STEELE, Benjamin John
| Service Number: | NX53821 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Staff Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Australian Armoured Division Signals |
| Born: | Leytonstone, England, 1 June 1907 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Radio Mechanic |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 12 January 1968, aged 60 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales The New South Wales Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 18 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Staff Sergeant, NX53821 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Mar 1943: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Staff Sergeant, 1st Australian Armoured Division Signals , Darwin | |
| 7 May 1943: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, 1st Australian Armoured Division Signals | |
| 5 Mar 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Staff Sergeant, NX53821 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Staff Sergeant Benjamin John Steele (Service No:NX53821) enlisted in the Australian Army on 18 July 1940, having served in the Militia as a Sergeant attached to 45 Battalion for seven years. Signalman Steele served with 1st Squadron Signals Armoured Division in Darwin (January 1943 - October 1944) and was promoted in 1943 to Sergeant and then Staff Sergeant, attached to 21 Australian Technical Maintenance Section. Staff Sergeant Steele then served in New Guinea (5 June 1945 - 30 November 1945) and was Discharged on 5 March 1946.
Born in 1907 in Essex England, Benjamin was the youngest of six children of Joseph Lucas Steele (b1871 in London, England) and Margaret Costar (nee Rolfe; b1873 in Surrey, England). Joseph (a Railway Carman) and Margaret married in 1898 in London, England. In 1912 Margaret immigrated with her four youngest children, arriving in Sydney NSW on board the Rangatira.
Benjamin worked as a Radio Mechanic in Sydney NSW, where in 1934 he married Marjorie Myers (b1911 in Yorkshire, England) - Marjorie had immigrated in 1913, arriving in Sydney NSW with her parents on board the Ballarat. Following his Discharge, Benjamin and Marjorie settled in Sydney NSW where they raised their family and Benjamin worked as a Salesman and Storekeeper. Benjamin died in 1968 and Marjorie in 1982.
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