Nowra's soldiers immortalised in street signs
NEVER FORGOTTEN: Some of the young men from Nowra who served and died in war can be found immortalised in street signs across the region. Photos: Shoalhaven Historical Society.
As we approach Anzac Day, the Shoalhaven Historical Society has shared details on some local soldiers who were killed in war.
Their names can be found around the region, immortalised in street signs.
Corporal George William Colyer
Parents: Jesse and Louisa Colyer
Wife: Elsie May of Nowra
Unit: 8th Division Provost Company - Australian Army Provost Corps
He was one of the 2000 POWs held in North Borneo. He died as a prisoner of the Japanese on February 12, 1945, aged 31.
Private Roy Hollands
Parents: Ronald and Elsie Hollands of Nowra
Enlisted: November 1939 with brother Eric served at Bardia, Tobruk and Libya. On January 21, 1944, Eric was wounded by a mine explosion. Roy was shot and killed as he went to his brother's aid, aged 23. Eric survived and was discharged in May, 1942.
AVAILABLE NOW: The front cover of a new book by Barry Charles Brown. The book is titled 'A Nowra man in Vietnam 1968-69'.
Corporal Wallace "Wally" Stafford Keft
Birth: Nowra on January 28, 1918
Parents: Thomas Albert and Edith Keft
Wife: Iris May Catherine of Hurstville
Unit:2/3 Battalion
History: Killed in action on February 1945 in New Guinea, aged 27. Left a widow and a daughter he had never seen.
Sergeant Arthur Sidney Lawrence
Parents: Alfred and Mary Elizabeth Lawrence of Nowra
Unit: 2/20 Battalion- Australian Infantry
History: He was one of over 2000 POWs held in North Borneo. He died as a prisoner on June 18, 194, aged 27 years.
Private James Edward Burr (not pictured)
Birth: Yerrandane, NSW
Parents: Williama and Ada Burr
Wife: Ellen Anne of Enfield
Enlisted: Paddington on May 22, 1940
Unit: 2/2 Machine Gun Battalion
History: Killed in action in New Guinea on October 19, 1943.
Lieutenant Gordon Leslie Leaney
Birth: Milton on December 4, 1918
Parents: :Leslie Thomas and Anne Leaney
Enlisted: Paddington on May 25, 1940
Unit: 2/1 Battalion (Infantry)
History: Killed in action at Supota, New Guinea on November 1942, a fortnight before his 24th birthday. He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross for 'Leadership and courage of the highest order'.
A new book by Barry Charles Brown has recently been released and is now for sale at the Nowra Museum.
The book is titled 'A Nowra man in Vietnam 1968-69' and can be purchased for $7.