Local Teacher's Second World War service

In 1959, the Education Department of Victoria published War Service Record, 1939-1945 which has a list of Teachers, College lecturers and Departmental Officers who enlisted in the Second World War - 1,775 men and women in total. I have found the staff who were connected to schools in the Casey Cardinia region and they are listed here. I have come across one other who enlisted but for some reason is not in the book, so he is also included.

The list is alphabetical by surname, then has the name and number of any local schools they were teaching at before enlistment, their date of birth and a short summary of their service from the book. This service information sometimes differs from that in the Nominal Roll. The dates of birth come from the World War Two Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/ Some of the entries in the book had photographs and I have included them here.

Here are the abbreviations used regarding the different services -
A.I.F. - Australian Imperial Force 
A.M.F.  - Australian Military Forces
C.M.F. - Civilian Military Forces
R.A.A.F. - Royal Australian Air Force
R.A.N. - Royal Australian Navy
R.A.N.R. - Royal Australian Naval Reserves
W.A.A.A.F. - Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force.
There is a useful section on the Australian War Memorial website called Understanding Military Structure that explains all these services - https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/understanding-military-structure

Anderson, John Cunningham.  Bunyip, No. 2229.  Born December 28, 1922. Enlisted January 31, 1942 in the R.A.A.F.  Served in England, North Africa, Italy, Palestine and Egypt and took part in night bombing operations in Europe. Discharged January 31, 1946.

John Cunningham Anderson

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Anderson, Maurice Kelvin.   Garfield North, No. 3849, where he was Head Teacher.  Born April 17, 1912. Enlisted December 31, 1941 in the R.A.A.F. Served with his squadron of Beaufort aircraft in New Guinea and Torres Strait. Discharged on medical grounds April 3, 1945.

Maurice Kelvin Anderson

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Bull, Raywood Alfred.  Cranbourne, No. 2068. Born January 10, 1922.  Member of the C.M.F. from January 14, 1942 and joined the A.I.F on September 7 that year. Served in New Guinea and New Britain, then returned to Australia and worked as an instructor and was discharged on August 22, 1946.

Raywood Alfred Bull

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Chapple, Alison Derrick.  Beaconsfield Upper, No. 2560, where he was Head Teacher. He had also been a student teacher at Berwick, No. 40 before his teacher training.  Born June 21, 1908. Enlisted in the A.I.F. on March 28, 1941. Attached to the 13th Australian Armoured  Regiment, 1st Australian Ordnance Vehicle Park in Australia. Discharged December 18, 1945.

Child, Phillip John.   Koo Wee Rup, No. 2629.  Born May 24, 1923. Enlisted on March 25, 1942 in the R.A.N.R. Discharged February 1, 1946.

Cox, Stuart Edward.  Pearcedale, No. 2961. Born  May 4, 1924. Enlisted in the A.M.F. on June 16, 1942 and later transferred to the A.I.F. Served in Australia and was discharged  February 21, 1946.

Dodd, Basil Alcuin.  Rythdale, No. 4231, where he was Head Teacher. He had also been a student teacher at Officer, No. 2742 and Pakenham, No. 1359, before his teacher training.   Born March 13, 1913. Enlisted in the A.I.F. on February 2, 1942. Served in Australia and New Guinea. Discharged December 12, 1945.

Basil Alcuin Dodd

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Donald, Alexander Louis.  Koo Wee Rup, No. 2629.  Born July 7, 1905.  Enlisted December 6, 1939 in the A.I.F.  Served in the Middle East. Discharged January 25, 1943.

Alexander Louis Donald

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Doyle, Allen Andrew.  Caldermeade, No. 4271, where he was Head Teacher.  Born March 24, 1916. Enlisted in the A.M. F. January 13, 1942 and later transferred to the R.A.A.F. Served in Australia, Bouganville and New Britain. Discharged August 31, 1945.

