William (Bill) Galton Oral History

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DescriptionThis interview consists of three audio recordings and transcripts. William (Bill) Galton was interviewed on 18 October 2003 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley Kingsford McLeod. The interview was for the "War Veterans oral history project" in partnership with Fairfield RSL
Interview SummaryWilliam Henry Galton was born on 30 December 1919 and lived in the Fairfield area for 90 years. His parents were E. M. Rowntree and F. T. Galton. He had two siblings born in 1916 and 1918. His father had served in the artillery in Europe during World War One and his brother served on ‘Hobart’ in the Coral Sea Battle during World War Two.

Bill’s education was at Fairfield Primary School and Hurlstone Agricultural High School at Glenfield. At the end of his schooling Bill attended Sydney Technical College and from there went to work for Sydney County Council where he remained, apart from his war service, for 41 years. He retired in 1980. His work there was as an electrical linesman.

After World War Two had commenced, Bill Joined up in June 1941. He enlisted in the Army at the Sydney Showground and after some initial training allocated to the LAD (Light Aid Detachment) attached to the 6th Motor regiment which was the Old Light Horse.
From there he was sent to Western Australia about 300 km North of Perth to Mingenew where he worked on tanks and Bren gun carriers which were to go to the European front. In October to November 1942 however the Battle of El Alamein rendered it unnecessary to send the vehicles so he was sent back to Brisbane and from there to Rabaul, in New Britain. It was a part of New Guinea and at the time was mostly under the control of the Japanese.

New Britain was an extremely wet island and Bill tells of receiving forty inches of rain in just three days. The work he did was in conjunction with the Americans and it entailed mechanical maintenance of army vehicles. It was not always serious and he tells us of the ‘jungle juice’ made by the Australians using coconuts. As with other servicemen who served in the islands they had to contend with malaria, tinea and other tropical diseases and as with other servicemen they lived on ‘bully beef’. There were of course leeches. He had little contact with the Japanese but were well aware of their presence only a short way away.

He was then transferred to Morotai, near the Philippines, and from there around Borneo to the island of Labuan where he remained until the end of the war. It was at this time that he was to witness some of the former prisoners of war who were returning from Singapore. Lord Louis Mountbatten, who later became Viceroy of India, was also there to greet them. He was sadly killed a few years later.

Bill was demobbed in February 1946 and on his return to Fairfield he went back to Sydney County Council where his job had been held for him. There he worked as a linesman and remained there until his retirement.

Because of his long involvement with the Fairfield area he had fond and detailed memories of the Fairfield area. His story tells of the railway lines and the dirt roads of the time. He describes the retail area of Fairfield and the business that were carried out there. Also he tells us of the doctors, hospitals and hotels of the area as well as the picture theatres. As with most others of the time he remembers what came to be known as the ‘six o’clock swill’, which happened nightly at the one hotel in The Crescent. That all changed with the introduction of longer trading hours. He has clear memories of the police who tried to keep the peace at that time.

Bill’s story is most interesting and we hear first hand what it was like for one of the young men who defended this country during World War Two.

Transcript

Interview Transcript - William (Bill) Galton - Part 3

Interview Transcript - William (Bill) Galton - Part 2

Interview Transcript - William (Bill) Galton - Part 1

Audio

Interview with William (Bill) Galton - Part 1

Interview with William (Bill) Galton - Part 3

Interview with William (Bill) Galton - Part 2

Details

IntervieweeWilliam (Bill) GaltonInterviewerShirley Kingsford McLeodDate of interview18/10/2003DurationTotal interview: 01:16:36Transcripts availableYesRightsFairfield City CouncilAccess ConditionsAccess open for research, written permission required for personal copies and public use

Connections

Oral History ProjectThe Way We Were - People of FairfieldAll Oral HistoriesLocal War VeteransCollectionMilitary Collection