Private Basil Frederick Whurr 2/28 AIF 1960

WX13214 Private

B F Whurr

2/28 Infantry Battalion

15th November 1960. Age 56.

 

Dearly loved

And sadly missed by

His relatives in Australia

 

The Australian National Archive hold records for a Basil Frederick Whurr, born 9th October 1904 in England and who served at some point between the period 1939 – 1948, (that’s an Archive category that relates to WW2 service).

 

His place of enlistment is given as Claremont Western Australia. Next of kin is an Alfred Whurr.

 

As of September 2014 his records have not been digitised and made available on line.

recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/Details...

 

Census

 

On the 1911 census the 6 year old Basil, born Brooke, Norfolk, was recorded at High Green, Brooke. This was the household of his parents, Alfred, (aged 42 and a Horseman on Farm from Brooke) and Ellen, (aged 42 and from Topcroft, Norfolk). The couple have been married 22 years and have had 8 children, all then still alive.

 

All the children were still single and living at home.

Edith…………..aged 21………..born Brooke…………..Domestic Cook

Arthur…………aged 19………..born Shotesham……….Labourer on Farm

Lily……………aged 16………..born Brooke…………..Domestic Housemaid

Alfred…………aged 13…………born Brooke………….Farm Labourer

Edward……….aged 11………….born Brooke

Walter…………aged 9…………born Brooke

Redgenald…….aged 4…………..born Brooke

 

Basil and three of his brothers apprear to immigrated to Australia, three in 1923 and one in 1925.

This family history forum notes that Basil Frederick enlisted at Newdegate on the 19th May 1941.

archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/AUS-WA-WHEATBELT/2...

 

One of the responses on the thread is that

There is one marriage in WA for that period.

 

WHURR, Walter H married CARRS, Annette G in 1930 at Katanning WA,

Registration number is 44.

 

There are no burials in the Perth Metropolitan Cemeteries.

 

Katanning is in the south West of WA so someone may know of the name

archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/AUS-WA-WHEATBELT/2...

 

A spin off thread notes he was discharged on the 25th November 1943, although the link provided is broken

archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/DPS-CHAT/2005-10/1...

I subsequently found it separately – it also confirms he was not a Prisoner of War – see Military Unit below for why for this particular unit that is so important.

www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=A&VeteranId...

 

Reginald Robert Whurr born 1906 came to Fremantle

with 2 of his brothers Edward Albert born 1900 and Alfred James born 1897 all born Brooke,Norfolk,England, Reginald was supposed have been bitten by a snake and lost his leg and came back to England but his 2 brothers stay out

there.

archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/DPS-CHAT/2005-10/1...

 

While I was looking for more information I came across a web-page listing burials in the Newdegate Cemetery.

Thes include Walter Herbert, husband of Annetta, father of Gladys, Joyce and Phillis, 28th July 1969, aged 67 and his wife Annetta, 9th May 1993, aged 84.

www.ozburials.com/CemsWA/Lake Grace/newdegate.htm

 

May be a co-incidence but there is a Whurr Road leading out of Newdegate.

203.30.79.121/c/a?a=p&p=174239&cmd=sp&d=faq&a...

 

There is a picture from Newdegates Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 1972 which featues a Mrs Whurr.

www.facebook.com/lostnewdegate/photos/pcb.796678313681826...

 

Military Unit

2/28th Battalion

Western Australia’s 2/28th Infantry Battalion was raised in 1940, with the nucleus of the battalion coming together at Melville Camp, near Fremantle, on 17 July. The battalion was initially raised as part of the 24th Brigade of the 8th Division and was transferred to the newly formed 9th Division in December. In early January 1941 the 2/28th moved to Fremantle, where it joined a troopship convoy to the Middle East. The battalion arrived at Egypt at the end of the month. Disembarking at Port Tewfik in Suez, the battalion travelled by train to Palestine. Southern Palestine was being used as a base for the Australians where they could complete their training. The 2/28th went into camp at Khassa, north of Gaza.

By early 1941 the British advance in the Western Desert had reached El Agheila. In March the 9th Division was brought from Palestine to Libya to garrison the area east of Tobruk. The division did not have enough vehicles to bring all of its units forward towards Benghazi and the 24th Brigade (composed of the 2/28th, 2/43rd, and 2/32nd Battalions) remained in Tobruk.

