West Australians Killed in the Korean War

  On Thursday 27 July 2023 I had the privilege of attending the unveiling of the Perth Korean War Memorial in Kings Park.  The date was chosen as it was the 70th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula.  Close to 1000 people attended, including Korea’s Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Kim Wan Joong, members of the Perth Korean War Memorial Committee, the Premier of W.A., other parliamentarians, representatives from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, Korean War veterans and their families, members of Perth’s Korean community and other community members. The Perth Korean War Memorial is in the Tobruk Memorial Precinct of Kings Park, and it is a very peaceful setting. The peace was disturbed deliberately by an RAAF flyover of three Pilatus PC-21 aircraft from the Training School at RAAF Base Pearce. This flyover arrived exactly at 11am and the planes flew right over the newly installed memorial. T...

  Private Gerald Russell grew up in Armadale, south of Perth.  He is still remembered today in Armadale with a park in Hilbert named after him.  But in the years between his death in Korea and the park being named after him it appeared he may have been forgotten when the marble panel from the old Armadale War Memorial, commemorating his service and untimely death while on active service in the Korean War, was found in a rubbish skip.  It was luckily rescued and is now in Armadale’s History House.  https://collectionswa.net.au/items/26954f33-5871-4380-95b0-0e1e86cb7d79 In fact, Russell has been very much remembered since his death in Korea on 12 May 1953, even though at the time of his death he had already lost most of his family with his mother and the brother who was his only sibling predeceasing him. [i] Russell had a good friend Ian Mangan who he enlisted with and served with in the 3 rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, (3RAR).   Mangan was...

  Lance Corporal Ellis has an inspiring story that deserves to be remembered. There is a moving tribute to him on the Virtual War Memorial website. [1] Ellis was born in Harvey in January 1929 and spent his childhood and schooling there. Ellis’s father was a World War I veteran and a well-known member of the Harvey RSL sub-branch. The family moved to Perth in the late 1940s. [2] On his arrival in Perth Ellis first ran a milk round in Osborne Park before joining his father and brother in running a wood and ice round in North Beach. [3] After his father died in August 1950 Ellis struggled to make a living from the business due to unexpected costs, including vehicle repairs. These financial difficulties prompted Ellis to join the army to both support his young family and pay off the debts from the family business.   He volunteered for overseas service in Korea after being told he wouldn’t get promoted if he hadn’t spent time overseas. Haines landed in Busan, Korea with the...