COUSENS, Lucy Amelia
| Service Numbers: | QF270913, Q270913 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 May 1943 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) - Unallotted |
| Born: | Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, 6 March 1920 |
| Home Town: | Ingham, Hinchinbrook, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Nambour, Queensland, Australia, 25 August 2009, aged 89 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Buderim Lawn Cemetery - Crematorium & Memorial Gardens |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 5 May 1943: | Involvement Private, Q270913, on WW2NR as QF270913 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 May 1943: | Enlisted | |
| 5 May 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QF270913 | |
| 13 Oct 1944: | Discharged | |
| 13 Oct 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QF270913, Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) - Unallotted |
Help us honour Lucy Amelia Cousens's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Ian Cousens
Lucy Amelia Cousens was born in Charters Towers on 6 March 1920. She was the 6th child and only daughter of Harry Richmond Cousens and his wife Sophy Amelia Meyers. Lucy was named after her father's sister (Lucy Annie Cousens) and her mother (Sophy Amelia Meyers).
The family moved to the Ingham area in the early 1930's and her father was a sugar cane farmer. He had served in the Boer War with the 4th and 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen so it was not surprising that Lucy and 4 of her siblings (Cecil, Harry, Stanley and Louis) enlisted for service in WWII.
Lucy enlisted at Redbank. As her service record held at the National Archives Australia is not digitised, the date of enlistment is unknown. However, an item in the Townsville Daily Bulletin of Tuesday 6 June 1944 states she was a driver with the AWAS (Australian Women's Army Service) and that she was taking the evening train South after being on leave with her parents at Coolbie. The AWAS was established on 13 August 1941 but Lucy may already have been a member of it's predecessor, the WANS (Womens Australian National Service). Lucy would have been demobbed by 30 June 1947.
In 1951, Lucy married Victor Kemp Humphrey in Mossman. He was born 19 July 1900 and had served in the Navy during WWI (Service Number 4682).
Lucy and Victor were living at Worongary in the Gold Coast Hinterland according to the 1954 electoral rolls. When her father Harry Richmond Cousens died in 1964 Lucy was living in Nerang. By the 1972 electoral roll they had moved to Palmwoods in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Lucy died in Nambour on 25 August 2009. Victor had predeceased her (17 February 1985). They are both buried in Buderim Lawn Cemetery.
Besides her sibilings and father, Lucy was related to Sydney Leake Cousens and Stanley Clifford Cousens who were KIA in WWI. They were her father's 1/2 brothers. Joseph Arthur Cousens who served in the 2/12 Battalion was a 2nd cousin.
Biography contributed by Ian Cousens
Update to service record.
From item 4556492 in series B884 held at the National Archives, Lucy signed a Mobilization Attestation Form on 5 May 1943 at Redbank. Her service number was QF270913 and she was serving with the AWAS. Lucy was described as being 5 foot 1 3/4 inches tall with sandy hair and green eyes. She was a driver based in Brisbane. Lucy completed 536 days active service in Australia prior to her discharge on 13 October 1944.
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