Balfour-Ogilvy, Jack SX1662
Captain Jack Balfour-Ogilvy.
Captain Jack Balfour-Ogilvy had every reason to forget the Liberator crash, but couldn’t.The memories of the horrendous event, and his self-appointed task in the aftermath of laying out the bodies and remains of his men blown apart or incinerated in the crash, haunted him for the rest of his life. That role and his role in helping re-build D Company, which suffered the worst losses of men killed or mortally wounded , were but two of his many outstanding contributions during his five years serving with the 2/33rd Battalion. A fruit grower from South Australia, he was born at Renmark in 1918, joined the Army in 1940, and the 2/33rd Battalion that same year, when it was formed in England. Over the next five years he was one of the Battalion’s most capable and outstanding officers, and one of only four to serve in every campaign the Battalion fought in. His service epitomised the courage and spirit of Anzac. As a measure of his contribution, Australian soldiers were expected to serve one tour in combat for a maximum of nine months. Jack served five tours, spending nearly three and a half years in direct combat service and witnessing some of the most horrific facets of the war. During the Syrian campaign, he assumed command, without question, when the Officer Commanding his platoon was killed in battle in June, 1941. This led him to be commissioned in the field, one of the first two Australian soldiers to be honoured in that way, a fitting reward for his repeated courage and inspirational leadership. That leadership was never more needed than when the battalion went into battle in the steaming, disease-ridden jungles of New Guinea and the Kokoda Trail, where the Japanese, fighting to the death, made the Australians pay for every foot of ground they won.
Lieutenant Balfour-Ogilvy led his platoon gallantly until he had to hand over command after becoming seriously ill and having to be evacuated, one of many who fell victim to dreadful jungle diseases and the appalling conditions under which the men had to fight. When recovered he rejoined the battalion to prepare for the assault in September, 1943, to recapture Lae from the Japanese, but, after months of intensive training, fate played a cruel hand.
In the early hours of September 7, 1943, his D Company was one of three waiting in trucks at the end of the Jackson’s airfield, Port Moresby, for their turn to be airlifted to Nadzab to join fighting in the Markham Valley when a USAAF Liberator bomber taking off hit a tree and crashed into the convoy. Sixty of the battalion died and another 90 were injured. It was one of the greatest single tragedies to befall the AIF in WWII and the worst air disaster in Australian history. The devastating carnage, and the magnitude of the calamity, left the young Lt Balfour-Ogilvy, then aged 25, aghast, but that didn’t prevent him from taking the responsibility of gathering the remains of his men, a task that took three hours.
A further testimony to Jack’s courage, and th of other survivors, was that they were airlifted out a few hours later to join the fighting in the Markham Valley. Not one of the survivors asked to be excused from battle because of the horrendous shock of the crash. Jack’s rebuilt D Company fought in the Ramu Valley campaign and the battle for Shaggy Ridge. He had been promoted to Captain by his last action of the war, the amphibious assault on Balikpapan, Borneo.
In the early hours of September 7, 1943, his D Company was one of three waiting in trucks at the end of the Jackson’s airfield, Port Moresby, for their turn to be airlifted to Nadzab to join fighting in the Markham Valley when a USAAF Liberator bomber taking off hit a tree and crashed into the convoy. Sixty of the battalion died and another 90 were injured. It was one of the greatest single tragedies to befall the AIF in WWII and the worst air disaster in Australian history. The devastating carnage, and the magnitude of the calamity, left the young Lt Balfour-Ogilvy, then aged 25, aghast, but that didn’t prevent him from taking the responsibility of gathering the remains of his men, a task that took three hours.
A further testimony to Jack’s courage, and th of other survivors, was that they were airlifted out a few hours later to join the fighting in the Markham Valley. Not one of the survivors asked to be excused from battle because of the horrendous shock of the crash. Jack’s rebuilt D Company fought in the Ramu Valley campaign and the battle for Shaggy Ridge. He had been promoted to Captain by his last action of the war, the amphibious assault on Balikpapan, Borneo.
During that intense fighting he displayed one of his most selfless acts of heroism by going in under direct enemy fire to rescue a mortally wounded patrol leader who had been caught in a Japanese ambush. Jack was conscious of the fact that only the day before the soldier had received a letter from his wife telling him of the birth of their first child. The soldier, NX80827 Sergeant Henry Earnest Hamilton, died before he reached the Jeep ambulance. Jack Balfour Ogilvy was held in high esteem in South Australia. The Premier, David Tonkin, was among nearly 400 mourners to attend his funeral after he died of cancer on September 13, 1980, aged 62.
Also among the mourners were all members of The Legacy Club of Adelaide and 13 of his old comrades from the 2/33rd Battalion. He returned to fruit growing after the war in the Riverland area where he became active in Legacy and ex-service matters. He joined the Adelaide Legacy Riverland Group in 1957 and became its chairman in 1961. Bad health compelled him to move to Adelaide where in 1967 he was appointed Administrative Officer Funds Appeal to the Legacy Club of Adelaide, a position he held until is death. As well as his Legacy work, Jack joined the committtee of the South Australian branch of the 2/33rd Battalion Association, and was instrumental in getting the association moving again after a relatively inactive two years in 1964 and 1965. In 1977 he did much research of Mud & Blood lists of ex-2/33rd members who had drifted away and who might be encouraged to particpiate in Association activities. On his death, Mud & Blood recorded: “ Jack was truly one of natures gentlemen and always ready with a word of advice and encouragement when needed.”
Also among the mourners were all members of The Legacy Club of Adelaide and 13 of his old comrades from the 2/33rd Battalion. He returned to fruit growing after the war in the Riverland area where he became active in Legacy and ex-service matters. He joined the Adelaide Legacy Riverland Group in 1957 and became its chairman in 1961. Bad health compelled him to move to Adelaide where in 1967 he was appointed Administrative Officer Funds Appeal to the Legacy Club of Adelaide, a position he held until is death. As well as his Legacy work, Jack joined the committtee of the South Australian branch of the 2/33rd Battalion Association, and was instrumental in getting the association moving again after a relatively inactive two years in 1964 and 1965. In 1977 he did much research of Mud & Blood lists of ex-2/33rd members who had drifted away and who might be encouraged to particpiate in Association activities. On his death, Mud & Blood recorded: “ Jack was truly one of natures gentlemen and always ready with a word of advice and encouragement when needed.”
– MATT SLOAN