Maurice Gerard O'Brien

Maurice Gerard O'Brien

Personal Information
Date of Birth	1 Nov 1912
Place of Birth	Belmont, Western Australia
Death	30 Jan 1980, aged 67
Place of Death	Armadale, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	27 years, 4 months
Description	5'6" (1.68m) tall ; ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; straw coloured hair
Occupation	Farmer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Address	Prospect road, Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Elsie O'Brien
Military Information
Reg Number	WX1892
Date of Enlistment	4 Mar 1940
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	2nd/11th (City of Perth) Australian Infantry Battalion
Date of Embarkation	20 Apr 1940 ‒ 19 May 1940
Ship Embarked On	HMT Y3 Nevasa Fremantle to Kantana, Egypt
Date of Return	18 Jun 1945 ‒ 24 Jul 1945
Ship Returned On	HMT J11 England to Sydney
Fate	Wounded in Action 1941 Crete POW Returned to Australia
Medals	1939-45 Star Africa Star Defence Medal War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45

War Service

Enlisted at Subiaco on 4 Mar 1940, and was taken on strength by the General Reinforcements Pool 2 AIF, and then on 9 Apr 1940 by the 2/11 Battalion then based at Claremont. On 15 Apr 1940 they moved to the Northam camp before boarding the HMT Y3 Nevasa for the Middle East on 20 Apr 1940.

After arriving in the Middle East, they moved to Gaza Ridge, and while there Maurice was evacuated to the 2/1 Australian General Hospital for treatment from 18 - 28 Jun 1940. On 30 Mar 1941 Maurice was charged with having been AWOL from 10:00pm on 28 Mar until 2:00pm on 29 Mar 1940. His penalty was a fine of 10/- ($1) and forfeiture of 1 days pay. The 2/11th trained in Palestine and Egypt. A decision to reorganise Australian infantry brigades along British lines, with three battalions instead of four, meant the 2/11th was now part of the 19th Brigade, but it remained part of the 6th Division. The battalion went into action for the first time at Bardia on 5 Jan 1941 and, as part of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya, subsequently fought at Tobruk on 21-22 Jan 1941, and to secure Derna airfield on 25 Jan 1941. It was advancing to the south of Benghazi when the Italians surrendered on 7 Feb 1941.

On 10 Apr 1941 they embarked in Alexandria harbour for Greece. The Allied forces, however, were unable to hold back the attacking Germans. The 2/11th withdrew from its initial positions at Kalabaka and remained on the move until it occupied rearguard positions at Brallos Pass a week later. It fought and slowed the Germans there on 24 April and then continued its withdrawal to Megara, where it was evacuated by sea on the night of 25 Apr 1941.

The battalion landed on Crete the next day. It was subsequently deployed with the 2/1st Battalion to defend Retimo airfield, which was held tenaciously for ten days following the landing of German paratroops on 20 May. German successes elsewhere on Crete, however, made surrender inevitable. Many 2/11th soldiers attempted to escape from Crete but only a relatively small number ultimately succeeded; most were taken prisoner. On 4 Jun 1941 Maurice was listed as Missing, believed to be a prisoner of war, captured in Crete. This was confirmed on 14 Jul 1941, and it was said that he had been wounded in action and was in a German hospital.

Maurice had been wounded in the leg and was evacuated from Crete on 1 Jun 1941 to a German POW Hospital. Held initially by Stalag VIIA, his POW Number was 92453. He would later be moved to Stalag VIIIB on 28 Jun 1943, and during the period 6 Oct 1941 until 19 Oct 1943 he participated in a least 6 Kommandos of varying duration (Working parties out posted from the Stalag).

Maurice was repatriated to the UK by plane on 14 May 1945, and as a recovered POW was sent to the No.1 AIF Transit Camp. On 18 Jun 1945 he boarded troopship J11 for Sydney where he disembarked on 24 Jul 1945. Medically examined in Western Australia, he was demobilised on 31 Aug 1945.

Total service of 2007 days included 40 days active service in Australia, and 1,920 days active service overseas.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries: 1943 - 1949 Fremantle road, Armadale, farm hand; 1958 Jull street, Armadale, labourer, 1968 - 1977 at 45 South West Highway, Armadale, truck driver