John Francis George Collins

John Francis George Collins

Personal Information
Date of Birth	17 Apr 1920
Place of Birth	Kelmscott, Western Australia
Death	23 Aug 2001, aged 81
Place of Death	Rockingham, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	21 years, 9 months
Description	5'9½" (1.76m) tall ; 140lbs 63.503 kg ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair ; right forefinger missing a joint
Occupation	Orchardist
Religion	Church of England
Address	River road, Kelmscott
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs May Collins
Military Information
Reg Number	46364
Date of Enlistment	29 Jan 1942
Rank	Leading Aircraftsman
Unit/Formation	No 30 Squadron RAAF
Military Movement
1st Departure from Australia
Journey Dates	14 Sep 1942 ‒ 30 Jun 1943
Transport Details	Ward's Strip Port Moresby
Transfers
Journey Dates	1 Jul 1943 ‒ 30 Nov 1943
Transport Details	Goodenough Island
Journey Dates	1 Dec 1943 ‒ 19 Dec 1943
Transport Details	Kiriwina Airfield, on the largest of the Trobriand Islands
Return to Australia
Journey Dates	20 Dec 1943
Transport Details	Return to Perth
Post War Details
Fate	Returned to Australia - medical?
Medals	1939-45 Star Pacific Star War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45

Pre War

After leaving school after the 7th Standard, he spent three years living with his uncle Mr W.L. Ullyott who was the Postmaster at Bendering. There he gained experience working a telephone exchange.

War Service

Prior to joining the RAAF, John says that he had served for 18 months in the CMF Western Command Signals. No records or index entry are yet listed by Australian Archives on their web site.

On 29 Jan 1942 John marched into the No. 4 Recruiting Centre Perth where he undertook a Basic Drill course before being posted on 3 Mar 1942 to No. 4 School of Technical Training. Successfully concluded training there and was posted on 26 Apr 1942 to No. 1 Engineering School at Ascot Vale in Victoria where on 28 Jun 1942 he qualified as a Flight Rigger. As a result he was posted to No.5 Elementary Flying Training School in Narromine, New South Wales on 30 Jun 1942.

John was then posted to No. 30 Squadron based at Richmond in New South Wales on 10 Aug 1942. The squadron was equipped with Bristol Beaufighters. A week after he arrived they moved to the Bohle River airstrip north of Townsville in Queensland. On 14 Sep 1942 the squadron moved to Ward's strip at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. on 1 July 1943 the squadron repositioned to Goodenough Island off the PNG south east coast, and then on 1 Dec 1943 to Kiriwina Airfield, on the largest of the Trobriand Islands north of Goodenough Island. On 20 Dec 1943 John was posted to No. 5 Personnel Depot in Perth. His medical records are not available, but given his history it would appear that his return home was driven by health reasons.

On 28 Jan 1944 John was sent to the No. 4 Convalescent Depot where he remained until he was posted to No 14 Squadron at Pearce on 29 May 1944. He married Isobel Padbury Hardwick in Perth during 1944. He was again sent to No. 1 Engineering School at Ascot Vale from 4 Sep to 12 Dec 1944 to upgrade his skills after which he was sent to RAAF South East Sale on 31 Jan 1945.

On 4 Mar 1946 he was posted to No.5 Personnel Depot in Perth and discharged a week later on 11 Mar 1946

Post War

Electoral Roll entries: 1949 at River road, Kelmscott, Storekeeper; 1954 at Third road Armadale, bus driver; 1958 - 1972 at Stepeny road, Armadale, bus driver; 1977 at 83 Allnut street, Mandurah, caretaker; 1980 at Lot 129 Walter road, North Yunderup.

Notes

John's RAAF records mentions a son John Gerald Collins. It also records that he played the Saxaphone.