Who Answered The Call

QANZAC 100 Project - "Who Answered The Call"

On 31 July 2015, two bronze plaques were unveiled at the little park at the end of First Avenue in Bongaree.  On these bronze plaques are the names of service men and women from Bribie Island and Pumicestone Passage who answered the call to serve Australia during World War 1 (1914-1918) and World War 2 (1939-1945).

IN HONOUR OF THOSE FROM BRIBIE ISLAND AND PUMICESTONE PASSAGE 

WHO ANSWERED THE CALL

RAN

CAMPBELL

Reginald Joseph

6477

HMAS Penguin

Bribie Island

ARMY

BISHOP	Maurice Alexander	366		11 Depot Bn	Toorbul
BONNEY	Walter Herbert	4681		26 Bn	Toorbul
DAVIS	Alexander Thomas	2792	DOW †	42 Bn	Toorbul
DUX	Bertie	6158		11 Bn	Toorbul
FREEMAN	William	2809		3 MG Bn	Toorbul
FREEMAN	Edward Henry	2987		11 Bn	Toorbul
GOLLAGHER	George Leslie	4535		31 Bn	Toorbul
GOSLING	William	4728	KIA †	26 Bn	Bribie Island
JACQUES	George Ernest	2188		49 Bn	Bribie Island
LAYTON	Alan	3388		4 Pnr Bn	Bribie Island
MILLS	John Robert	2262		2 Rmt Unit	Toorbul Point
MILLS	Thomas James	170		15 Bn	Toorbul Point
MILLS	Walter Henry	944	POW	25 Bn	Bribie Island
STORR	Arthur William	4891	KIA †	9 Bn	Bribie View
STORR	Charles Allan	4892		9 Bn	Bribie View
STORR	Harold Francis	653		15 Bn	Bribie View
TRIPCONY	Thomas Martin	1986		49 Bn	Cowie Bank

RAN

BAND

John Morrell

KIA †

HMAS Basilisk

White Patch

ARMY

ADAMS	Thomas Edward	Q187167		1 Garrison Bn	Toorbul
BENSON	Reginald Clarence	QX61294		2 Aust Mtn Bty	Donnybrook
BOOTHE	George Henry	Q187425		1 Garrison Bn	Toorbul
BOOTHE	Kathleen Violet	Q267346		AAMWS	Toorbul
COSTIN	William Charles	QX14502	POW	2/26 Inf Bn	Bribie Island
CROUCH	Charles Frederick	QX27813		2/15 Inf Bn	Bribie Island
DARVALL	Mary Judith	QF273914		2 AWS Trg Coy	Bribie Island
DUKE	John Allan	QX9594		2/15 Inf Bn	Toorbul
FREEMAN	William Charles	Q120090		12 Garrison Bn	Bribie Island
GRANT	Edith Emily Isobel	QF268557		5 Aust Ord Stores Coy	Bribie Island
JACKSON	Cecil Robert	QX52029		13 Fd Regt	Donnybrook
LINDSAY	William John	QX13785	POW	1 Coy AASC	Bribie Island
O’NEILL	Arthur	QX27819		2/16 Inf Bn	Bribie Island
SHAW	Thomas	QX45157		12 Army Tps Coy RAE	Bribie Island
WELLAUER	George Benjamin	QX30244		2/6 Aust Fd Coy RAE	Bribie Island
WILSON	Robert George	Q153131		9 Wks Coy	Bribie Island

RAAF

SHIELDS	Gordon Henderson	78860		11 Sqn	Toorbul
HEENAN	Denis Joseph	6762		10 AAC Flt	Bribie Island

Memories of Local War Heroes

“If I had died there . . . I would be remembered”,
this statement says a lot about how we regard War service all these years later.

The Bribie Island Historical Society recognised that there was no specific memorial to those from Bribie Island and surrounding areas who had answered the call to duty in both World War 1 and World War 2.

Throughout this year 2015, the centenary year of ANZAC, there has been a great focus on the events of World War 1 (1914-1918).  A special fund was established for this purpose by the State Government for communities to initiate projects in remembrance of those who served.  A small grant was received by the Bribie Island Historical Society to enable research to be carried out to establish and commemorate the men and women from here who served in both Wars.

Initially it seemed that there were very few people from Bribie Island, Toorbul Point, Donnybrook [formerly Bribie View] and Pumicestone Passage who had enlisted, but as the research dug deeper it revealed the remarkable number of 18 men who enlisted from this area in World War 1.  Given that the population of eligible males in the area was less than 60 in those days, the impact on the community during the 1914/1918 period comes into stark focus. Of the 18 men, one went into the Navy and 17 in the Army, two were killed in action, one died of wounds, and one was taken prisoner of war.  The rest returned from the war.

During World War 2 (1939-1945) a total of 19 people enlisted from the much larger number of residents in the area by then, including three women, and one man who had also previously served in WW1.  Of these 19 local people who served in WW2, one was Navy and 16 were Army, two were RAAF; one was killed in action and two taken Prisoner of War.

The family names of these local heroes, especially those in World War 1 form a significant part of our local history.  Some of these names are reflected in local streets and place names today such as Campbell, Bishop, Davis, Dux, Freeman, Gollagher and Tripcony.  These were some of the families that pioneered the settlement and development of Bribie and surrounds back in those times.

Likewise with some of the World War 2 names such as Costin, Crouch, Freeman and Shields still have descendants living on Bribie Island. Of the three women who enlisted in WW2, Mary Duvall and Edith Grant were from Bribie Island, and Kathleen Boothe was from Toorbul.

Graham Mills (centre) with Ted Freeman (right)
and John McGrath unveil plaques.
Photo: Barry Clark

In a moving ceremony last Friday at the memorial on First Avenue, Bongaree, Project Manager Graham Mills outlined the complex task involved in establishing the final list, and paid tribute to the Historical Society research and input from relatives.  Member for Pumicestone Rick Williams paid tribute to this initiative as did Councilor Gary Parsons.  Ray Sycamore from the RSL sub branch and Padre Colin Baxter paid their respects, and the two High School Captains laid wreaths.

Of particular mention was William Freeman who had served in both Wars and whose family descendants are still resident on Bribie Island. Long term resident Ted Freeman was then invited to unveil one of the Plaques and the other by Vietnam veteran John McGrath.

You can contact the Bribie Island Historical Society on bribiehistoricalsociety@gmail.com

By Barry Clark

[The above article was published in The Bribie Islander, no. 13, Aug. 2015, p. 19.]