Gabriel William John DELANEY
or perhaps better known as Jack Delaney!
Jack was born on 4th May 1922 in North Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) and died at the age of 77 years on 4th October 1999.
Anytime is a perfect time to document parts of his life - but am re publishing it this week as today (01 May 2013) is the anniversary of the landing of the 24th Bn at Tarakan.
His father was also named Gabriel Delaney and he was born in Lancefield in 1891 to Peter Joseph Delaney and Elizabeth Church. The Delaney family spent most of their lives in the North Melbourne area attending St Mary's Church in West Melbourne each Sunday.
above image: St Marys Church in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Gabriel (snr) met and married Marguerite Elizabeth Williams on 23rd September 1916 at that same Church. St Mary's Church in West Melbourne.
Marguerite was born on 4th July 1895 in Evelyn St, Brunswick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Gabriel and Marguerite Delaney went on to have five children, Beryl, Alice, Jack, Jean and Elaine all in the suburb of West Melbourne where the children attended the St Mary's Catholic School.
Jack met his future wife - Dot Roberts - in the early 1940's and both enjoyed dancing and playing cards with their friends. They married at the St Kilda Baptist Church on 16 September 1944.
Dot was born as Dorothea May Roberts on 16th April 1925 at St Kilda to Frederick William James Roberts and May Eileen Rose Norman.
Fred and May also married at the St Kilda Baptist Church in 1921 and went on to have four children, Rose, Dot, Ron and Den.Jack
and Dot were among the popular "young set" of the Ashburton area of
Melbourne, attending all the dances, tennis and other social events.....
before Jack enlisted in the Australian Army on 7th May 1943. He was assigned to the 2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion and his service number being: VX134461
The Story of the 2/24th Battalion
In July 1940 the 2/24th Battalion Headquarters group was formed, as
part of the 26th Brigade – one of only two Victorian battalions in
Victoria. They set off from Caulfield for the still-being-built
Bonegilla camp, stopping off at Wangaratta where they camped at the
showgrounds.
They were welcomed with open arms by the local community as
they rapidly built up their numbers. The people of Wangaratta adopted
the Battalion and they became known as ‘Wangaratta’s Own’. Presented
with a 14 foot pennant the Battalion marched through the streets of
Wangaratta on 27 September 1940 on the way to Bonegilla.
Training
continued in Bonegilla until the soldiers sailed on HMT Strathmore for
the Middle East on 16 November.
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April 7 1945 saw the Battalion on Muster Parade at Alligator Creek in Queensland and checking of embarkation rolls before route march to Stewart Creek.
The following day - April 8 - there was much preparation for the overseas move with the final packing and loading of stores on to the "General Butner". By 2350 embarkation of the 2/24th Battalion was complete and the "General Butner" sailed from Townsville to Morotai the following morning.
above image: USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. She was redesignated T-AP-113 in October 1949.
The 2/24th arrived at Morotai in Indonesia at 1330 on 16th April 1945 and the troops disembarked and set up camp.
By 22nd April the Battalion were preparing to embark on the "HMAS Westralia". The following morning the ship moved to midstream and lay at anchor.
above image: The HMAS Westralia.
on Anzac Day - 25th April1945 - they were 'at sea' on board The Westralia", there was an Anzac Day Service in the Mens Mess officiated by Chaplin Ruby and a 'beer issue' of one bottle per man was given at 1900 after which there was craft loading and unloading drill before each man was issued another bottle of beer.
On April 30th the diary continues with: Packing of stores, last minute discussions. Troops prepare for disembarkation the following day. Signed by Lt-Col G. R. Warfe, Comd of 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion.
on 1st May 1945, Jack Delaney and the rest of the 2/24th Battalion landed at Tarakan with the purpose of eventually capturing Croydon Airfield ......
The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo
campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian
forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One. While
the battle ended with success for the Allied forces over the Japanese
defenders, this victory is generally regarded as having not justified
its costs.
images below, shows location of Tarakan and the movements of The Borneo Campaign.
In an article titled:
At Tarakan Island, northeast Borneo early -1945
goes onto say:
"Tarakan, a pear shaped island that lies off the swampy delta area
north of the Sesajap
River is 15 miles long by 11 miles at its widest with a muddy shoreline
covered in
mangroves and inland rising steeply from the swampy coastal plains to a
tangle of hills
and steep gullies covered in dense rain forest timber and jungle
growth.
The interior of this thickly timbered island off the north-east coast
of Borneo was broken by numerous small ridges was impenetrable to tanks,
and here as elsewhere, it was difficult to direct and receive artillery
fire. Only one beach at Lingkas, the port for Tarakan where the main
town is two miles inland, was considered viable for a large force
landing named operation Oboe One.
