and there were many earth falls: 'a bloke we called "Goofy", he was a good bloke, as far as Japs went. He'd give us his dinner and go down the street and buy his own. He was the only one, old "Goofy".' When the war ended Norm and five mates crammed into an Austin and drove around Singapore. As for taking revenge on their tormenters, Norm decided, after looking at the young blokes in camp in Singapore, 'I couldn't hit an innocent bloke. They were only doing [to us] what they had been told [to do].....They were only kids. They were, they were only kids. I picked.....out one who'd given me a belting, but he was only young. I just couldn't hit him'.
Norm came home on the Largs Bay in October 1945. He went back to milking cows at Boort, then went to Barham, and returned to Wedderburn, cutting eucalyptus leaf for eucalyptus oil, then went shearing for 30 years. In 1946 Norm met Jessie, a telephonist at Wedderburn, and they married in 1948 when 'Digger' was working at the Barham brick works. 'You missed your mates for a fair while. That's when I got into Barham. There were a few of us working there, at the brick works.' Over the years, Norm and Jessie kept in contact with Norm's army mates, attending reunions in Tassie and Queensland, sometimes meeting them in Sydney, combining meetings with visits to their daughters in Sydney and Brisbane. 'When they'd get together,' Jessie recalled, 'then they'd talk about all the good times, not the bad times, the good times.'
When Marguerite spoke with Norm in August 2011, he and Jessie had been married 63 years, and Norm was 89: 'heading 90, I'll make 90'. And he did, passing away at 90 years of age at Bendigo Hospital, Victoria, on 16 September 2012. His funeral service was held at the RSL in Wedderburn.
John Lack
ROSE Frederick Francis VX46625 B Coy [A Force]
David Rose sent us a photo of his late father and some interesting information.
Thanks for sharing David.
I would like to share this picture of my late father Pte F. F. Rose {Mick} VX 46625. 2/29th Battalion
He was Born in Hamilton 15/9/17 passed away 15/3/91 at ANZAC Brighton.
His mother died in 1919 Spanish Flu, he left school aged 12 worked on farms in Western District and he was also a tent boxer for a while.
On joining up he ended up in the 2/29 in .B Company taken prisoner at Singapore spent time on railway on A Force then to Japan were he worked in a coal mine.
He was in FUKUOKA#22 Honami.
Lest We Forget
OGDEN Jacob Donovan Walker VX28730 A Coy [F Force, Ponds Party]
IN MY FATHERS FOOTSTEPS
Written 1997
By Doug Ogden
Son on Private J.D.W. Ogden VX 28730
2/29th Battalion C Coy.
F Force
For years, in fact all on my life as far back as I can remember I have had a feeling of loss and unresolved grief. I have had an almost overwhelming need to know my father. When discussing those feelings some have said “how can you miss what you did not have?” Clearly I believe one can.
My father, Private J.D.W. Ogden VX 28730 2/29th A.I.F. Battalion died as a Prisoner of War at Kami Sonkurai on 20th August 1943. What was this Thai Burma Railway all about? I had heard many stories about this tragic part of our history. Mainly I lived in denial that may father had been part of this event. On the other hand I had been told by family and friends what a fine young man my father was and how he and so many others had united to preserve this country. My father was indeed held in high regard by those who knew him. This also created a little problem for me. I had high expectations placed on me so as not to let him or my mother down. My mother never remarried because no one could measure up to my father.
Many times of a long period I had travelled to Asia and often made what at the time were determined attempts to visit Changi or some other places in Malaysia where my father had been, however when the time came I would become fearful and could not face the unknown. About 8 years ago I was travelling to Thailand and attempted to obtain travel permits for Burma but was unable to do so. The region can be quite politically unsettled and at the time the Australian Embassy advised that its was probably best to leave Burma out off the travel arrangements. In 1996 the need for me to complete this journey developed an almost urger status, it had to be done, I had to face my fears and go. It was in August that I started making arrangements to leave in November, I planned to go to Changi, then on to Muar in Malaysia back to Singapore then by train to Banpong in Thailand and on to Three Pagoda Pass and Kami Sonkurai. From there I would have to travel back to Bangkok and fly to Rangoon in Burma and go to the cemetery at Thanbyuzayat where my father is now buried.
I left on the 1st November arriving in Singapore late on Friday evening. I was up and about early on Saturday, firstly to organise the train trip to Thailand and then to get details of the buses to Muar in Malaysia. Having done that I set off for Changi where I visited the Chapel and the Museum. This was the first of many emotional times I would experience over the next three weeks. I had great difficulty coping with seeing and reading the notations of Japanese visitors who had gone before me, anger and resentment wherever strong. I also visited Selerang Barracks where some of the boys stayed.
