Hector Charles Wood

Hector Charles Wood

Personal Information
Date of Birth	27 Feb 1906
Place of Birth	Coaley, Gloucestershire, England
Death	5 Mar 1965, aged 59
Place of Death	Greenmount, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	35 years, 11 months
Description	5'7" (1.70m) tall ; ; medium complexion ; grey eyes ; black hair
Occupation	Labourer
Religion	Church of England
Address	River road ,Kelmscott, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Sister , Ms. Vera Ellan Madgwick
Military Information
Reg Number	W21434
Date of Enlistment	11 Jan 1942
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	5th Australian Employment Company
Military Movement
1st Departure from Australia
Journey Dates	15 Oct 1942 ‒ 17 Oct 1942
Transport Details	HMT 1850
Return to Australia
Journey Dates	29 Jan 1944 ‒ 6 Feb 1944
Transport Details	SS Stephen G. Porter Port Moresby to Brisbane
Post War Details
Fate	Returned to Australia
Medals	1939-45 Star Pacific Star War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45

Pre War

Electoral Roll entries: 1943 at River road, Kelmscott, labourer

War Service

On 16 Jan 1942 Hector was mobilised on a part time basis as a General Reinforcement and on 18 may 1942 he was called up for full time service and allotted to the 5th Australian Employment Company. On 17 Jun 1942 he was detached to ESB Werribee and on 20 Sep 1942 he was transferred to Queensland where in Townsville on 15 Oct 1942 he embarked on HMT 1850 for Port Moresby, disembarking there on 17 Oct 1942. In New Guinea he spent a short time detached to the 33rd Australian Employment Company (22 Jun - 3 Jul 1943) and the 10th Australian Advanced Ordnance Depot (12 Sep - 22 Dec 1943).

On 29 Jan 1944 he boarded SS Stephen G. Porter in Port Moresby and after stops in Townsville and Gladstone, disembarked in Brisbane on 6 Feb 1944 destined for NSW Line of Communications Area. On 9 Apr 1944 he was admitted to 113th Australian General Hospital with malaria. On 29 May 1944 he was transferred to the 115th Australian General Hospital at Heidelberg in Victoria aboard the 2nd Australian Ambulance Train. On 18 Jun 1944 he had arrived in Perth by Ambulance Train and was admitted to the 110th Australian Base Hospital and was then in turn admitted to the 118th Australian General Hospital where on 1 Aug 1944 he was evaluated by a Medical board and classified as B1. Western Command Recruit Reception & General Details Depot's Re-allotment Section placed him in January 1945 with LTD Graylands before he transferred to the Officer Cadet Training Unit in Royal Park.

Hector was AWOL from midnight 25 May 1945 until 4:30 the following morning earning him a £1.10.0 fine, and the forfeit of his proficiency pay. On 15 Nov 1945 he was transferred to the 26th Australian Employment Company before returning on 1 Mar 1946 to Western Command Recruit & Reinforcement Reception Depot to await discharge on 11 Mar 1946.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries: 1949 - 1958 at River road, Kelmscott, labourer

Port Moresby 15 Oct 1942 - 6 Feb 1944

Notes

During the period 1939 - 1945 some unit names changed more than once. In the case of Australian Employment Companies they were also known as Works Companies, Labour Companies, Labour Units, Labour Corps. For sake of consistency I have adopted the term Employment Company. The role they played did not change with title. They were established to ensure that the Australian Defence Force had a large force of soldiers dedicated to essential labouring tasks, providing the physical labour needed to maintain the war effort and support the fighting forces.

Of the total of 39 Companies, 11 were part or fully manned by non British citizens known then as 'aliens'. These alien companies were not issued with arms. the 5th Company was not one of these 'alien' companies, being manned by British citizens.