This young man is one of my family ... but I don't understand .... I thought he was at Land Headquarters and I assumed still in Australia but he's buried in Indonesia .... ! Could anybody tell me anything about what he was doing ? Annie Name: HOWARTH, MILNER OSWALD Initials: M O Nationality: Australian Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Australian Headquarters Unit Text: A.I.F. Adv. L. H.Q. Age: 19 Date of Death: 04/05/1945 Service No: NX201264 Additional information: Son of Milner and Caroline Howarth, of Chatswood, New South Wales. Australia. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 30. B. 2. Cemetery: AMBON WAR CEMETERY
He was not a POW Name HOWARTH, MILNER OSWALD Service Australian Army Service Number NX201264 Date of Birth 13 May 1925 Place of Birth SYDNEY, NSW Date of Enlistment 27 May 1943 Locality on Enlistment ST IVES, NSW Place of Enlistment PADDINGTON, NSW Next of Kin HOWARTH, MILNER Date of Death 4 May 1945 Rank Private Posting on Death ADV LHQ WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display Prisoner of War No Roll of Honour ST IVES NSW Though his files have not been digitised his burial at Ambon could be explainedby the fact that there were a number of advanced units of the Land Headquarters, like signals units, based on Morotai Island from early 1945. The island is just north of Ambon, and had been cleared by the Americans in 1944. And Ambon is where all the casualties on the surrounding islands were collected.
I'm lucky enough to have his service papers K ... but they don't mention Indonesia ! and I was just going through some papers and notes and saw Ambon - it hadn't "struck " me before !! ..... and it made me wonder what he was doing there ! According to CWGC
I'll have to read through them and see what I can see ...... it's been a while since I looked through them - and I can't remember ..... !!
I had not put this together previously about the American and Australian airmen. These were the RAAF lads killed on that day: There are 180 RAAF lads buried at Ambon War Cemetery and 155 on the Ambon Memorial. CLOAKE, STEPHEN PATRICK Flight Sergeant 441014 21sq 27/07/1945 COOK, ALFRED Warrant Officer 419295 21sq 27/07/1945 HANSON, KENNETH JOHN Flight Lieutenant 403585 21sq 27/07/1945 HESLIN, BRENDAN MICHAEL Flight Sergeant 440787 21sq 27/07/1945 HUME, JOHN JAMES OLIVER Flying Officer 427095 21sq 27/07/1945 HUTTON, FRANK GRAINGER VINCENT Flight Sergeant 437421 23sq 27/07/1945 MAXWELL, WILLIAM JAMES Flight Sergeant 435994 21sq 27/07/1945 NICHOL, CHARLES NEVILLE Flight Sergeant 440381 21sq 27/07/1945 According to CWGC Quote: