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Note: lways insisted that his birthday was actually St Patrick's Day (17th March). His place of birth was given as 17 Fyans Street, South Geelong which is now (1998) a car sales yard . His father and mother resided at 8 William Place, Geelong, according to the 1920 electoral roll entry.
Question? Was the Fyan Street address that of a clinic or midwife's home or other building? No proof has been forthcoming to substantiate this as the doctor's records and clinic records have long ago been destroyed.
MILITARY: On 28 January 1942 he went to Royal Park and applied to join the Australian Army. Although he had a badly infected foot, that his family felt sure would prevent him from being accepted, all the Army did was issue him with a pair of boots a few sizes bigger until the foot was healed. Winsome said that on his return home that day he looked 'a sight' with the clothes issued not quite fitting correctly! His basic infantry training was carried out, according to his service record, at Royal Park, Yanakie, Darley (near Bacchus Marsh) and then, on 17 October 1942 he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Artillery Training Regiment at Puckapunyal, Victoria. During this time Winsome would catch the steam train from Spencer Street Station to Seymour, which was the closest town to the Puckapunyal barracks, and stay the weekend at a hotel in Seymour.
On 15 March 1943 he was transferred to the 2nd Australian Medium Regiment RAA at Darley, Victoria and the following day was transferred to the regular Army AIF with the Regimental Number VX134425.
At the end of March, when he was at home on leave, he was required to report to Royal Park and, when he did not return for his dinner of corn beef and vegetables, his wife traveled to the Royal Park barracks to enquire where he was. The only information elicited was that she should consume the dinner that had been prepared and that a letter should be received in a couple of weeks. In other word she had been 'shipped out' although the guard could not state that fact.
Subsequently a letter was received with the cryptic statement that "it was lovely to watch the swans swimming on the river and that all was well" which was obviously a guarded reference to being in West Australia. From Army records, received from Canberra, it appears his advanced training was in West Australia near Geraldton as he often expressed the wish in later years to visit that area. The area obviously provoked fond memories of the people and climate.
His records state that on 22 March 1943, he was entrained to the 5th Military District in West Australia and that he had 'marched in' on 30 March 1943 probably at Geraldton.
On 18 October 1943 he was sent by train to Canungra, Queensland for jungle training. On 14 March 1944 he was graded as TG.III Gunlayer, then on 9 March 1945 he was transferred to the 17th Australian Independant Brigade Group, Provost Platoon and embarked, by sea, on the 14 March 1945 to Morotai (on the north-eastern edge of the Celebes). His Army records show that he was transshipped overseas from Cairns, Queensland , on 14 March 1943 aboard Sea Boat "Queuch aiked ---------", but he always maintained that he was shipped out from Geraldton, WA to Morotai.
From the few statements on his war experiences that he made to his family it appears he was involved with some type of forward beach control clearance unit during the landings conducted for the Borneo, Balakpapan and Sarawak operations. He consistently avoided mention of his wartime involvement overseas even when asked questions directly by his family and friends.
In 1958, when the family traveled by car to Cairns, he stated when he arrived in the city that he had always wanted to see Cairns but had never had the chance.
Served with the Australian Army with Army Service number VX134425, and was discharged on 18 March 1946 as a Corporal in the 7th Australian Division, Provost Company.
Although offered a war service education course in accountancy he refused to accept the offer as he considered he had done enough for the Army and no longer needed to accept their assistance.
TRANSCRIPT OF MILITARY RECORD for
AIF# VX134425 Private VEAL, VICTOR SAMUEL
CMF MOBILISATION ATTESTATION FORM
CMF No. V502700
Rank: Recruit
Enlisted: Footscray, Victoria 28 Jan 1942
Oath taken: Royal Park 15 Oct 1942
SERVICE AND CASUALTY FORM
Date Recorded Actions
28 Jan 1942 Voluntary enlistment at Footscray, Victoria CMF No.V502700
28 Jan 1942 Initial training at 34 Initial Training Battalion
9 Oct 1942 Marched into Recruit Reinforcement Depot, Royal Park, Victoria
15 Oct 1942 Oath of Enlistment to CMF taken
17 Oct 1942 Transferred to 3AATR (3rd Australian Artillery Training Regiment) at Puckapunyal, Victoria
31 Oct 1942 Admitted to 107 AGH (Army General Hospital), Puckapunyal with vaccination reaction
3 Nov 1942 Discharged to 3AATR from 107 AGH
15 Mar 1943 Transferred to 2 Aust. Medium Regiment RAA (Royal Aust. Artillery) at Darley army base (near Bacchus Marsh)
16 Mar 1943 Transferred to AIF and allocated Army No. VX134425 Rank: Private, Form signed at Yanakie, Vic (near Wilsons Promontory)
