Henry Walter Robert (Bob) Harris

Occupation:Farmer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Certificate of Discharge:  No 512271 Served on Continuous Full-Time War Service From 27th June 1940 to 30th May 1946.                                                                                                                                                   Total Effective Period of 2164 Days which included Active Service in Australia for 309 days Outside Australia for 1632 days. War Badge R.A.S Badge A288682

History of Service:       

25th June 1940 Enlisted at Dandenong Area 52A as General Reinforcement   

27th June 1940 TOS (Taken on Strength) Caulfield

29th – 30th June 1940 No 10 Training Depot at Bendigo                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

7th December 1940 transferred to the 2nd Reinforcements for 2/24th

5th February 1941 Embarked from Melbourne on the code-named ship MX 3

23rd March 1941 disembarked in the Middle East - The soldiers had between 4- and 6-weeks training somewhere before TOS (Taken   on Strength)

7th May 1941 marched out to 26th Australian Infantry training Battalion (2/24th Battalion were part of the 26th Brigade) fort Training to 2/24th Battalion 2nd June 1941, then it’s believed that he was probably in a holding camp for a few days before TOS (Taken on Strength) to the 2/24thBattalion on the 6th June 1941

28th August 1941 – wounded in action, Siege of Tobruk, Libya.      (Gun Shot wound to left thigh)

29th August 1941 he was evacuated to 4 AGH Australian General Hospital, this confirms that Bob Harris was at Tobruk as that’s where that hospital was at the time, near the harbour at Tobruk

30th August 1941 he was transferred to 2/11 AGH in Alexandria, Egypt. Then to 2/2 AGH El Kantara Egypt on the 19th September 1941

31st October 1941 he was transferred to 1 ACD which is an Australian Convalescent Depot

15th – 17th December 1941 26 AITB before returning to his unit

8th March 1942 was sent 7AGH with possible Malaria till 28 March, he was again in at 1Australian Convalescent Depot, discharged 11th April 1942

27th April 1942 26 back to unit 26 AITB

2nd June 1942 evacuated to 2/3 Casualty Clearing Station with Malaria BT onto injured list

3rd June 1942 evacuated to 53 British General Hospital to 6 AGH then back to 1 Australian Convalescent Depot

29th June 1942 was back to AITB, then in Reinforcements 17th July then to 2/24th Battalion on 21st July 1942

22nd July 1942 reported missing

27th July 1942 taken Prisoner El Alamein Egypt

5th June 1943 reported as POW and in Campo 57, Italy

4th November 1943 transferred from Italy to Stalag, Germany

Was a recovered POW and arrived in UK, 8th to 14th May 1945 through western Europe. Recorded he embarked in England per J11 on 18th May 1945

24th July 1945 he disembarked in Sydney

25th July 1945 marched in from NSW to Victoria

20th August 1945 admitted Civil Hospital for drainage of perh appendicitis / abscess till 23rdDecember 1945.                                                     

Had multiple abdominal scars following appendicitis and peritonitis

Discharged 30th May 1946                                   

Prisoner of War:         1942 – 1945          Italy Campo 85, 75, 82 & 57   and   Germany Stalag V111-B (344) & V111-A (317) 

 

SERVICE RECORD

Name: Henry Walter Robert (Bob) Harris                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Service:  Australian Army    2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion

Service Number:  VX41874

Date of Birth:  20th April 1916

Place of Birth: Donald Victoria

Date of Death:  6th April 1960 (Age 42 years)

Date of Enlistment:  25th June 1940 (Age 24 years and 2 months)

Locality of Enlistment: Birchip Victoria

Place of Enlistment:  Dandenong Victoria

Next of Kin:  Walter Henry Harris (Father)

Date of Discharge: 30th May 1946

Place of Discharge:  Royal Park Victoria

This photo of Private Henry Walter Robert (Bob) Harris appeared on the Rats of Toruk Facebook site (17th August) with Administrator Ray Keith stating: “Classic Digger Photo”

“SMILING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY!”

Classic photo in my opinion of VX41874 Private Robert Harris of the 2/24th Infantry Battalion posing for a German photographer

On his induction into Stalag V111-A (renamed Stalag317).

Despite having been wounded during the Siege of Tobruk on 28th August 1941, he fought on and was taken prisoner during the first Battle of El Alamein in Egypt on 22 July 1942.

He passed through no fewer than 4 Italian POW camps before finally becoming a prisoner of the German Army and shipped to his final camp via Stalag V111-B before finally arriving at V111-A (3170) in late 1943.

So, after all that GSW to the thigh at Tobruk, action at El Alamein and the indignity of being taken prisoner and held by the Italians he STILL has a

Smile on his face as if to say:

” YOU MAY LOCK ME UP BUT YOUR WON’T BEAT ME”

LEST WE FORGET