In honour of our veterans – the men and women who signed up to the Australian Defence Force, willing to sacrifice all to protect our nation, our values, and our freedom.
World War I
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Arthur Edwin Low
Photo circa September 1916.
Service Number: 7714
Last Unit: 15th Infantry Battalion
Died: Illness, Warminster, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, 12 October 1918
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Arthur Low
Arthur Low, a casualty of World War I, photo circa 1914. Authur and his brother Rob were partners in “Ballarat Farm” and their home was named “Parkdale”. The farm land was developed as a housing estate in the 1960s.
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David Carnegie
Portrait of David Carnegie taken in Scotland in 1909, one year before emigrating to Australia. David was a Major in the Permanent Army, fought in the Boer War and continued his Army career in Australia at Victoria Barracks. David served in the Australian Army during WWI, serving in the Middle East and then remained in the permanent army until his retirement in the early 1950s. He relocated from Sherwood to Settlement Road, The Gap in 1925.
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Edward Hunt Paten
Edward Hunt Paten was born on 08-05-1895, the youngest son of Jesse and Eliza Hunt Paten, of Walton, Ashgrove (now known as The Gap), Brisbane.
Enlisted: 13 December 1915, enlisted at Brisbane
Last Rank: Lance Corporal Edward Hunt Paten
Last Unit: 49th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force
Death: Killed in Action, 15 July 1917, (aged 21) Ploegsteert, Belgium, Western Front
Medals: British War Medal, Victory MedalView the Virtual War Memorial Australia record for Edward Hunt Paten
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Edward Hunt Paten Memorial
War Memorial in Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, in honour of our fallen soldiers; third row, forth from top is “PATEN E.H.”; Lance Corporal Edward Hunt Paten, killed in action Ploegsteert Wood on 15th July, 1917.
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Eunice Muriel Paten
Eunice Muriel Paten M.B.E A.R.R.C. F.C.N.A. Australian Army Nursing Service, 1914-1919 Egypt, England & France. Eunice was the daughter of Jesse and Eliza Hunt Paten and sister of Lance Corporal Edward Hunt Paten and Pearl Constance Paten.
View the View the Virtual War Memorial Australia record for Eunice Muriel Paten
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Pearl Constance Paten
Pearl Constance Paten (married name Mrs C.W.S. French), Australian Army Massage Service, WWI Australia & Egypt. Pearl was the daughter of Jesse and Eliza Hunt Paten and sister of Lance Corporal Edward Hunt Paten and Eunice Muriel Paten.
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Private Mark Walter Proctor – 9th Battalion Infantry
Private Mark Walter Proctor
9th Battalion Infantry.
Mark Proctor was born in Great Harward, Lancashire, England in 1889. After serving three years with Notts and Derby Militia he emigrated to Australia in 1912.
Queensland Railways provided employment for a couple of years until he decided to join the Infantry, 9th Battalion on 31 August 1914 at Townsville. Mark sailed for Europe aboard the P&O ship S.S.Omrah.and participated in the landing on Gallipoli.
Injuries suffered in France and Belgium saw him transferred to England for convalescence which lasted a number of weeks and it was during this time that he met and subsequently married Agnes Frost from Sussex on 4th July 1917.
On the 6th June 1918 Mark was invalided back to Australia for discharge and Agnes followed 6 months later.
In 1919 he participated in the Queensland Government ballot for small farms made available to returning servicemen and was successful in obtaining Lot 101 in Settlement Road. This property of approx. 8 acres was situated just across the bridge on the left side outbound.
After the death of Agnes, Mark lived in The Gap with his daughter Connie until his death in 1984 aged 96 years.Quick ViewDetails
World War II
Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers, including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940, and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded.
Source: Military history of Australia during World War II
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Arthur Edward Chapman
Arthur Edward Chapman, killed in action World War II – 1943, aged 24 years.
Rank Flight Sergeant
Unit No. 100 Squadron (RAF)
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Conflict/Operation Second World War, 1939-1945
Date of Death 28 May 1943
Place of Death Netherlands
Cause of Death Flying Battle
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Australian Servicemen during WWII
Some of the Australian Servicemen stationed at the “Hygene camp” during World War II. The camp was bounded by the area from Payne and Waterworks Roads, along to Walton Bridge.
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Bill Best and Mervyn Kay
Bill Best (on the left) and his cousin Mervyn Kay in the front yard of their grandparents home in Payne Road, circa 1940s.
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Bill Best in Toowoomba
A young Bill Best from The Gap, photographed in 1944 in Toowoomba while serving in the army.
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Bill Best in uniform
Bill Best in uniform in the garden of the Payne Road home of this grandfather, Alfred John Best, in 1940.
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Bill Best with Army Mates
Bill Best with his army mates outside the School of Arts Hotel, Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, circa 1944.
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Bill Best’s unit in Warwick
Bill Best’s army unit stationed in Warwick in the area previously known as Scotts College. Photograph circa 1944.