Next morning off to Muar on the bus to visit the area where my father had been in action against the Japanese before the Allies were driven back to Singapore. There was nothing to indicate the events that took place more than 50 years ago. These tonsure extremely crowded and busy and not at all the hamlets as depicted in what I had read. Back in Singapore I prepared to leave early the next morning on the train to Thailand.
The train station was already bustling when I arrived. Everything seemed to be chaos and confusion. Things did not appear to be progressing at a pace we Westerners like, but we all boarded and were away on time. On this train I felt as if I were cheating, for although I was travelling 2nd class it was luxury compared to the rice wagons my father travelled in. My journey was to take two days and two nights,. The first night was spent at a hotel at Butterworth and the second on the train. Nothing like the face torturous days and nights endured by our men. The trip was good and I enjoyed the countryside.
At Banpong I detrained about 8.30am and headed for Kanchanaburi which I was going to make my base before going further north. Here strange things started to occur. I was staying at a small guest house and at dinner I was alone and reading Bob Christie’s History of the 2/29th Battalion when the proprietor, an Englishman, asked if he could borrow the book. I hesitated, said mo, but after much pleading relented and said I would collective book the next morning. When I entered the dining room for breakfast, two men whereat one of the tables and one of them had my book. He introduced himself as Rod Beattie. I didn’t care who he was I just wanted my book back. After a bit of cajoling I sat down and had coffee with them. The other man was Dick Meadows, a film producer with the BBC, who was making a documentary about a women who was arriving the next day with the rest of the crew from the UK. This woman was Carol Cooper whose father had been in Changi and had left with my father as part of F Force. Carol’s father was sent to Nike and then to the hospital at Tanya where he had died also in 1943.
The reason for Carol’s visit was the same as mine and the film crew were there as a result of her father’s diary coming to light in the latter part of 1996. Till then none of her family had been aware of its existence. This diary was almost daily writings of a man to his wife and children and it is certainly one of the most touching documents I have read in my life.
We spent three days together as a group, travelling to various points along the length of the Railway from the Bridge on the Rover Kwai, the Wampo Viaduct, Hellfire Pass, Nike which is now under a magnificent lake and to Three Pagoda Pass.
How lucky to have Rod Beattie as my guide and advisor for this time. Rod works for both the Hellfire Pass Project and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and lives in Kanchanaburi with his lovely wife and a recently arrived baby daughter. Rod is passionate about both jobs. Obsessive is a more accurate description. Rod has an extensive personal library on the region and events that took place but more importantly he wishes to ensure that this part of Australian history is never forgotten and to this end he works like a man on mission . Rod is able to talk on a range of subjects but before long he is back to the “Railway” and working out how to get support for the museum that is to be built at Hellfire Pass. It is going to need memorabilia and artefacts. Already he has many books for the proposed library in the museum. It was with Rod’s local knowledge that he and I came upon what we believe to be the area once known as Kami Sonkurai. This was very emotional. To imagine my father may have been on this ground under such conditions and that he may have even touched some on the sleepers still remaining, caused feelings of great elation and sadness. Why didn’t he stay at home? It was with great affection and sorrow I said goodbye to Rod Beattie. How fortunate we are to have hime tending the War Graves in Kanchanaburi. I left Carol Cooper and the crew in Bangkok after a wonderful experience, particularly remembering the unbelievable days filming in Hellfire Pass.
With my feet back on the ground I left Bangkok for Rangoon. The Burmese Consulted issued a visa and advised that I would be best to get a government appointed guide as soon as I arrived as I would be travelling as far South as allowed. This I did and left within an hour or arrival on a five day adventure. The distances are small but the roads are absolutely bone shaking. My guide was fairly good in English and planned an itinerary that would get me to Thanbyuzayat but would take in some sights on the way. There was the beautiful War Cemetery at Rangoon with around 1200 graves of the Allies. It was just after Armistice Day and the wreaths from the various Embassies were still on display in the memorial. I visited a number of Pagodas, markets and interesting villages where we ate. My guide ensured that I only ate and drank what was safe for Westerners. While all of this was fascinating the apprehension was building and at no stage did I loose track of why I was there. We stayed one night at Moulmein and the next morning started out to the cemetery, arriving around10am. I took little time to find my haters grave and also the grave of Carol Coopers father. This was a very difficult time. I was full of both joy and sadness. I selected on the trip and my mind went back to my mother who died in 1987. I wondered if she would ave wanted to make the journey. Many memories flooded back and I shed many tears. I sat at my fathers grave and talked to him, sometimes in my mind and then sometimes out loud. I thanked him for his sacrifice and for his party in trying to make the world a better place.