Fyffe, John Raymond.  Heath Hill, No. 3225, where he was Head Teacher. He had also been a student teacher at Emerald, No. 3381.  Born May 25, 1910. Enlisted in the A.M. F. in November 1941.  He served in the 13th Armoured Regiment in Australia and was discharged May 21, 1943.

John Raymond Fyffe

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Graham, Douglas John.  Tynong North, No. 4464. Born September 19, 1919. Enlisted in the A.M.F. on February 5, 1941. He served in the Middle East and the commando forces in New Guinea and the South Pacific. Discharged on October 13, 1945.

Horsfall, Henry Graham.   Tonimbuk, No. 3363, where he was Head Teacher.  Born September 14, 1913. Enlisted in the A,I.F., on July 11, 1940. He served with the 4th Australian General Hospital in the Middle East. Mr Horsfall was one of the 'Rats' of Tobruk. On his return to Australia he became part of the Army Topographical Survey Company. Discharged October 11, 1945. Mr Horsfall was a teacher at Pakenham Consolidated School, when I was there in the 1960s.

Henry Graham Horsfall

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Hunter, Nada.   Narre Warren East. No. 3719.  Born April 11, 1918. Enlisted in the W.A.A.A.F. on June 8, 1942. Stationed at the R.A.A.F. station in Tocumwal, then undertook a course in Radio filter work and photographic interpretation and later attached to Central Intelligence in Brisbane. Discharged December 6, 1945.

 Nada Hunter

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Janicke, Peter Francis Stewart.  Longwarry, No. 2505.  Born June 6, 1924. Enlisted in the R.A.A.F.  on July 10, 1942 and served in New Guinea and the Philippines. Discharged September 4, 1945.

Koochew, Walter John Henry.  Island Road, No. 3952, and had also been a student teacher at Bunyip, No. 2229.   Born January 7, 1914. Enlisted on June 12, 1942 in the R.A.A.F., with the Meteorological section. Discharged October 2, 1945.

Laugier,  Jean Biene Pierre.  Lyndhurst South, No. 1222.  Born March 20, 1902. Enlisted in the A.I.F., on May 20 1940. He saw service in the Middle East and as an instructor with the Northern Territory Force Training School. Discharged March 7, 1944. Mr Laugier also served in the First World War where he was awarded the Military Medal. He enlisted in April 1916 and had his age as 18 years old, which means he was born in 1898. If he was really born in 1902 then he enlisted in the Great War at the age of 14 or else he took four years off his age to enlist in the Second World War, which I believe is the case.

Jean Biene Pierre Laugier

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Mackenzie, Kenneth George.  Catani, No. 4151, where he was Head Teacher. Born July 4, 1904. Enlisted in the A.I.F. on November 13, 1939 and after training arrived in Palestine in May 1940, then Egypt in the September and took part in the Western Desert campaign. He returned to Australia for medical reasons and was appointed as a staff officer to the Chief of the General Staff, then to the 2/7 Australian  Cavalry Commando  Regiment and various other roles until he was discharged February 22, 1946.

McFadyen, Norman.   Dalmore, No. 4002.  Born January 10, 1905. According to the Dandenong Journal, Norman left for military training in October 1939, then returned  a few weeks later. However, according to the Nominal Roll,  Norman enlisted in the A.I.F. on March 17, 1941 in the 52nd Battalion and also enlisted on July 19, 1942. There is no discharge date and he is not listed in the War Service Record, 1939-1945  book.  Did he enlist three times? I do not know, neither do I know why he is not in the book.

Norman McFadyen of Dalmore State School, leaves for military service.

Dandenong Journal  October 11, 1939

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201308060

Norman McFadyen returns to Dalmore State School.

Dandenong Journal October 25, 1939  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201308255

McGill, Frederick William.  Narre Warren East, No. 3719, where he was Head Teacher. Born January 21, 1913. Enlisted in the R.A.N. on November 4, 1940,  he spent the war years as an instructor at various locations. Discharged October 9, 1945.

