LAURENCE, Neil Thompson
| Service Number: | W85639 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th (WA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
| Born: | Northam, Western Australia, 3 September 1899 |
| Home Town: | Jardee, Manjimup, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Mill Hand |
| Died: | Bunbury, Western Australia, 8 June 1965, aged 65 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 29 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W85639, 14th (VIC) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W85639, 14th (WA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
| Date unknown: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W85639, 14th (VIC) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Neil Thompson Laurence (Service No:W85639) served in the ACMF (14th Battalion VDC WA) from 29 April 1942 to 15 October 1945.
Neil was born in Northam, WA in 1899, fourth of ten children of Ernest Love Laurence (b1870 in Picton Junction, WA) and Rachel Crampton (b1870 in Brunswick Junction, WA). Ernest (a Labourer) and Rachel married in 1891 in Brunswick Junction, WA where Ernest joined WAGR. Ernest and Rached lived in Bunbury, Northam, Fremantle and Greenbushes while Ernest worked for WAGR as a Cleaner, Fireman, Locomotive Driver and Pumper. By 1910 the family had settled at Greenbushes WA where Ernest was an Engine Driver at Timber Corporation Mills, and in 1917 Ernest was working in Manjimup at No 1 State Mill as an Engine Driver.
Neil started work as a Mill Hand, and in 1923 in Blackwood WA married Winifred (Win) Towie (b1904 in Lancashire, England) - Win had immigrated with her parents and siblings in 1906, arriving in Fremantle WA on board the Orontes. Neil and Win lived in Jardee - where Neil was a Timber Worker - until retirement in 1960, when they moved to Bunbury. Neil died in 1965 and Win in 1998.