This situation had quickly changed in April. The German Afrika Korps led the Axis counter-attack, pushing the British from El Agheila. The 9th Division withdrew to Tobruk and, with the 18th Brigade, defended the “fortress” for the next six months. The 2/28th participated in the usual pattern of defensive duties, manning parts of the Red Line, working on the Blue Line, and aggressively patrolling no man’s land. The Red Line was Tobruk’s outer line of defence and was a series of concrete pillboxes forming a semicircle around the town. The Blue Line was the second line of defence.

In September and October the majority of Australians were evacuated by sea. The 2/28th was evacuated on 23 September and sailed to Alexandria, from where it was transferred to the camp at Kilo 89 in Palestine. The brigade later moved to Syria and then Lebanon for rest, training, and garrison duties.

By July 1942 the war in North Africa had become critical for the British forces. The Germans and Italians had reached El Alamein in Egypt, about seventy miles from Alexandra. Consequently, the 9th Division was rushed to the Alamein “box” and held the northern sector for almost four months, as the British Eighth Army was reinforced for a new offensive.

The 2/28th reached the Alamein front on 10 July and the division attacked a week later. On 17 July the 2/32nd and 2/43rd moved inland, fighting along the ridgeline from Trig 22 and approaching Ruin Ridge. The 2/32nd led the attack, advancing from Trig 22 to the Qattara Track. The 2/43rd then followed towards Ruin Ridge.

Just after midnight on 27 July, the 2/28th attacked Ruin Ridge and by 1 am they were on the feature. But things were starting to go wrong: the Germans were attacking the Australians from rear positions; three company commanders were wounded; and many of the vehicles that should have brought forward ammunition were destroyed or damaged. Increasingly cut off, an attempt by British tanks to relieve the battalion was abandoned after 22 vehicles were “knocked out”. Shortly before 10 am enemy tanks began moving in on the Australians from three directions. A company was overrun and the battalion’s commander had little choice but to surrender. The Australians were rounded up and marched through the British artillery barrage, resulting in more casualties, as they moved behind the German lines.

The 2/28th suffered heavily at Ruin Ridge. Sixty-five officers and men from the battalion and its support units were killed or wounded; nearly 500 were captured and became prisoners of war. From those who participated in the attack, only 92 men remained. The 2/28th was withdrawn and rebuilt during the following weeks. It was back on the front line by September.

During the general Allied offensive from 23 October to 4 November the 24th Brigade was in reserve. Its task was to deceive the Axis forces by faking an attack. The 2/28th and 2/43rd raided enemy lines, while the 2/32nd directed a smokescreen and placed “dummy soldiers” in no man’s land. The 24th Brigade did not take part in the main fighting until the night of 31 October, when it relieved the 26th Brigade in the “Saucer”, where the heaviest fighting took place.

Alamein was a great, although bloody, success for the Allies and by 6 November enemy forces were retreating. But the 9th Division was needed elsewhere. The 2/28th left Alamein in December and went to Gaza in Palestine to participate in the 9th Division parade on 22 December. In January 1943 the battalion left Palestine for the Suez Canal, from where it was sailed back to Fremantle on 18 February.

Reorganised for jungle operations, the 2/28th participated in the 9th Division amphibious landing at Red Beach, north-west of Lae, in early September. Following the fall of Lae the 20th Brigade landed at Scarlet Beach, north of Finschhafen, on 22 September. It gradually moved to Scarlet Beach, the 2/28th arriving on 14 October. Days later the Japanese made a strong counter-attack against Scarlet Beach but the brigade was too strong and by the end of the month the main Japanese force withdrew to Sattelberg. But large numbers of enemy troops were still north of Scarlet Beach, near Pino Hill and Nongora. Moving inland, the 2/32nd captured Pino and then Pabu. The 2/28th followed the coast and captured Guiska. It then moved to Wareo, where it spent Christmas. The battalion returned to Australia at the end of January 1944.

www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11279second_world_war.asp

The 2/28th Battalion received the following battle honours:

•Tell el Makh Khad, Sanyet el Miteirya, Qattara Track, Busu River, Siki Cove, Gusika, Labuan, Beaufort, Defence of Tobruk, Defence of Alamein Line, El Alamein, South-West Pacific 1943–45, Lae–Nadzab, Finschhafen, Defence of Scarlet Beach, Borneo, and North Africa 1941–42.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/28th_Battalion_(Australia)

 

I’m guessing that if Basil was discharged as a result of his wounds, he may have been so disabled as to need life long care. There is at least one veterans hospital in Australia where such long term patients could be treated and as a consequence may have qualified him for this style of headstone. It makes you wonder if he wanted to see the county of his birth one last time before he passed away.

 

Done