Winston Harding Talbot
Birth
Death Marriage Spouse Father Mother Siblings Children |
19 February 1919
17 July 2010 17 June 1950 Audrey Ellen Cain William Harding Creyke Talbot Frances Mary Bell Beryl Harding Talbot Nancy Harding Talbot Michael Harding Talbot Peter Harding Talbot Kathryn Ellen Talbot John Harding Talbot |
Location
Location Location |
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Winston Harding Talbot was born on the 19th of February 1919 in Sydney to William Harding Creyke Talbot and Frances Mary Bell. He was known as Bill.
When Bill was 3 the family lived in Lindfield. After that they moved to Cranbrook Ave, Roseville.
When Bill was 3 the family lived in Lindfield. After that they moved to Cranbrook Ave, Roseville.
Bill attended Roseville Public School.
Around 1929, the family sold their place at Roseville and rented a place from William’s sister Ruby. The house was at 6 Macartney Avenue, Chatswood. The house was alongside a dairy farm.
After Chatswood, the family bought a house in Paradise Ave, Roseville.
In 1932 the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened. Bill, aged 13, walked over the bridge that day with his father from North to South and back again.
Around 1933 Bill moved from Roseville Public School to Artarmon School where his Aunt Ruby was headmistress of the primary school. Nancy also went to Artarmon School. Bill didn’t have much interest in school, instead preferring to daydream and leading a carefree existence. Eventually Bill and Nancy returned to Roseville Public School.
After Chatswood, the family bought a house in Paradise Ave, Roseville.
In 1932 the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened. Bill, aged 13, walked over the bridge that day with his father from North to South and back again.
Around 1933 Bill moved from Roseville Public School to Artarmon School where his Aunt Ruby was headmistress of the primary school. Nancy also went to Artarmon School. Bill didn’t have much interest in school, instead preferring to daydream and leading a carefree existence. Eventually Bill and Nancy returned to Roseville Public School.
On the 22nd of April 1940, Bill enlisted in the Army.
He was part of the 2/5th Australian Field Regiment. The regiment consisted of men from all walks of life; rich and poor, well educated and not so well educated, single men, husbands, fathers, some soldiers by profession, but most who had no previous military training. The regiment's first commanding officer was Colonel Clyde Ingate. From the recruiting depots, non-commissioned officers escorted the new recruits by train or bus to Ingleburn. During this period preliminary training proceeded continuously. Troops marched and counter-marched in muddy paddocks and along dusty roads. There was little equipment to train with. On the 1st of September the Regiment moved to Bathurst. They stayed at Bathurst for 6 weeks. On the 20th of October 1940, 638 members of the 2/5th sailed from Sydney in the Queen Mary (code name of the ship was QX-1). At the time the Queen Mary was the world's longest vessel, at 975 feet (297metres), and second largest in gross tonnage, at 80,774 tonnes. Despite this, quarters were very cramped, particularly in the lower decks, for the vessel had not been designed for troops in mass. The maximum number of troops that the vessel could carry at any one time was around 16,000. |
Built in 1934, the Queen Mary had previously been a passenger ship. In April 1940 it was converted into a troop ship in Sydney, painted military grey, and dubbed "The Grey Ghost".
The Queen Mary was the largest and fastest troopship during WWII. During the war it transported 765,429 military personnel. Winston Churchill traveled on the Queen Mary three times during WWII (He was listed on the passenger manifest as "Colonel Warden") and considered it his headquarters at sea. He even signed the D-Day Declaration on board. |
After departing Sydney, the Queen Mary headed to Fremantle, arriving on the 24th of October. The soldiers had no time ashore. It departed Fremantle on the 26th of October and arrived outside Bombay, India on the 2nd of November 1940. After a 2 day wait on board the Regiment was ferried ashore on the 4th. The troops then had a hot and crowded 5 hour train ride to Poona. The stay in Poona was only a short one. The Regiment had a rail journey back to Bombay where they embarked on the trooper "Lancashire". This ship joined a large convoy of ships. 13 days after embarkation anchor was dropped at Suez.
On the 25th of November the "Lancashire" steamed up the Canal and the Regiment disembarked at El Kantara, the Egyptian terminus of the Palestine railway. Detrainment was at Deir Suneid which was to be their home for the next few months.
