WILLIS, Mavis Joyce
| Service Numbers: | QF144643, Q144643 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 October 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) - Unallotted |
| Born: | Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia, 10 July 1923 |
| Home Town: | Glen Innes, Glen Innes Severn, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk - Attorney-General's Department |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, 3 May 2009, aged 85 years |
| Cemetery: |
Currie Public Cemetery, King Island, Tasmania Buried alongside husband Stewart Romanes |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Oct 1942: | Involvement Private, Q144643, on WW2NR as QF144643 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QF144643 | |
| 1 Sep 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QF144643, Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) - Unallotted |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ned Young
Mavis Joyce Romanes (nee Willis) was born to parents Arthur William and Irene Effie Willis on 10 July 1923 in Glen Innes, New South Wales. She was raised in Glen Innes along with her five siblings Doris, Cecil, Roy, Beverly and Thelma (who died when she was just seven months old).
Mavis was taken on strength as part of the Australian Women's Army Service on 2 October 1942 after initially enlisting on 31 August 1942. She was 19 and working as a shop assistant and student teacher at the time. She served at the Australian Training Depot based at Emmanuel College in Warwick, Queensland.
On 17 July 1943 at the Presbyterian Church Warwick, Mavis was married to Stuart Romanes, a Sergeant in the 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion. They met at the Warwick depot while Stuart was recovering from a bout of Influenza. He had previously served in the Middle East and returned to Australia after suffering a kidney infection. The pair were granted a week of leave between 3 August and 10 August for a brief honeymoon. Soon after, on 1 September 1943, the now married Mavis Romanes was discharged from her duties. Stuart remained in Queensland attached to the Line of Communications Headquarters. The couple’s first child, Joyce, was born on 6 February 1944. Stuart was discharged from the AIF on 19 November 1945.
It is known from electoral records that Mavis and Stuart resided in Canberra until their retirement. Mavis worked as a clerk at the Attorney-General’s Department until 1968. The couple decided to retire in Currie on Tasmania’s King Island. It was reported in the King Island News on 23 Jun 1976 that the pair were enjoying the “friendly help” of the Currie community, a welcome change from the “more impersonal life of the capital city”.
In 1989, Stuart passed away at the age of 70 and was buried in the King Island Cemetery. Mavis survived him by 20 years. She died in Fremantle, Western Australia on 3 May 2009. Her body was taken back to King Island to be buried with her husband.
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