Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ralph Spurr
Service No. 115568
Leading Aircraftman
10 W.S.U. (Ten Works Supply Unit)
Enlistment date: 20 August 1942
Discharge Date: 22 March 1946

Born 23 March 1912 in Nottingham, UK
Died 5 March 1997 in Adelaide, South Australia

Ralph was the youngest son in a family of nine. In 1913 his father came to Australia and found work in the North Mine at Broken Hill. He sent for his two oldest sons to join him and in 1915, when Ralph was 3, his mother left England with the 6 younger children on the 3 month voyage on SS Commonwealth.

Ralph attended the North Broken Hill Primary School and then Broken Hill High School. He left school at 14 and became a window dresser for the retail store, Pellew and Moore’s. He then went into insurance and had the job of collecting premiums every Friday when workers were paid. On 8th October 1938 he married Iris Brokenshire and in 1941 they moved to Adelaide where Ralph worked at Harris Scarfe retail store. Their daughter, Pamela, was born in 1942.

Ralph enlisted on 20th August 1942. In Ralph’s words:
I lined up at Wayville with about 400 other fellas. A voice from the front called out “You can have Army, Navy or Air Force, take your pick”. I picked Air Force. After about an hour’s messing about we were all dismissed until the following Monday morning.
The next Monday morning we paraded, were sorted out again and told to report to R.A.A.F. Shepparton, Victoria. Travel passes issued, on the train that night for Shepparton, me in charge (just because I was first in line at Wayville), arrived in Melbourne next day and met by a chap who took over and took us to Shepparton.

After initial training at Shepparton, an equipment course at Laverton, a few weeks posting at Camp Pell near the zoo in Melbourne (identified by hearing the animals at night) and a short leave, Ralph was sent to Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. On 23 February 1943 he boarded a Liberty Ship the SS George W. McRary to sail up the coast to Townsville.

The Japs were very busy on the coast of Australia so this gave us something to think about. One night I was on watch up front of the vessel. This was a rostered job to look out for lights or unusual things. The sailor of the ship said to me, “Depends on your luck tonight, Sport. You can have either a storm or a torpedo.” The Lord must have been with us that night. We got the storm. Our sleeping arrangements were in the hold of the ship, with men and palliasses each side of the hold. As the ship rolled so did we. It was indescribable as men and beds were tossed up and down, round and about. One of our cranes was hurled about the top deck till it came to rest in the opening of the staircase which was our exit. That crane stuck there and stayed there till we got to Townsville and to get in and out of the hold of the ship was quite an exercise.

The ship arrived in Townsville on 10 February 1943 and after a few days went on to Milne Bay, New Guinea. There the 10WSU supplied timber from a saw-mill, pipe fittings, hardware, etc., whatever equipment was needed to keep runways and facilities operational.

After a few days in Milne Bay the ship with all our supplies of tents, food etc. was being unloaded and truck after truck after truck was being driven into the compound. These were driven by black Americans the first I had ever seen. There were tip trucks with capacity about one ton and each truck was backed up and tipped out all the next few days, all night. It is impossible to describe the mound of stuff before us but our job was to sort it into some workable order.

The Unit to which I belonged was situated at the side of the Airfield where R.A.A.F. planes took off and landed. We were able to count them out and count them coming back, not always the same number came back as went out, sad to say. An interesting part of life was spent in the air-raid trenches. We dug one outside the tent we lived in, so that when the air-raid siren went off, all we had to do was grab the tin hat, dive in the trench and hope for the best.

We were entertained now and again by various international artists: Bob Hope, Ethel Merman, Joe E. Brown, Gracie Fields and these people were really appreciated as any form of entertainment was a bit scarce. We had a couple of concerts at our unit at which I was ordered to sing (maybe the organizer had heard me under the showers).

10 W.S.U. was in Milne Bay for about 12 months then were moved up to Aitape, Nadzab and Lae. After about 15 months they returned to Australia for leave, then moved back to Melbourne to join up with 6 Airfield Construction Squadron for duty at Morotai, Balikpapen and other parts of Borneo.

Coming home from the islands was an adventure in itself. My mate left Balikpapen and managed to get on a plane flying direct to Adelaide. A few days later I got put on a plane and the pilot sang out, “all aboard for Brisbane.” I spent the trip from Borneo to Brisbane looking out the bottom of the plane which had hardly any floor - a bit windy and cold, I might add. I arrived in Brisbane to find a general strike on but I went to the railway station and jumped on a train. I didn’t get a seat, just threw my bag in and followed it in. I got to Melbourne in the middle of winter. After being in the tropics I knew what it was like to be cold. I was in Melbourne for about a week then decided to get on a train to Adelaide. Everything was so chaotic, nobody worried about tickets. Iris and I were very pleased to see each other when I eventually arrived home.

After the war, Ralph was again employed at Harris Scarfe, initially in the basement of the Rundle Street store and then as a commercial traveller travelling all over South Australia. He and Iris always maintained a strong interest in the Richmond Baptist Church where they were in the choir, held leadership positions, and Ralph was the Sunday School Superintendent and maintenance officer.

After he retired Ralph led a music group which entertained people living in nursing homes, he was a volunteer driver for the Blind Welfare Association and helped with fund-raising. He was often seen at the Adelaide Railway Station on Badge days where he sold badges for several charities. In 1996 Ralph was awarded Citizen of the Year for the West Torrens Council because of his voluntary work in the community.

He died on 5th March 1997 and his ashes are buried in the Services Family Section of the Centennial Park Cemetery.

Pamela Callaghan (nee Spurr)