OUR HEROES – THEIR STORIES

Dick Lewis was one of a number of 2/33rd Battalion who became centenarians and received congratulations from the Queen.

A battalion original, he was born on June 8, 1919, and died on July 9, 2020. He was a member of a highly respected Tasmanian family which for many years had a rural supplies company at Wynyard in north-west Tasmania.

His father, Eric, who founded the company, was a Gallipoli veteran who served in the Ist A.I.F. in the 3rd Light Horse and later the 47th Infantry Battalion. He married an Australian Army nurse, Bertha Joliffe, who had been serving in the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Egypt.

Dick enlisted in November, 1939, and sailed on the R.M.S. Queen Mary, along with his brother, Charles “Snow” Lewis, in May 1940. He celebrated his 21st birthday on board ship, off Freetown, in Sierra Leone, and his 22nd birthday on the day the Syria campaign was launched.

While in camp in England he remembered a wonderful day in Cambridge, made possible by a big win at two-up. He described himself as “not a gambling man”, but on this occasion tossed 14 heads in a row. He and his brother hired a car and had a big day out.

During the Syria campaign, Dick was a member of the Carrier Platoon, entrusted with, among other jobs, protecting the flanks against possible attacks by local Jebel Druze warriors.

After Syria, Dick had an adventurous voyage back to Australia on the steamer S.S. Pundit, known as the “little tub”. It was an memorable journey for a number of reasons. The convoy they were part of spent a week in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The Battalion was very fortunate not to have ended up in Singapore, like some other units. “Curtin saved us, by standing up to Churchill,” Dick recalled, referring to the fact the Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, ordered the 7th and 9th divisions back to defend Australia against the Japanese, defying Churchill who wanted them to support British and Commonwealth troops in Singapore and Burma.

At aged 100 Dick Lewis was still pursuiing his
favourite hobby of sailing

The “little tub” Pundit was so slow it was unable to keep up with the rest of the convoy as it zig-zagged home alone, the best she could. One night soon after the Southern Cross had become visible for the first time, the men felt her going about and heard the Captain shout – ‘Give her your best speed – your B.E.S.T. speed !’ They travelled further in the next 2 hours than they had the previous day.

Dick said the ship was so lightly loaded that they had to de-throttle on ‘just about every wave.

A memorable journey indeed, ending with an extremely rough passage across the Bight. The men were all relieved to disembark at Port Adelaide, several weeks after the rest of the Battalion.

During the New Guinea campaign, Dick served on the Kokoda Track and at Gona. When interviewed in his 90’s his only comments on Kokoda were about the difficulty of transporting the Vickers guns through the rugged terrain – one man would carry the 50lb tripod and another, the 40lb gun – and about the claim by some commentators there had been a retreat from Ioribaiwa.

Dick was adamant it wasn’t. “It was a tactical retreat, away from an indefensible position to one we could defend (Imita Ridge).”

“Our commanders went against Blamey’s wishes but it was the right decision. But the Japs didn’t ever come that far , their lines were too stretched by then, “ he said.

Later at Gona, amid the two metre high kunai grass, Dick had a lucky escape. He said: “There were mortars dropping over a fairly wide area and I got sent up to see if the company commander wanted the (Vickers) gun. When I got there he said ‘No I don’t want you’. He was just asking me to give a message to one of his platoons when the Japs got onto us. He was killed right there, while I was talking to him. I was wounded in the heel.” The man killed was the O.C. of D Company, Captain Trevor Clowes QX6232.

Because of his wound Dick was evacuated back to hospital in Sydney. When he recovered he was sent to an Officer Training School in Woodside (SA) but became ill and spent three months recuperating in Strathalbyn. He never returned to the 2/33rd.

Following the initial officer training, he was attached to a Militia unit and then attended the Jungle Training School in Canungra (Qld). He joined a Commando unit but was unwell again and was extremely disappointed that he didn’t arrive in Borneo until after the Japanese had surrendered.

Dick married Peg Jones in May 1951 and they lived in the same house in Wynyard for the whole of their 65 year marriage. Their four sons – Tom, Charlie, Rob and Jim – grew up there, absorbing Dick’s love of the outdoors – going bushwalking, sailing and fishing – and their parents’ commitment to community service. Dick and Peg were were involved for more than 30 years in Riding for the Disabled, and later in Sailability. Dick was also an active member of his local RSL.

An article published in 2015 described Dick’s fly- fishing skill, said to be remarkable for a 95-year-old. When ABC Backroads featured Wynyard in December 2019, Dick made a fleeting cameo appearance in the segment about the ‘Sailability’ program at the local yacht club. Earlier that year, the club had hosted a celebration for Dick’s 100th birthday. His brother, Charles, survived the war.