Saluting the Debney family on Remembrance Day - Part 2 of their Story.

In last week’s edition, we honoured two of the three Debney brothers who served their country in World War Two - Corporal Harry Stanley Debney QX2390 and Private Douglas Ross Debney QX 2389, both in the 2/15th Battalion 9th Division. In this edition, we salute George Frederick Leonard Debney, Warrant Officer Class QX4606 of the Royal Australian Engineers.

The first of the Debney brothers to enlist, George was the eldest son, born 16/01/1910. He enlisted in the early days of the war on 03/11/1939 and was posted to 2/1st Field Workshop.

Initially serving in Tobruk, the workshop unit was divided into small sections and scattered about the waddies so that if one section was blown up the unit could still function. This was preferable to having the unit in one area and a target for the German planes to immobilise the much-needed equipment and skilled tradesmen to repair tanks, vehicles and guns. They had no planes and the German planes would dive out of the sun making them very hard to see. Tobruk was known for the daily bombing of the harbour, the Australian infantry grit, the British “bush” artillery and the tank workshops where holes were patched, blood was hosed out and the tank returned to service. George was instrumental in this tank work, no doubt due to his time served training in England on British tanks.

Not long after Tobruk, George suffered from meningitis and was isolated in a British hospital. George was paralysed down the right side and was told that he would never walk again - but he defied these predictions thanks to his fighting spirit and a Polish masseuse who did a marvellous job getting his strength and mobility back again. Such was George’s skill, when the infection had passed, a fellow soldier would visit and sit at his bedside taking notes on repairing and maintenance of the Rolls Royce Merlin tank engines.

When George returned to his unit, forces were under General Montgomery for the big push west against General Rommel and the AIF convoy drove west to El Alamein. The men of 2/1st Workshop were responsible for keeping the vehicles moving. The three brothers – George, Harry and Douglas – were together again.

By this time, the Japanese were in the war so eventually the 9th Division was brought back to Australia. The war in the Pacific was different from fighting in the desert and the 2/1st Field Workshop was divided up into smaller units with George being transferred to the 2/118 Australian Brigade Workshop. George served in Milne Bay, Port Moresby and Finschhaffen. He was involved with the 9th Division landings at Scarlett Beach in New Guinea; in the 2nd wave.

The 9th division returned to Queensland’s tableland area and were regrouping for the landing in Borneo and many older troops were downgraded medically. George was one of these. He was discharged on 18/11/1944.

Upon his return to Australia, he married Dulcie Jean Olsen and they had four children. George had returned with malaria, and this troubled him for many years after the war. Jungle warfare and the climate in New Guinea were detrimental to his health, especially the muscles which had been damaged by the paralysis with meningitis.

George Debney died in Nambour on 20/07/1963. As was the case with many World War Two veterans, he died young.

Postcript: On 17/04/1942, the father of George, Douglas and Harry, Lieutenant Douglas Debney Q224671 enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) as a way of “doing his bit” at home.

Lest we Forget

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