On the 18th of February 1941, C.O. Clyde Ingate, physically worn out by his efforts, was ordered to return to Australia as medically unfit. A shattering blow to Clyde and the men he was in charge of. On the 7th of March the new Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. J.W. A. O'Brien, arrived. As the youngest regimental commander in the A.I.F (Australian Imperial Forces) at the time, he confessed considerable trepidation at the responsibilities he was being called on to bear.
After breakfast at El Kantara, the Canal was crossed by ferry. They proceeded by train to Cairo, through the fertile districts of the Nile, the only stops until near Alexandria being for water. In deep darkness the train halted, and orders came to alight. All clambered on to the yielding sand underfoot, to find, waiting for them, a welcome supper prepared by the fostering unit. A midnight march took the regiment to a camp at Ikingi Mariut, a vast staging area about 9 miles from "Alex".
The Regiment was ordered to Nazareth, and on the 30th of May it went into bivouac at Jdeide. Training and equipping continued without respite. Full scale exercises were conducted in every direction, many on the Plains of Armageddon adjoining the bivouac area. Haifa, 24 kilometres away, gave an opportunity for most of the Regiment to seek a little relaxation.
On the 25th of November the "Lancashire" steamed up the Canal and the Regiment disembarked at El Kantara, the Egyptian terminus of the Palestine railway. Detrainment was at Deir Suneid which was to be their home for the next few months.
On the 18th of February 1941, C.O. Clyde Ingate, physically worn out by his efforts, was ordered to return to Australia as medically unfit. A shattering blow to Clyde and the men he was in charge of. On the 7th of March the new Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. J.W. A. O'Brien, arrived. As the youngest regimental commander in the A.I.F (Australian Imperial Forces) at the time, he confessed considerable trepidation at the responsibilities he was being called on to bear.
After breakfast at El Kantara, the Canal was crossed by ferry. They proceeded by train to Cairo, through the fertile districts of the Nile, the only stops until near Alexandria being for water. In deep darkness the train halted, and orders came to alight. All clambered on to the yielding sand underfoot, to find, waiting for them, a welcome supper prepared by the fostering unit. A midnight march took the regiment to a camp at Ikingi Mariut, a vast staging area about 9 miles from "Alex".
The Regiment was ordered to Nazareth, and on the 30th of May it went into bivouac at Jdeide. Training and equipping continued without respite. Full scale exercises were conducted in every direction, many on the Plains of Armageddon adjoining the bivouac area. Haifa, 24 kilometres away, gave an opportunity for most of the Regiment to seek a little relaxation.
He married Audrey Ellen Cain on the 17th of June 1950. They honeymooned at Jenolan Caves. They had 4 children; Michael Harding Talbot, Peter Harding Talbot, Kathryn Ellen Talbot, and John Harding Talbot.
Bill and Audrey separated and later divorced. The divorce becoming finalised on the 30th of July 1978.
Each February Bill and Audrey's descendants gather at the seat in Coogee for a picnic.
References
http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/veteran.aspx?ServiceID=R&VeteranID=139423
Guns and Gunners, by John W. O'Brien
1950 'The Gunners Were Not Always "Five-mile Snipers".', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 3 October, p. 2, viewed 8 February, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18174795
1940 'WORLD'S LARGEST VESSEL.', The Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser (NSW : 1910 - 1954), 1 October, p. 4, viewed 8 February, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142885238
http://www.queenmary.com/history/our-story/
http://jaff40s.blogspot.com.au/2012_11_01_archive.html
http://ww2troopships.com/ships/q/queenmary/cruiserecord1940.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn4655888
Guns and Gunners, by John W. O'Brien
1950 'The Gunners Were Not Always "Five-mile Snipers".', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 3 October, p. 2, viewed 8 February, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18174795
1940 'WORLD'S LARGEST VESSEL.', The Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser (NSW : 1910 - 1954), 1 October, p. 4, viewed 8 February, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142885238
http://www.queenmary.com/history/our-story/
http://jaff40s.blogspot.com.au/2012_11_01_archive.html
http://ww2troopships.com/ships/q/queenmary/cruiserecord1940.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn4655888