An area with the advantage of exit
lines to the airfield, the suffering civilians plus valuable but wrecked
oil installations and inevitably commanded by strong prepared well
concealed Japanese defences unprotected by negligible enemy airstrength.
Minesweepers had swept the approach channels and Hydrographic ships had
sound out the approaches for the naval task force which began
bombardment at 6.40am as the assault troops embarked into landing craft."
The 26th Brigade landed on Tarakan on 1 May, just three years to the
day when it suffered heavy losses when Rommel’s forces penetrated the
Tobruk perimeter at Hill 209. The two lead battalions were the 2/48th and
2/23rd, with the 2/24th in reserve. There was extensive air and naval
bombardment prior to the landing so there was no opposition as the
troops landed on the beaches.
However, the troops came under fire from
Japanese on Lingkas Hill. The two battalions pushed inland towards the
Tarakan township, overcoming Japanese resistance as they went. By
nightfall they had established a beachhead 2.5 km wide and 2 km deep.
The Japanese held out on the position called ‘metho’ and the 2/24th was
ordered to push through and capture the airfield the next day.
The
Japanese fight-back was powerful and the airfield was not taken until 18:05 on 5th
May.
above: the airfield
Although the primary objective of Tarakan was the airfields, they were
so heavily damaged during the pre-invasion bombardment that Australian
engineers of the 1 and 8 Airfield Construction Squadrons of the Royal
Australian Air Force took much longer to restore usage.
By the time the
airfields were ready on 28 Jun, it was too late to provide the air
umbrella for Borneo landings as originally intended. Aircraft from
Tarakan, however, did have a role in supporting ground troops during the
campaign.
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*the following images are off the website of the Australian War Memorial. The Copyright has expired and are now in the public domain. With thanks to the Australian War Memorial for allowing public access to these.
above image: TARAKAN, BORNEO, 1945-05-09. 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION TROOPS AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT.
above image: TARAKAN, BORNEO. 1945-05-01. 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION TROOPS RESTING AMONG RUINS OF BUILDINGS ON THE BEACH AFTER TAKING PART IN THE ASSAULT ON RED ONE BEACH ON D- DAY
above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. STRETCHER BEARERS ATTENDING A WOUNDED MEMBER OF 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION AT AIRSTRIP…
above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. B COMPANY, 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION WOUNDED BEING CARRIED DOWN FROM AIRSTRIP RIDGE.
above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. A STRONG JAPANESE DEFENCE AT AIRSTRIP RIDGE. TROOPS OF 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION EXAMINE A CAPTURED JAPANESE 20MM TWIN BARREL MACHINE-GUN. CAPTURED INTACT, IT WAS HOUSED 50 YARDS WITHIN A DUGOUT AND RUN OUT ON RAILS FOR FIRING.
above image: This photo is of a group of C company showing off their souvenirs. This is now photo 110455 (AWM has updated the info and image number)
Worse was to come. From 6 May to 16 June they fought in the jungle on
the mountain ridges behind the town. The Japanese used mines, booby
traps, and suicide raids to delay the Australian advance. The 2/24th
fought along Crazy Ridge. On 20 June it captured the Australians’ last
main objective, Hill 90, after 21,000 artillery rounds and 600 mortar
bombs had targeted the area.
The capture of Hill 90 was the last of the main battles. The island
was divided into sectors, which each unit was to clear of any remaining
Japanese - along with the 2/4th Commando Squadron and some Dutch troops.
The 2/24th sector was the northern part of the island, covering the
Juata Oilfields.23 Jun 1945 The last organized Japanese defense was broken by Australian troops at Tarakan Island, Borneo.
above image: Australian soldiers raise the Australian flag on a bamboo pole at Lingkas, Tarakan on the first day of Operation Oboe One, the 9th Division's successful attack and landing on Tarakan Island.
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Following the end of the war in August, and Japan’s surrender, the
ranks of the 2/24th thinned as men were discharged, transferred, or
volunteered for the occupation force for Japan. Those who remained in
the battalion returned to Australia in December, 1945.
The 2/24th
Battalion was disbanded at Puckapunyal in 1946.
A Commemorative Service is conducted annually at the Melbourne Shrine
of Remembrance in October each year, and at the 2/24 Battalion Memorial
Wall at the Wangaratta Cemetery on the Saturday following Melbourne Cup
Day in November. The tradition and memory of the fighting men of the
2/24th is maintained by the 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion
Association.
The Majority of the above information came from
the website of the
2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion Association.
and the Australian War Memorial
With grateful thanks.
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Jack was discharged from the Army on 20 December 1945
Jack and Dot had three sons:
Russell, Wayne and Trevor.
Jack Delaney
(1922 - 1999)
They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.
Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)
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