I was very sad for Carol and the crew. They had been refused entry to Burma and had gone back to England with their mission incomplete, it was Carol’s wish to have her mother’s ashes interred with her father. The ashes were left with Rod and he has made arrangements for this to happen. I had a hard time leaving the cemetery and did re visit it again later in the day. Things were very quiet as we travelled away.
Since arriving home I have been to Canberra to the Australian War Memorial archives where my wife and I spent three days researching the area to which I had been and as a result we will both be back in Thailand in March to retrace some of my steps.
The film of The Diary went to air in the UK in December and by all accounts was very well received. I was delighted to receive a copy as it is a tangible reminder of my experiences.
There are difficulties in travel to that part of the world and to travel alone is not appropriate for all, but for me it was something I had to do, and reading the visitors books at the various museums and memorials many others had the same need. It was and will always be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It is a very new experiencer me to be able to talk freely about the War and my father’s fate without being chocked by emotion.
I would have dearly loved to have heard from anyone who was at Kami Sonkurai and could have remembered my father.
Lest We Forget.
KEMP Herbert VX39045 HQ Coy [F Force, Ponds Party]
Son’s story
By Peter Kemp
Son of Cpt. Herbert Kemp, VX 39045, HQ Coy, F Force
"We Will Remember Them"
Earlier this year I responded to a notice in the newsletter regarding the sale of 2023 2/29th Battalion Calendars.
It had significance due to the fact that my wife and I were moving to our new apartment at John Flynn Retirement Village, which is part of the Ryman Group, who sponsors the calendar.
As the son of Changi P.O.W. Captain Herbert Kemp, I read about and viewed the photos with great interest obviously.
Whilst my wife was viewing the calendar she drew my attention to the ‘May’ page, to a group of women and some children.
She immediately pointed out to me that the lady on the far right was my mother, then I realised that the boy to the bottom right of the image is me. This is confirmed by family photos around the time of my father’s return.
0bviously as an 18-month-old I don’t recall Dad leaving Australia, and Mum and I lived in Armadale during the war.
I recall Mum and I being driven overnight to Sydney by a family friend and his wife with the hope of seeing Dad on arrival back in Australia and staying in a flat in Rose Bay. I think the visit was futile and they had to be content with a distant wave.
My next recollection is being with my family when Dad arrived at the Melbourne Showgrounds. I will never forget the fragile physique of him and his friends.
Story has often been recalled at family gatherings that at the celebrations that proceeded during the evening, this now 5-year-old was contained and finally silenced by an over consumption of champagne.
I vividly recall Dad being in and out of Caulfield Repatriation Hospital many times over the years after returning home.
Fast forward to proudly applauding Dad on many Anzac Day marches, originally in the afternoon, and these days in the morning.
In recent years, together with my granddaughter, I have joined other descendants marching on Anzac Day, apart from a few years following hip surgery, during which time I was an RACV driver for disabled and incapacitated returned servicemen and women.
FERGUSON, Ross Albert VX29790 HQ Coy [KIA]
Ross Ferguson was born on 30 October 1919 in Baddaginnie Victoria. He was killed in action at Muar on 22 January 1942. Ross is remembered on the Echuca Roll of Honour.
LONSDALE, John VX20469 A Coy [F Force Ponds Party]
A Picture of three POWs
George Aspinall Photo – Songkurai Hospital, Oct 1943, three F Force men.
‘We grew up knowing that the photo of three POWs included my father (he’s the one in the middle), but whenever I mentioned it, I was told everybody thinks “that is their father”. My research kept drawing blanks until our recent visit to Myanmar and a visit to the Thanbyuzayat Museum where the photo was on display showing dad’s VX number 20469 – not a flattering photo, but that was a sign of the times.
When dad was initially sent the Aspinall book he saw the photo and put it away, but mum later wrote in the book, ‘Jack Lonsdale is in the middle!’ In the Barry Dickens book, ‘Ordinary Heroes’ dad is quoted, ‘We always knew what was going on. This guy Aspinall had radios in Changi. He seemed a bit strange to me, every time a Jap plane would crash he would scrounge to pinch parts for the radios and he also took pictures. He slept near me and someone said, “he’s stickin’ stuff under your bed!!”
I said to him, “stick that stuff under your own bloody bed!” This was followed by laughter from the three men.’