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Merv Kay in Townsville
Merv Kay (2nd from the right) with other dispatch riders photographed in Townsville, circa 1942, before Merv’s service in New Guinea.
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Ross Lane Black
A young Ross Lane Black, circa late 1930s. On his return from World War II Ross married and the family lived in a cottage in Waterworks Road near Walton Bridge, The Gap.
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U.S. Serviceman
One of the many U.S. servicemen who frequented the Easton shop during the war, enjoying the company of the Easton’s parrot. The U.S. army established a search-light post on the Berry’s property in a location opposite the present-day High School at The Gap.
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United States Servicemen
United States Servicemen, Tony, Ed, Phillippe and Steve, man a machine gun, adjacent to the searchlight on the Berry farm during WWII.
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World War II Japan
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, the BCOF comprised about 40,000 personnel, equal to about 25% of the number of US military personnel in Japan.
Whilst US forces were responsible for military government, the BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarisation and the disposal of Japan’s war industries. The BCOF was also responsible for the occupation of the western prefectures of Shimane, Yamaguchi, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima and Shikoku Island.The BCOF headquarters was at Kure. For most of the occupation period Australia contributed the majority of the BCOF’s personnel.
Source: British Commonwealth Occupation Force
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2nd Advance Sig Park Camp in Kure
A side entrance to the 2nd Advance Sig Park Camp in Kure, Japan, circa winter 1946.
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2nd Advance Sig Park unit, Kure, Japan
Nine of the twelve members of 2nd Advance Sig Park unit, in Kure, Japan, circa 1946. Merv Kay is on the back left.
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BCOF buildings in Kure
The B.C.O.F. buildings in Kure, Japan with a view of Iwo Jima across the sea. Heavy snow on the pitched roofs created a venue for snowboarding to entertain the troops.
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H.Q.2 Aust. Adv. Sig. Park at Kure
The entrance to H.Q.2 Aust. Adv. Sig. Park at Kure, circa 1946. The sign advises the Japanese to approach no closer than 20 yards.
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Headquarters British Commonwealth Base, Kure
Headquarters British Commonwealth Base, Kure, Southern Honshu, Japan, circa 1946.
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Japanese Cemetery, Kure, Japan
Top: Methodist Church destroyed by atomic bomb.
Middle: The damaged centre of Hiroshima
Bottom: The main street of Hiroshima near Shimura Watch Shop.Quick ViewDetails -
Japanese Cemetery, Kure, Japan
Japanese cemetery near Kure, Japan, circa 1946. The coffins in this cemetery are positioned vertically.
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Japanese Fishing boats
Japanese fishing boats, circa 1946. The smaller boats bring their catch to the larger cooking boat, where the fish are boiled in salt water and then laid to dry on straw mats beside the road. Women on the beach clean the cane fish baskets.
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Kure, Japan
A view of a Kure, Japan, showing one of many tunnels in Japan which are built to spare the space on top for agriculture.
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Merv Kay and his motor mechanics
Merv Kay and his Japanese motor mechanics, in Kure, Japan, circa 1946.
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Merv Kay and Ted Harper
Left: Merv Kay and his boxing mate Ted Harper in Kure, Japan, circa 1946.
Right: Ted Harper with an army jeep.Quick ViewDetails -
Merv Kay and Ted Harper
Merv Kay and his mate Ted Harper at Iwo Jima, Japan, circa 1946. The monument in the background is a Torii – Gateway to the Sea Gods.
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Merv Kay with a truckload of radio transmitter valves
Merv Kay with a truckload of radio transmitter valves. Some of these were almost as high as a man and were packed individually in crates, cushioned with coil springs on all sides to absorb shock during transport, Kure, Japan, circa 1946.
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Postcard Christmas greetings
While serving in the BCOF in Kure, Japan, Merv Kay sent this postcode home to his mom in Payne Road, The Gap, Christmas 1946.
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Postcards – Kure & Hiroshima
Top: postcard of Kure, Japan, where Merv Kay was stationed with B.C.O.F. after WWII.
Bottom: postcard of Hiroshima residents getting back to business after the atom bomb.Quick ViewDetails -
Tropps of BCOF leave for Japan
“B.C.O.F. troops drawn up on the wharf before boarding the troopship “Manoora” for Japan. They were mostly new recruits, but here and there were men wearing the ribbons of famous A.I.F. campaigns. ”
News clipping courtesy of Merv Kay.
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Young lady’s quarters
This young lady’s quarters are nearby to the B.C.O.F. barracks in Kure, Japan, 1946. The two signs in the windows read “OUT OF BOUNDS”.
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World War II New Guinea
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian and US forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony.
Source: New Guinea campaign
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Australian soldiers serving in New Guinea
A local man preparing a refreshing coconut drink for Australian soldiers serving in New Guinea, 1944.
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Lae villagers
An Aussie soldier in the background on the right, chatting with Lae villagers, circa 1945.
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Melanah Beach, New Guinea
Melanah Beach, New Guinea, in the background is a bombed warship, circa 1945.
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