Gabriel William John DELANEY
or perhaps better known as Jack Delaney!
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.
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
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.
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 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: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.
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.
*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.
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.
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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
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.
Russell, Wayne and Trevor.
Jack Delaney
(1922 - 1999)
(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)
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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URL's of interest:
2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion Association.At Tarakan Island, northeast Borneo early -1945
Wikipedia: Battle of Tarakan
Borneo Campaign
Australian War Memorial database collection
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