WESTLAKE, Mervyn John
| Service Number: | SX6023 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 June 1940, Wayville, SA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Strathalbyn, SA, 24 September 1918 |
| Home Town: | Waikerie, Loxton Waikerie, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Schooled at Strathalbyn |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds -Severe gunshot to right thigh, Tobruk, Libya, 3 May 1941, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya 2/48th batt, Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya |
| Memorials: | Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Waikerie War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 21 Jun 1940: | Involvement Private, SX6023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Wayville, SA | |
| 21 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX6023, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
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Mervyn John WESTLAKE was born 24th September 1918 to Lindsay Mervyn and Mavis Lina Westlake, at Strathalbyn hospital. He was one of three children. He was schooled at Strathalbyn.
In about 1935 his family moved to Waikerie, where Merv was a single man working as a labourer in the area for Mr HOWELL.
On the 21st of June 1940, Merv enlisted in the 2nd Australian Infantry Force in Adelaide. After training, Merv was given Pre Embarkation leave on 31-10-40 and returned to Waikerie.
On the 7th of November 1940, Merv left for overseas on “HMAT Strath Eden”, he was posted to the 2/48th Battalion.
Merv arrived in the Middle East on 3/1/1941 in Palestine. He was taken onto battalion strength and very soon was in the thick of the fighting.
On the 14th of May, 1941, Merv was found badly wounded with a gunshot wound in the right thigh. He was brought in to medical care but sadly on the 15th of May, 1941, Mervyn WESTLAKE died of wounds he had received.
Merv WESTLAKE is interred in the Tobruk War Cemetery and is commemorated on the Australian War Memorial on the Roll of Honour.
Mervyn is also commemorated with a tree and plaque in the WAIKERIE War Memorial Gardens.
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