William Rice Gregory
From Our Contribution
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 19 Nov 1912 |
| Place of Birth | Armadale, Western Australia |
| Age at Enlistment | 27 years, 7 months |
| Occupation | Miner |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address | Fifth road, Armadale |
| Next of Kin | Father , Mr Joseph Gregory |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | WX8625 |
| Date of Enlistment | 18 Oct 1940 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | A Company, 2/4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion |
| Fate |
POW Captured Java Returned to Australia |
| Medals |
1939-45 Star Pacific Star War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45 |
Pre War
Electoral Roll entries: 1936 at 17 Burt street, Boulder, miner; 1937 at 35 Whittenoom street, Boulder, miner
War Service
Enlisted at Claremont Camp following a second medical. On 22 Oct 1940 Bill was sent to the Recruit training depot at Ascot before being transferred tothe No.1 Depot Battalion at Northam on 25 Nov 1940. On 4 Dec 1940 he was posted to the 2/4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion Following training Bill was utilised as a Rangetaker in 'A' Company from 29 Mar 1941. He was granted pre-embarkation leave from 16 - 22 Jun 1941 before boarding HMT Duntroon in Fremantle on 21 July for Adelaide, disembarking on 25 Jul 1941.
On 9 Sep 1941 he was admitted to the Woodside Camp Hospital for investigation of the headaches he suffered. He was released on 25 Sep 1941 and on 11 Oct 1941 entrained for Darwin where he rejoined the battalion. On 30 Dec 1941 he embarked on HMT Marella in Port Darwin for Port Moresby where they transshipped to HMT Aquitania which sailed on 4 Jan 1942 for Singapore via Sydney and Fremantle. Bill was one of those who denied shore leave in Fremantle, went ashore anyway. He was later charged with being AWOL from the Aquitania from midday on 15 January until 9:20am the next day. For this he was awarded 27 days detention, and forfeited 3 days additional pay. (Bill later was granted 16 days remission of his sentence). Of the men who had gone AWOL ashoire, some 88 did not rejoin the Aquitania. They had spent the night in Fremantle Gaol before being sent to the Claremont Details Camp where they remained until 30 Jan 1942 when they wqere taken back to Fremantle and boarded HMT Marella whcih sailed for Singapore. However, by the time they left Australian waters it was clear that Singapore woould be lost and so instead they were landed at Tanjong Priok Java as part of Black Force. Bill had embarked on HMT Marella on 30 Jan 1942 for Java.
On 7 Mar 1942 he was reported as missing on Java, and on 15 Apr 1942 Japanese Radio reported that he was a Prisoner of War. Bill with POW number 4541 was a member of Java Party No 4 that was sent to Burma as part of 'A' Force and was known to have been in the 131 km, 133 km, and Kanchanaburi Camps (the later on 13 Jan 1944). On 20 Aug 1945 he was recovered and flown to Singapore. There on 15 Oct 1945 he embarked on HMT Moreton Bay disembarking in Fremantle on 24 Oct 1945.
On 4 Dec 1945 Bill was admitted tothe 110th Australian Base Hospital, and was released tothe 109th Australian Convalescent Depot on 10 Dec 1945. They released him to the Western Command Recruit Reception & General Details Depot where he was discharged on 7 Jan 1946.
Post War
After the war, William Rice returned to live in Armadale. In 1946 he married Canderis Halliday. Electoral Roll entries: 1949 - 1954 at Seventh road, Armadale, butcher.
Notes
Missing 'West Australian' 23 Jul 1942; POW 8 Sep 1943; The Argus, Saturday 22 September 1945, page 8 Captured Java, repatriated from Thailand