M J Darvall QF273914

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Mary Judith DARVALL

Service number: QF273914.  Age: 18 years 5 months.  Enlisted: 21 Jun 1945.

Occupation: Steno-Typiste.  Next of kin: (father) Mr Guy Francis Darvall.

Address on enlistment: Bribie Island.

1946: Cpl. Judith Darvall A.W.A.S., whose engagement 

to Engineer-Officer Harold Read is announced.[1]

Service Summary:

21 Jun 1945: Australian Women’s Army Service.[2]

Served in regional New South Wales and Brisbane.

17 Sep 1946: Discharged.

Life Summary:

Mary Judith Darvall (1927-2018) was born 13 Jan 1927 to Guy Francis Darvall (1876-1963) and Nell Sophia Asmus (1885-1957). The Darvall family had moved to Bribie by 1942 when they purchased Kyogle Flats on South Esplanade. In Sept 1942, Judith Darvall and her mother gained their First Aid Certificates.[3]

After her military service, Mary Judith Darvall married Harold George Read in 1946. During the 1960s, Harold and Mary Read established the Billabong Park Horse Era Museum near Canberra to celebrate the role of horse-drawn transport in Australia’s history. In 2014 the National Museum of Australia’s exhibition ‘Spirited: Australia’s Horse Story’ commemorated their role in preserving relics of horse-drawn transport.[4] 

Mary Read (nee Darvall), aged 91, died 9 Feb 2018 in the Tweed Valley.

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[1] Sunday Mail (Brisbane) Sun 28 Jul 1946 p. 7 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98379697

[2] AWAS was established 13 Aug 1941 and disbanded Jun 1947. Australian Women’s Register entry for AWAS http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0149b.htm

[3] Results of Bribie Island first aid exams. The Telegraph, Mon 14 Sep 1942, p. 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172609034

[4] Source: https://www.archives.act.gov.au/find_of_the_month/2014/october/previous-find-of-the-month-102014-page-2