Joseph L Coyle

Joseph L Coyle

Personal Information
Date of Birth	27 Nov 1923
Place of Birth	Armadale, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	18 years, 1 months
Description	5'8" (1.73m) tall ; ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; dark hair ; scar on left forehead
Occupation	Assistant Greenkeeper
Religion	Roman Catholic
Address	Rifle range, East Geelong
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Thomas E. Coyle
Military Information
Reg Number	V165483 & VX133900
Date of Enlistment	24 Dec 1941 & 12 Mar 1943
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	2/6th Australian Infantry Battalion
Post War Details
Fate	Remained in Australia
Medals	Defence Medal War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45

War Service

Joseph enlisted in the CMF on 24 Dec 1941, and was called up for full time duty on 3 Jan 1942. On 12 Feb 1942 Joseph was posted to the 6th Australian Infantry Battalion (Royal Melbourne Regiment), and on 12 Apr 1942, along with the rest of the battalion he embarked in Port Melbourne aboard SS City of Paris for Fremantle where he disembarked on 19 Apr 1942. Joe enlisted in the 2nd AIF on 2 Feb 1943.

On 3 Sep 1942 Joseph was charged with having been AWOL from 11:30pm on 30 Aug 1942 until 8:00am the next day. He forfeited a day's pay and was awarded 5 days Confined to Barracks. From 10 - 18 Sep 1942 he was detached to the 4th Australian Division HQ. On 27 Oct 1942 Joe was admitted to the 8th Australian Casualty Clearing Station with enteritis. On 30 October he was transferred to 118th Australian General Hospital before being released on 2 Nov 1942, and he rejoined his battalion on 13 Nov 1942. On 12 Mar 1943 Joseph enlisted in the 2nd AIF and was given the new Amy number of VX133900.

On 21 May 1943 Joseph was charged with losing by neglect a portion of his equipment for which he was admonished, and on 6 Jul 1943 for being AWOL from 6:00am on 2 Jul 1943 until 9:00pm the same day. He forfeited a day's pay and was fined £2.10.0 ($5). On 7 Jul 1943 Joseph entrained for Victoria, arriving there on 1 Aug 1943. Soon after on 7 Sep 1943 he entrained again, this time for the Northern Territory via Adelaide, arriving there on 18 Sep 1943. On 17 Aug 1943 Joseph was transferred to the 10/48th Australian Infantry Battalion.

On 3 Mar 1945 he was charged with "(1) Having left his post without orders from his superior officer at 11:35pm on 2 Mar 1945; (2) Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline at 10:15 pm on 2 Mar 1945. Found guilty he was awarded a fine of £5 ($10, but equivalent to 20 days pay), and sentenced to 28 days detention. On 4 Mar 1945 he entered the 13th Australian Detention Barracks. He was obviously well behaved as 7 days of his sentence was remitted and he forfeited only the 21 days pay for the days when he was in detention.

On 24 Apr 1945 Joe rejoined the battalion, and on 20 Jun 1945 he left Darwin for leave before being transferred to Queensland, where on 27 Aug 1945 he was placed in the 5th Australian Advanced Reinforcement Depot. On 23 Sep 1945 he was transferred to the Victoria Line of Communication Area General Details Depot. They in turn transferred him on 4 Oct 1945 to the Murchison POW Camp, where on 27 Oct 1945 he was charged with having been AWOL from 1:30pm on 27 Oct 1945 until 8:00pm the next day, incurring an automatic forfeiture of 2 days pay. On 15 Apr 1946 he advised the Army that he had married Alys Amelia who was living at "Beach House" Point Lonsdale. He was again AWOL, from 6:45am on 9 May 1946 until 6:45am on the 11th, for which he incurred a fine of £1. On 6 Aug 1946 he was transferred to the Victorian discharge unit, and Joe left the Army on 12 Aug 1946.

Post War

In 1986 Joe was living at 4 Robertson street, Thomson, Victoria

Notes

While £2.10.0 is equivalent to $5, it represented 10 day's pay.