Joy Derham, Daughter of Jack Lonsdale, 2/29th
MCCARTNEY, Sydney VX45838 HQ Coy [F Force]
Pte. Sydney Albert McCartney - 10.7.1915 – 15.8.2014
Sydney Albert McCartney was born in Nhill to Alice and Ebenezer McCartney. Sydney was the second youngest of 10 children and the couple’s youngest son. Growing up in Nhill, Sydney attended the local school, walking miles to and from school each day, along the way he would set rabbit traps which he checked on his way home, and I’m thinking rabbit was regularly on Alice’s menu. Like many of his generation Syd left school at a young age and went to work for the Grain Elevator Board where he worked shoveling wheat into the silo......these were the days when hard work was ‘the order of the day’. It was during these years Sydney also played football for the local team.
With the onset of the Second World War, Sydney signed up for active service in Caulfield, joined the Army on the 10th of July, 1940, serving with the 2/29th Battalion. On the way to Sydney where the men were to be shipped off to War, Sydney’s company stopped over at Shepparton where they camped for a few days. It was here Sydney was to meet the lady who was to become his wife, Jean.
In 1945 Sydney returned to Australia where he spent 6 months in the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital recovering from the horrors and brutality of a prison camp and working on the Burma Railway.
In early 1946 he successfully applied for a position with the SEC. Starting work as a labourer, Sydney went on to become a driver, a heavy float driver and then a driving instructor, giving 33 1/2 years of loyal service to the company, 1946 was also the year Sydney and Jean formalized their relationship when they married on the 6th of October. Settling into life in their rented home in Yallourn for some years they then moved into their Housing Commission home in Vale Street, which still remains the family home, just over 66 years later. It was into this home Sydney and Jean welcomed the safe arrival of their son Geoff.
Syd was no stranger to hard work and provided well for his family; in many ways they were quite self sufficient with both Sydney and Jean keen gardeners. While Sydney looked after the vegie garden and kept the family supplied with vegetables each day, Jean looked after the front garden where the flowers bloomed. Sydney also brought home a sheep regularly, thus there was also meat on the table. Geoff remembers well how once his dad put his mind to do something, it was done, even if it meant working in the garage until 3 am or in the garden until midnight. Yep, there was no changing his mind; such was Syd’s stubborn streak which held him in good stead for life.
Aside to gardening Syd and Jean greatly enjoyed showing dogs and went to many shows with their Irish Setters, German Shorthaired Pointers and Hungarian Visla’s. They enjoyed great success with Paddy or its kennel name, Maxine Marksman who became the Victorian KCC Champion. Syd also enjoyed river and open water fishing with young Geoff, and many good weekends were also enjoyed with mates throwing their lines in and having a yarn or two but not while the fish were biting. Syd’s favorite pastime and hobby was shooting; he greatly enjoyed clay target shooting and he especially loved duck shooting. Each year, come duck and quail season, the family headed up to Nhill and while Sydney was out duck shooting, Geoff and Jean enjoyed time with the relatives.
Syd was held in high esteem at the Moe Field and Game Club where he was a Founding and Life Member of the Club. Over the years Syd was a regular at the Club of a Thursday night where he enjoyed clay target shooting; something he continued to do until his eye sight began failing at the age of 90 years. Whilst no longer able to shoot Syd still enjoyed his Thursday evenings catching up with fellow members and keeping up to date with what was happening.
Like many of his generation Syd was a man of routine, Thursdays evenings as mentioned were a regular and every Saturday he enjoyed putting a bet on at the TAB and catching up with his mates at the RSL and watching the racing. Syd also took a keen interest in his grandson Brook’s horses, mind you, when announced Brook had another horse, his Pa’s response was, ‘another bloody horse’. Syd also maintained his interest in the Moe Football Club, which goes back to the days when he helped to level off the ground and set up the original clubrooms which were brought across from Yallourn. Syd was very much a part of Moe’s history and while he wasn’t born in here, he lived here for over 66 years and during those years he enriched the lives of his family, his friends and his community.
A man of old fashion values, Syd’s word was his bond, but most of all he was a proud family man; a loved and respected father and father in law to Geoff and Robyn, Syd was a much loved Pa to Peter and Sharon and Brook and a great pa to Macey and Benny. Everyone here can say without hesitation, what an honour and a privilege it was to know Sydney McCartney.
Syd, rest peacefully, your memory will live on.
Syd left us with this poem:
…….The End of the Road
Now that I have come to th end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free.
Miss me, but let me go.
Syd McCartney, Bill Vanderfeen, Jack Lonsdale, regular meetings at the Moe RSL.