PURCELL, Matthew Joseph
| Service Number: | NX36170 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Division Signals |
| Born: | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, 21 February 1912 |
| Home Town: | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Trimmer |
| Died: | Illness whilst a Prisoner of the Japanese, Thailand, 2 July 1943, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery 1 G 1 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Wagga Wagga Cenotaph |
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Matthew (Snowy) was born in Wagga Wagga NSW, the fourth of five children of Michael John Purcell (born 1867 in Wagga Wagga, NSW) and Margaret Alice Cox (born 1872 in Tarcutta, NSW). Michael and Margaret married in 1903 in Wagga Wagga, NSW where Michael worked as a Labourer until his death in 1931.
Snowy was a Coach and Motor Trimmer in Wagga Wagga NSW, where he married Jemima Rosabel Johnston (born 1916 in Wagga Wagga NSW) in 1934. Snowy enlisted in the Australian Military Forces (Special Forces raised for Service in Australia or Abroad) in June 1940. He served as a Private (Service no: NX36170) with 8th Battalion, *th Division Signals and as a Craftsman (Panel Beater) with 2/4 Australian Field Workshop Australian Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. On 10 April 1942 he was listed as Missing in Malaya, and on 2 July 1943 as having died as a PoW of the Japanese in Burma.
Following Snowy's death, hife Jemima married a fellow PoW - Signalman Robert George Butler (Service No: NX36167) in 1948 in Wagga Wagga, NSW.
Younger brother, Oswald (Oliver) Lawrence Purcell also served in WWII as a Private (Service No: 21500) with 2/13th Battalion from 194- to 1945.
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