John Raymond Jones

Born  03/07/1945    Birchip Hospital

Army No 3788582

Enlisted Mid July 1966 at Swan Street Barracks.

Discharged Mid July 1968 Watsonia Barracks

Recruit Training      Puckapunyal   10weeks

Allocated To Artillery Corps

Corps Training    North Head Barracks Sydney   5 weeks.

Trained on 40mm Bofor Anti-Aircraft Gun.

Joined 111 LAA Battery Woodside SA late October.

Spent time as a Gunner on the 40mm Bofor Gun.

Did a 6 week Drivers Training Coarse in Adelaide.

I was the attached to the Transport Section as a Driver.

Last 6 months of my time at woodside I was in charge of the Fuel Point.

I was in the 5th intake of National Servicemen. Everything was pretty new then. It was only 20 years after the end of the second world war, thinking towards war and service was much more fresh in people’s minds.

My life was interrupted for two years, but I like many other national servicemen did not see active service . We were numbers making our army stronger, giving it more resources. I was discharged and married Judy Rinaldi on 28th of September 1968 and we resumed our lives.