McPhee, Ronald Alexander.  The Gurdies, No. 2224, where he was Head Teacher.   Born April 26, 1911. Enlisted in the A.I.F. on January 13, 1942. He served in the 7th and 3rd Australian Radio maintenance sections and was discharged November 2, 1945.

Ronald Alexander McPhee

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Morgan, James C. H.  Cardinia, No. 3689. Can't find him in Nominal Rolls. Enlisted in the R.A.A.F. on October 13, 1940. Undertook training in Canada from March 1941 and was then posted to the United  Kingdom where he served as a bombing leader with Bomber Command. He was demobilized  on March 21, 1946.

Nilan, Michael Allen Kerins.  Dewhurst, No. 4522, where he was Head Teacher.  Born April 1, 1913. Enlisted in the A.M.F. on January 12, 1942 and served in New Guinea. He was discharged February 13, 1946.

Michael Allen Kerins Niland

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Phillips, Allan Joseph.  Toomuc Valley, No. 3034.  Born February 2, 1903. Enlisted on January 7, 1942 in the A.I.F. He served in New Guinea and Australia and was discharged on medical grounds on March 28, 1945.

Allan Joseph Phillips

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Reed, Sydney John. Army Road, Pakenham, No. 3847, where he was Head Teacher. Born October 4, 1914. Enlisted in A.I.F. on July 1, 1940. Served in Northern Australia, New Guinea and Bougainville. Discharged February 4, 1946.

Revell, John.  Cardinia, No. 3689.  Born January 25, 1915. Enlisted January 13, 1942 in the A.I.F. Served in the Intelligence Branch in New Guinea and Bouganville. Discharged March 27, 1946.

Romanes, John.  Yallock Village, No. 3420, where he was Head Teacher.   Born February 18, 1912. Enlisted in the R.A.A.F. on June 23, 1941. Attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army. Discharged October 16, 1945.

John Romanes

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Sheldon, Clarence George.   Tynong North, No. 4464, where he was Head Teacher. He was also a student teacher at Longwarry, No. 2505. Born October 10, 1910. Enlisted in the A.M.F. on June 23, 1942 and discharged a few months later on August 31, 1942.

Clarence George Sheldon

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

St Ellen, Joseph James.  Labertouche, No. 2471, where he was Head Teacher. Born November 3, 1912. Enlisted October 29, 1942, in the A.I.F., even though the Education Department War Service book said he had undertaken training in 1941. Served in New Guinea and Bouganville and took part in the organization of rehabilitation training for members of the  Australian forces after the surrender of Japan.  Discharged January 18, 1946.

Joseph James St Ellen

War Service Record, 1939-1945 (Education Department Victoria, 1959)

Crimean War and Indian Mutiny veterans in Casey Cardinia region

I thought it would be interesting to find out what historic connections there were between the Casey Cardinia region and some of the pre-Great War conflicts, specifically the Crimean War. However, I discovered that one Crimean veteran also fought in the Indian Mutiny, as it was traditionally known.  We will start of with a short history of both conflicts from the Australian War Memorial website.

The Crimean War (1853 to 1856) was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance of France, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, with additional actions occurring in western Turkey, and the Baltic Sea region. (Australian War Memorial website, see here)

The Indian Mutiny - The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of British East India Company's army on the 10th of May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to the region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, northern Madhya Pradesh or Saugor and Nerbudda Territories, Delhi, and Gurgaon. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to British power in that region, and it was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858. The rebellion is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, and the Sepoy Mutiny. (Australian War Memorial website, see here)

I knew we had some Crimean veterans who had come to Australia and lived locally as there is this paragraph in the book Early Days of Berwick - Two Crimean War Veterans, Mr Drummond and Mr Adams, resided in High Street, Berwick. These two old gentlemen wearing their Crimean War medals, could often be observed sitting in the Boulevard, enjoying the sunshine. It was said that Mrs Drummond was contemporary with and associated with Florence Nightingale, nursing at the Crimea. 

