Description

For sale – set of medals to a hospital orderly who was taken prisoner in Athens, Greece, as a result of staying behind to care for the Australian sick and wounded in 1941.

1939 -45 Star with unofficial clasp GREECE, Defence and War Medals (1939 – 45), Australian Service Medal 1939 – 45, all named NX19640 J. WESTWATER. Court mounted for display it comes with original medal award documents and copies of service records, P.O.W. card and newspaper articles with picture.

John Westwater was born on 5/2/1902 in Ryde, New South Wales. On the outbreak of WW2 he was working as a wardsman when he enlisted at Paddington, N.S.W. into the 2/5th Australian General Hospital on 3/6/1940.

The 2/5th A.G.H was formed in May – June 1940, to be a completely self-contained hospital of about 1200 beds, fully equipped with operating theatres, wards, staff quarters and all ancillary items, together with tents to house them. He sailed with the main body of the hospital staff sailed for the middle east on 20 Oct 1940 aboard the HMT Queen Mary to Bombay, India where they transhipped to smaller vessels for the trip to Palestine. On arrival on 25/11/1940 they set up hospital in Rehovot.

Deployed to Greece and P.O.W.

On 4/4/1941 he deployed with the hospital to Ekali in Greece and within 3 days was fully operational receiving casualties from northern Greece. Quickly the military situation became untenable and all female staff and many of the male staff were evacuated to Egypt, while the 165 male staff left behind continued to look after their patients until they became POWs. As those patients recovered the staff were sent to various parts of occupied Europe, mostly to POW camps in Poland. 128 were repatriated to Australia in October 1943, leaving 36 still in Europe.

Westwater was reported ‘missing in action’ on 21/5/1940 being confirmed P.O.W. on 1/6/1941 being held at Stalag XXa in Torun, Poland.

He was part of a prisoner exchange being repatriated to England via Sweden in October 1943 and from there to Australia and discharge on 24/8/1944. Post war he returned to nursing and died on 31/5/1986 in Gladesville, New South Wales.