William George Berry

William George Berry

Personal Information
Date of Birth	12 Jun 1905
Place of Birth	Fremantle, Western Australia
Death	1 May 1999, aged 93
Place of Death	Bentley, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	34 years, 5 months
Description	6'0½" (1.84m) tall ; ; dark complexion ; brown eyes ; light brown hair
Religion	Church of England
Address	Fifth Road, Armadale
Next of Kin	Wife , Mrs Mabel Elsie Ray Berry
Military Information
Reg Number	F 2356
Date of Enlistment	15 Nov 1939
Rank	Engine Room Artificer Class III
Post War Details

War Service

Enlisted in Fremantle, and was posted to HMAS Cerberus V (the Naval Reserve Depot) in Fremantle. He was still with them on 1 Aug 1940 when the base was renamed HMAS Leeuwin. On 4 Dec 1940 he was posted to HMAS Penguin in Sydney as a member of the HMAS Gunbar, an auxiliary minesweeper that had been requisitioned by the Navy and which was commissioned on 18 Dec 1940. The Gunbar relocated to operate out of Fremantle from March 1941 and on 19 Feb 1942 she was in Darwin harbour when it was strafed and bombed during a Japanese air raid. One of her crew was killed in the attack, and it later had an impact on Bill's health.

On 1 May 1942 Bill was transferred to HMAS Cerberus in Victoria, and a month later he was transferred to HMAS Penguin in Sydney where he remained until 6 Nov 1942 when he joined the crew of HMAS Latrobe a Bathurst class Corvette. On 15 Nov 1942 he was reclassified as an ERA III Class. On 1 Jan 1943 the Latrobe relocated to Magnetic Island, and on 19 Feb 1943 to Melville Island in the Northern Terrritory.

Bill was granted a Good Conduct Badge on 15 Nov 1942

Post War

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