CRAWFORD, Donald Robert
| Service Number: | NX25390 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/2nd Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Epping, New South Wales, Australia, 26 March 1918 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Winder - Bradford Cotton Mills |
| Died: | Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, 5 October 1994, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 6 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX25390 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX25390, 2nd Machine Gun Battalion, ex Sydney to ME per Overseas Convoy US10 | |
| 9 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX25390, Machine Gun Companies and Battalions, ex Cairns to Milne Bay per HT Allen | |
| 7 Mar 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX25390, 2nd/2nd Machine Gun Battalion, ex Finschafen to Brisbane per Sea Snipe | |
| 15 Feb 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX25390, 2nd/2nd Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
A Winder with Bradford Cotton Mills in Sydney NSW, Don (b1922 in Sydney NSW) was the youngest of four children of Robert William Crawford (b1882 in Durham Ox, Victoria) and Mary Morris Orton (b1883 in Beechworth, Victoria) Robert (a Clergyman) and Mary (a Teacher) married in 1913 in Beechworth Victoria. Robert served in WWI (Private; Service No:18476) and following his Discharge in 1919 he and Mary settled in Sydney NSW where he was a Lorry Driver and Commercial Traveller. Robert also served in the ACMF in WWII (Sergeant; Service No:270032).
Don gave his birth date as 26 March 1918 (instead of 26 March 1922) when he enlisted in the Australian Army in June 1940 (Private; Service No:NX25390) - older brother James also enlisted in June 1940 (Private; Service No:NX33062 and died a PoW in Borneo). Don served in the Middle East and New Guinea with 2/2 Machine Gun Battalion and was Discharged in March 1945.
In 1944 Don married Anne Joyce Lawrence (b1923) in Liverpool NSW, and following Don's Discharge the couple settled in Sydney NSW where Don worked as a Plumber and Anne as a Saleswoman. In the late 1960s the couple separated and Don was working in Fannie Bay, Darwin NT in 1974 when he lost all his belongings in Cyclone Tracey. Don returned to NSW and was working in Port Macquarie by 1978. He died in 1994.
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