Soldier profiles

Name : WESTBROOK, HENRY
Service Number : VX22872
Date of Birth : 20/04/1920
Place of Birth : EILDON WEIR, VIC
Known as :
Occupation on Enlistment : BOOTMAKER
Date of Enlistment : 06/06/1940
Locality on Enlistment : NORTH FITZROY, VIC
Place of Enlistment : CAULFIELD, VIC
Next of Kin : LEMKE, ELIZABETH
Rank (at time of discharge / death) : PRIVATE
Service : ARMY
Final Posting : 2/2 PIONEER BATTALION
Position / Platoon / Company (as 2/2 Pioneer) (date / details) :
Unit Transfers / Promotions (date / details) :
Theatres of War : SYRIA, JAVA
Actions :
Wounded (date / details) :
Discharged : 11/02/1946
Date Died : N/A
Community Roll of Honour : N/A
Buried Location / Memorial (P.O.W., D.O.W., K.I.A.) : N/A
K.I.A. (date / details) : N/A
D.O.W. (date / details) : N/A
M.I.A. (date / details) : N/A
P.O.W. (location/s) : JAVA
Died P.O.W. (date / details) : NO
P.O.W. Camps (details) : THAILAND
Recovered P.O.W. (location/s) : THAILAND
Honours and Gallantry : None for display
Applicable Australian War Memorial circulars : Australian War Memorial B-JAVA-0091 Missing & POW Circular
References found (entries & photos) : National Archives of Australia (Barcode 6207404 [DIGITISED]), WW2 Nominal Roll, Australian War Memorial, Past article (size 364kB), Past article (size 79kB)

Background : Repatriated to Australia on Circassia.

Service & personal summary At enlistment : single. No previous military experience. At discharge : height 5 feet 7 inches, hazel eyes, medium complexion, brown hair. Marital status : single. Marks / scars : stomach birth mark centre / left side. Full time war service : 06/06/1940 to 11/02/1946 which included 2077 days active service (100 days within Australia & 1672 days overseas). Operational service : Middle East area (embarked from Australia 07/04/1941, disembarked in Australia 03/11/1945). War badge no. 290674. Discharge certificate no. 491245.

Service record
06/06/1940 Taken on strength Recruit Reception Depot Caulfield, Victoria.
09/06/1940 Posted to 2/2 Pioneer Battalion Puckapunyal, Seymour, Victoria.
18/07/1940 Admitted Puckapunyal 4 Australian General Hospital, Seymour, Victoria with influenza.
25/07/1940 Discharged to unit from Puckapunyal 4 Australian General Hospital, Seymour, Victoria.
07/03/1941 Evacuated to 5 Casualty Clearing Station Balcombe, Mt. Martha, Victoria.
07/03/1941 Admitted with Pyrexia of Unknown Origin (P.U.O.).
11/03/1941 Discharged to unit.
11/03/1941 Returned to unit from 5 Casualty Clearing Station Balcombe, Mt. Martha, Victoria.
07/04/1941 Embarked Sydney, New South Wales on H.M.S. Queen Mary (H.M.T. N.N.).
03/05/1941 Disembarked Middle East.
18/06/1941 Evacuated to 1 Australian General Hospital with sprained ankle and transferred to X list.
27/06/1941 Evacuated from 1 Australian General Hospital to 1 Australian Convalescent Depot.
07/07/1941 Discharged from 1 Australian Convalescent Depot and transferred to Pioneer Training Battalion.
07/07/1941 Marched in.
13/07/1941 Marched out to 2/2 Pioneer Battalion.
13/07/1941 Taken on strength from Pioneer Training Battalion.
03/09/1941 Admitted to 1 Australian Corps Field Punishment Centre to serve sentence and transferred to X list.
15/09/1941 Discharged 1 Australian Corps Field Punishment Centre and returned to unit.
15/09/1941 Rejoined unit and struck off X list.
31/01/1942 Embarked Middle East on S.S. Orcades.
18/02/1942 Disembarked Batavia, Java.
07/03/1942 Reported missing in action, Java.
30/04/1942 Reported missing in action, Java and transferred to X list.
30/04/1942 Reported missing in action believed prisoner of war.
04/11/1943 Reported prisoner of war.
22/12/1943 Reported interned Thailand camp.
15/08/1945 Granted proficiency pay.
20/08/1945 Reported alive in Siam (Thailand), recovered from Japanese.
18/10/1945 Embarked Singapore on Circassia.
03/11/1945 Disembarked Melbourne, Victoria.
03/11/1945 Marched into General Details Depot, Victoria ex on Circassia.
19/12/1945 Admitted 115 Australian General Hospital, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria with ulcer left leg.
02/02/1946 Discharged to prisoner of war General Details Depot (scar left calf tropical ulcer).
02/02/1946 Marched in ex 115 Australian General Hospital, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria.
07/02/1946 Marched out to Australian Military Forces Discharge Depot.
07/02/1946 Marched into Australian Military Forces Discharge Depot.
11/02/1946 Discharged Royal Park, Victoria.