22 Mar 1943 Entrained from 3rd Military District (Vic) to 5 MD (West Aust)
30 Mar 1943 Marched into Training area near Geraldton, West Australia
1 Jul 1943 Granted proficiency pay
9 Aug 1943 Admitted to 37 AGH with septic sores
21 Aug 1943 Discharged to 2AMR
18 Oct 1943 Entrained to Queensland for jungle training
16 Nov 1943 Marched into Canungra, Queensland
22 Nov 1943 Admitted to No.1 AGH with enteritis
26 Nov 1943 Now diagnosed with Bacterial Dysentery Flexor
6 Dec 1943 Discharged from No.1 Aust. Orthopaedic Hospital to 2 AMR
14 Mar 1944 Graded TG III Gunlayer
14 Mar 1944 Proficiency pay withdrawn
9 Mar 1945 Transferred to 17 Aust. Independent Brigade Group, Provost Platoon
14 Mar 1945 Embarked Cairns, Queensland per sea bai??
28 Mar 1945 Disembarked Morotai
19 Apr 1945 Promoted Acting Corporal
23 Apr 1945 Embarked Morotai per LCI 1072 for Tarakan Island, Borneo
18 May 1945 Embarked Tarakan per LST 562 for Morotai
19 Jun 1945 Embarked Morotai per LST 1016 for Balakpapan, Borneo
5 Sep 1945 Rank of Corporal confirmed in Borneo
28 Nov 1945 Transferred to 7th Division Provost Company, Balakpapan, Borneo
25 Jan 1946 Marched out for L&TD, Victoria (Demob)
4 Feb 1946 Transit through Brisbane, Queensland AMF Discharge Depot
6 Mar 1946 Marched into No.9 Discharge Depot, Royal Park, Victoria
18 Mar 1946 Marched into AMF Discharge Depot at Royal Park, Victoria
18 Mar 1946 Discharged from Australian Army
PROCEEDINGS FOR DISCHARGE FORM
Certificate: #498446 Dated: 18 Mar 1946
Age: 25 yrs 7 months Height: 5 feet 8 inches
Eyes: Blue Complexion: Fair
Hair: Brown
Marks/Scars: Scar Right Buttock, Appendix scar
Overseas Service: Pacific 14 Mar 45 to 4 Feb 46
Continuous Service: CMF 9 Oct 42 to 15 Mar 43
AIF 16 Mar 43 to 18 Mar 46
Effective Days: 1250
Active Service Australia: 922
Active Service Overseas: 328
War Service Badge #244743 issued.
BIOGRAPHY: When his mother died in December 1935 and after her funeral and interment at Fawkner cemetery , he was outside on the back veranda of their home when he overheard his mother's relatives stating that they were not prepared to take him into their homes. So, at the age of 14, he took off on his bicycle (made for him by his Uncle Bill Scott from parts scavenged from the Footscray tip) and rode to the Shepparton area in north-central Victoria. There he supported himself in picking fruit in the many orchards of the area.
He returned to Footscray in 1936 and was boarding in an unheated, detached room belonging to a Mrs Buller. During this time he met Winsome Stagoll. In 1937 he was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for an appendicitis operation after which Winsome persuaded him to move in as a boarder at her parent's (Albert & Gertrude Stagoll) residence. Years later, in 1973, an operation in the Freemasons Hospital, Abbotsford discovered what they believed could have been an overlooked swab in his abdomen that was surrounded with fibrous matter. The item was sent to the Melbourne University for investigation but nothing was ever disclosed about the result.
Victor married Winsome Stagoll in December 1939 at the Salvation Army Temple in Bourke Street , Melbourne
After serving in the Army from 1942 to 1946 he was discharged and worked at Laughton's Foundry Works, Commercial Road, Footscray breaking pig iron, with a nine pound sledge hammer, for smelting in the furnaces.
During 1946 the family resided in Brunswick with one of Victor's Army mates, then in 1947 the y moved to Kensington to stay with Victor's sister and her husband, Ruth and Bill Duggan. Late in 1947, through the State Savings Bank, they bought a home at 34 Fairlie Street, Yarraville and moved in. The previous owners, Mr & Mrs Olsen, rented some rooms and the use of the facilities of the house until they could obtain another house for themselves.
In 1956, when he was only 36 years old, he suffered a heart attack at home (34 Fairlie Street , Yarraville) and was immobilized, on a mattress in the lounge room, for three months. At that time he was employed at a carpet manufacturing firm, Federal Felters in Footscray, as a maintenance fitter on 'three shift' work basis. He continued to work for this firm until retiring due to illness.
For the last six years of his life he delighted in getting away each Christmas and Easter holidays with his family and grandsons to Warrnambool to camp at Jubilee Park, on the Hopkins River at Allansford (7 miles from Warrnambool) The river, only 100 metres away , and short walks of half a kilometre or so to the upper reaches and ford of the Hopkins would return regular catches of fish without tiring him.
DEATH: He passed away, at the home of his daughter, Rhonda and Peter at 18 Cumberland Crescent, Chirnside Park on Easter Saturday, 1975. They had only moved into their new home 9 days previously. He was interred at the Lilydale Lawn Cemetery on Tuesday 1st April. He had stated only days before that he never wanted to leave this beautiful valley but little did we know that his wish was to come trues quickly.
Note: BIRTH: Victor's birth was registered as 20th March 1920 but his mother a
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