I can find no information on Mr Adams, but a report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of August 10, 1911 said that Tom Drummond celebrated his golden wedding anniversary on Friday evening and Private Tom wears a couple of Crimean medals of which he is justly proud (see article here) So, now we know Mr Drummond's first name and according to the Electoral Roll, his wife was called Mary.  The Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages Index tells us that Tom died in 1915 at Berwick, that he was aged 86 and his mother's name was Mary and his father's name was Thomas. His obituary in the Berwick Shire News of  June 23, 1915 said that he came to Adelaide in 1875 and eight years later moved to Victoria where he lived at Toora and Mirboo North and he came to Berwick about four years ago.  Tom was attached to the Coldstream Guards and was in the trenches at the taking of Sebastapool and the battle of Alma. He was also in other minor engagements, and was awarded the Crimean war medals issued by the English and Turkish Governments, which he greatly treasured (Berwick Shire News June 23, 1915, see here) I am not sure when Mary passed away - there is a Mary Anne Drummond who died in 1927 in Cheltenham, aged 89 (parents listed as Michael Seabright and Elizabeth Tobin). This is possibly her. It is quite interesting that Mrs Drummond nursed with Florence Nightingale, I will do some more research on her (Mrs  Drummond) one day.

I found this in Punch magazine of May 14, 1914 and I feel the article must be about Tom and Mary Drummond - An interesting presentation was made to Lady Stanley during her visit to Beaconsfield last week. This was an old Crimean veteran, as far as is known, the only surviving one in this part of the world. His wife, an elderly lady, who was also present the same afternoon, came in for much attention. She was one of Florence Nightingale's nurses, and pursued her work of healing through the horrors of the Crimean War also. The old gentleman is eighty-five, and his wife is seventy-five. The old lady was very worried because her husband had been presented to Lady Stanley whilst she had not, and "e'll be crowing over me, too, and I've got something interesting to tell Her Ladyship." Later in the afternoon the second presentation was duly made, and Lady Stanley was very interested to hear that her grandmother was also one of the volunteer nurses who went out with Florence Nightingale. When the guests departed the old couple were left happily hand in hand comparing notes over the events of the afternoon, both looking well and happy, in spite of the fact that the old lady had been operated on only six weeks ago. (Punch, May 14 1914, see here)

Death notice of William Fist, Crimean veteran

The Argus February 16, 1921 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1736766

Another Crimean veteran who lived in the area was Color-Sergeant William Fist who died February 14, 1921 at the age of 80. He was also a veteran of the Indian Mutiny. William Frederick Fist is listed in the 1919 Electoral roll at 4 Grattan Street, Prahran, with his wife Fanny Maria Fist (nee Croxford) whom he married in 1912, so I am not quite sure of the connection to Lyndhurst, but it is listed in the death notice and the short obituary that appeared in the Frankston and Somerville Standard (see below) refers to him as an old Lyndhurst identity, and who had taken part in the Seige of Lucknow.

Obituary of William Fist

Frankston and Somerville Standard, February 25, 1921  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75948196

From various newspaper reports we can build  a picture of some of William's life. In April 1875, William was brought before the Emerald Hill Court by his wife Elizabeth for maintenance. The report said that the marriage of the pair took place in India in 1860, and in consequence of the insobriety of Mrs. Fist, a separation took place some time since. The defendant, who held a commission in the 16th Lancers in India, and was now filling the occupation of coachman at Toorak. (The Age April 15, 1875) The result of the court case was that Mrs Fist was granted 7 shillings and six pence per week. Mrs Fist was back in Court in August 1889, claiming the William had not paid maintenance since October 1886 and that she was thus owed £52.

Two years later he was back in Court on a perjury charge. William had given evidence at an Inquest at the City Morgue that the deceased woman, Mary Anne Keilly, who was the subject of the Inquest,  was his wife, when in fact they were not married but had been living together for years and she was known by the neighbours as Mrs Fist. His Honor said that in committing the crime of perjury the accused did not appear to have been actuated by any sordid motive. But the circumstance did not justify the prisoner in perjuring himself. His Honor believed that he swore what was untrue to save the character of the woman with whom he had been living, and for the sake of the character of her children. (The Herald July 27, 1891, see here)

In 1909 the Weekly Times had some photographs of Naval and Military Veterans taken at the Victoria Barracks, and William Fist was in one of them.

