Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Colin was born on 22 May 1916 at Burunga Gap (SA) to Robert Roy Stringer and Helen Stringer (nee Reardon).  He was the second eldest of 9 children in the family, 8 boys and a girl. His father was a farmer at Barunga Gap; the family moved to Cootra (near Caralue Bluff) just before the Great Depression.

Colin went to school at Burunga, before moving with his family to Cootra. On completion of schooling he worked on the family farm at Cootra; because of several bad seasons he left the farm and went to Wudinna to work on the Council. It was during this time that he married Una Florence Osborn of Yaninee on 24 Dec 1936 at Wudinna. In 1939 the couple moved to Whyalla where Colin worked for Mr Fred Flicker building houses for the SA Housing Trust: he then took employ driving a truck for Donaldson’s on the BHP Wharf until his enlistment.  At this time he listed his occupation as labourer and his address as Wudinna

After enlistment he was sent to Wayville for processing and then sent to Woodside for training. On completion of training he embarked from Adelaide in Sep 1941, bound for Alexandria (Egypt)

On arrival in Egypt he was transferred to 2/4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (2/4th LAA Regt) and became a “gun layer” in that unit. He and his unit served throughout the Middle East in Palestine and Lebanon as well as at El Alamein. His gun crew reputedly shot down the first German plane in the 2nd Battle of El Alamein, a German Stuka bomber.

He remained in the Middle East for approximately 15 months before his unit was withdrawn back to Australia to help halt the advance of the Japanese. The unit went to North Queensland for a period of training before being deployed to New Guinea. He, with his unit, saw service at Lae, Finschhafen, Nadzab and Dumpu and remained in New Guinea until the end of the war.

After discharge from the Army he returned to the Tumby Bay area and worked for the Lands Dept, clearing land for” Soldier Settler” blocks at Wanilla and Tumby Bay. During this employ, he applied for a “Soldier Settler” block; he and his family lived in the shearers’ quarters at Yalluna Station whilst waiting for the allocation of the block. His elder 3 children went to Tumby Bay School with Janet Southern and the Doudle boys; they travelled to school on a horse drawn trolley, driven by the boys at full gallop!

He was eventually allocated Sects 418 and 419, Hd of Yarranyacka in 1949. Unfortunately he suffered poor health and similar to many of his mates, could not settle back into civilian life: as his wife was heard to remark “he went away as a young man, but came home an old man”. As a result of this struggle he only farmed the block until 1958 before vacating it; it was then allocated to Lloyd Gale.

Never the less he was a brave man as exemplified by his courage in Apr 1956 by descending a shaft of the disused Burrawing Copper Mine to retrieve the body of Mr Percival Gibson. For his efforts he was awarded the Bronze Medal by the Royal Humane Society of Australia for courage and humanity.

After departing the block at Lipson he was employed as a “slaughterman” by Mr Gordon Kotz before taking employ with the Highways Dept as a foreman. During this period the family had increased to 8 children.

The family then roved the Eyre Peninsula, living mainly at construction camps, where Una was also employed as the “camp cook” This must have been a difficult time with the young children needing to attend school. In Una’s words, “they always made sure that the children went through school, wherever they were”, but it must have resulted in very disjointed education.

 Colin retired in 1974 due to continuing ill health and he and his wife returned to Tumby Bay.

He died at Tumby Bay on 21 Oct 1986 and is buried in the Tumby Bay Cemetery. His wife, who remarried to Ken Dick, died on 27 Mar 1996 and is also buried in the Tumby Bay Cemetery  

Medals and Decorations

1939-45 Star                                                                                                    

African Star                                                                                                   

Pacific Star                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Defence Medal

War Medal 1939-45

Australian War Medal 1939-45