William
Firstname
Harold
Middle Name
Rowan Robinson
Surname
Date of Birth
School Years:
Date of Death:
1928 - 36
Family
He was the 2nd son of 5 children born in Shotley where his parents lived while his father served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy.
School Record
He was not academic and left School aged 16 followed by a year of practical farming and a short course at an Agricultural school in 1936. During the next year, he sailed for Australia. After arriving in Freemantle, he spent a day in Perth and then travelled by train to Greenbushes. The next day he started work for H. M. Browne at Maranup Ford and, for the next 2 years, he worked on farms in the Maranup area.
Branch of Service:
Army. Australia Imperial Force
Service Number:
Rank:
Decorations:
Service Record
L/Sgt
Campaign Medals
Post War Career
After the outbreak of war, he joined the militia in 1940 in the 25th Light Horse Regiment. He then transferred to the Australia Imperial Force and went to Infantry training at Northam in 1941.
He volunteered for special training with the 2nd/2nd Independent Company (a Commando Unit and known as the Double Reds) in Gippsland Victoria. The men of this unit were specially chosen for their mental and physical toughness and for their knowledge of the bush. They were trained by a special mission of British Officers who came from the newly formed Special Operations Executive. When Japan entered the War in December 1941, amid fears of a Japanese advance towards Australia, the Unit was sent to Timor. He sailed from Darwin on 8th December 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Upon arrival at Dili on 17 December 1941, most of the Unit moved to protect Dili airfield with the rest taking up positions in the nearby mountains. The Japanese invaded Timor on 20th February 1942 and, hopelessly outnumbered, the Unit was unable to hold the airfield and forced to retreat to the Mountains to wage a guerrilla campaign, supported by local people at great cost. They lost radio communication with Australia for three months but eventually made contact when Signaller Max (Joe) Loveless (a Tasmanian amateur radio station operator) cobbled together a transmitter nicknamed "Winnie the War Winner (after Winston Churchill)". The Royal Australian Navy was then able to bring in supplies, allowing the Guerrilla Campaign to continue until the Japanese carried out reprisals against the civilian population in order to reduce support for the Australians. It is estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 Timorese died during the occupation. By late November 1942, it became clear that the campaign could not be sustained due to lack of food, extreme ill health amongst all the men and the ever increasing Japanese reinforcements. All the forces were withdrawn at the end of 1942.
On his return, Harold went for further training at the Jungle Warfare School at Canungra Queensland after which the Unit was renamed the "2/2nd Commando Squadron." In June 1943 the Squadron sailed from Townsville to Port Moresby and then flew to Bena Bena in the Bismark Ranges in New Guinea. They conducted operations there for more than a year before being withdrawn for a period of leave and further training. The Unit then, in April 1945 embarked for New Britain.
During his leave after serving in Timor, he met Iris Radford in Perth and they married immediately after the war. He was manpowered out of the army to take over the lease of Maranup Farm for three years during which time his 2 sons, Max and Gilbert, were born. He then bought his first farm Woodborough where his 2 daughters were born. His last farm purchase was Glen Rowan in the Maranup area. He was actively involved with the Agricultural Society, later being awarded life membership as well as the Farmers' Union, the Fruit Growers Association, the Angliican Church and he served as a Director of Wesfarmers for 15 years.
On retirement, he moved into Bridgetown and took an active part in community affairs including almost ten years on the Shire Council. In 1987 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Honour of Australia for services to the community of which he was unashamedly proud.
Burial Information
Additional Information
Obituary O.I.M. No1 of January 2002 at pages 19 and 20.
Prime Minister John Curtin highlighted the importance of the small force in Timor when he looked back at the long year that was 1942. He said:- "Our guerrilla forces in Timor have been doing bold and courageous work. Though the spotlight has been more on New Guinea because of the larger forces engaged, the people of Australia should not overlook the importance of Timor as a base for operations against north-West Australia."
David Dexter, a platoon commander with the 2/2 Company, wrote Volume VI of the official history of WW2, "The New Guinea Offensives". He said that the Timor campaign could not be compared to anything else he had seen or heard of in Australian military history. "They were a remarkable unit like no other in Australian Military History"
Further reading:- The Bull's Men: no.2 Australian Independent Company (2/2nd Commando Squadron) by C. Ayris.
The Double Reds of Timor by A. Campbell JBMA Swanbourne (1995).
The Men who came out of the ground:a gripping account of Australia's first commando campaign;Timor 1942 by P.Cleary
Hachette Australia,Sydney (2010)
Other Pictures