 Veterans of the Crimean and Indian Mutiny Wars - William Fist is seated on the right.

Weekly Times November 20, 1909.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221824966

The only other Crimean War connection I can find was that of Charles James Jago, who died February 1, 1914 at the age of 77. He had been Mayor of Richmond and then left Richmond and retired to his handsome country residence at Springvale. Mr Jago was the Shire President of Dandenong, so just outside the Casey Cardinia region. You can read his obituary in the Dandenong Advertiser of February 5, 1914. It had this to say about his experience in the Crimean War -   At the age of 16 he was engaged as a bugler in the Crimean war, and was engaged right through the campaign, with all its hardships and privations, and later took a prominent part in the siege of Sebastopol. (Dandenong Advertiser, February 5, 1914, see here)

Death notice of Crimean War veteran, Charles Jago.

The Leader February 7, 1914.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89316164

Place names
The battles and personalities of the Crimean War were a source of place and street names  - a prime example can be seen in the suburb of St Kilda which has a Crimea, Alma, Inkerman and Redan Streets and is near the suburb of Balaclava. The towns of St Arnaud and Sebastapol also have  a Crimean War connection. Locally there are three streets in Cranbourne with a Crimean War connection -
Codrington - Sir William John Codrington (1804 to 1884) was Commander in Chief of the British Forces in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856.
Clarendon - George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800 to 1870) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1847 to 1852 and the British Foreign Secretary on three occasions from 1853 to 1870. He negotiated a favourable outcome for Britain at the end of the Crimean War in 1856 at the Congress of Paris Peace talks. The Crimean War, which was a war between Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia against Russia took place largely on the Crimean Peninsula in Russia.
Lyons - Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons (1790 to 1858), Ist Baronet Lyons, commanded the Black Sea fleet during the Crimean War.

I also believe that Pakenham was named after Lieutenant-Colonel Edward William Pakenham (1819 -1854) who was killed at Inkerman during the Crimean War. This has been disputed, but I stand by my research. You can read more about the naming of Pakenham, here.

Lucknow, in East Gippsland, is the only place name I know connected to the Indian Mutiny.

I have created a list of articles on Trove, on these three Crimean War veterans, you can access it here. All the articles referred to here are on the list.

Rowville Prisoner of War camp - tragic shooting

In December 1944, a camp was opened in Rowville to house Italian Prisoners of War. It was under the supervision of the Murchison camp and initially housed 100 inmates. The camp was located on the south west corner of Stud and Wellington Road, when Rowville was still very much a country town. It was very low security and the men worked on the neighbouring farms, the engineers depot at the Oakleigh rail yards or the salvage depot at Fisherman's Bend. In June 1945, Rowville became a relocation camp for prisoners who were to be relocated to other areas.

As you might imagine, the prisoners often formed close relationships with the locals, including some romantic attachments. One of these men was Rodolfi Bartoli, who worked on a farm owned by the Gearon family and he and Nora Gearon became attracted to each other. Sadly, I cannot tell you that this relationship had a  happy ending, as it ended in tragedy.  Rodolfi was shot dead on March 20, 1946 by the commandant of the camp, Captain Waterston. Was it cold blooded murder or warning shot which was fired that had a deadly result?

Darren Arnott, has written a fascinating book about the Rowville camp and the tragic shooting. The book,  No Regard for the Truth: Friendship and Kindness. Tragedy and Injustice. Rowvilles's Italian Prisoners of War  has many photographs, transcripts of the official inquiries which took place after the event, lovely letters written to Nora from Rodolfi and letters written between Nora Rodolfi's family in Italy.

An interesting and little known part of our local and military history, this book is  a great read. You can borrow it from the Library, click here, or Darren has links on his website to purchase either  a print or electronic copy, https://darrenarnott.com/