I was pointed in the direction of this article in the Mt Druitt Standard. From the text:
AN Aboriginal recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) is unheard of but on Anzac Day, two young Aboriginal boys from Bidwill stood out as they marched from Rooty Hill to Pinegrove Memorial Park, Minchinbury.
True, there have been no Aboriginal VC winners, although I would be pleased to be corrected if I am mistaken. The article goes on though:
Their mother, Bernie, says the medals
belong to her grandfather, Frederick Charles Perry.Ms Zammit told the Mt Druitt-St Marys
Standard that her grandfather served in the 39th (Hawthorn Kew Regiment) and
53rd battalions in Kokoda.She said he died in 1974 without anyone
in his family knowing anything about his accomplishments.She said she only discovered her own
indigenous background 10 years ago and had since fought to be given Mr Perry's
service medals.She said she had no idea he had received a VC.
"Back then black fellas never got their medals and no one in my family had ever claimed his," she said.
"I had to push to get them and I only got them a week before Anzac Day.
Here's where it gets interesting. There is no Frederick Charles Perry, VC. The list of Australian VC winners is here. In fact, there are only two people of that name on the WWII Nominal Roll. Given the benefit of the doubt that her grandfather ever served in New Guinea, it must have been this Frederick Charles Perry. His service details have him as a driver with the 2/47 Australian Transport Platoon, with no honours or awards that fit the National Archive criteria for display (which would include a VC).
Why would someone make a claim to something so demonstrably refutable?
9 comments:
Who can know, or even guess, what motivates some people to make such demonstrably false claims?
Pinjarra people? Pinjarra is a town in WA, famous for a battle between the local aborigines and white settlers, termed the Pinjarra massacre. The aboriginals in that area were then and are now Nyungars (spelled at least three different ways).
One comment to that story claims that she bought the medals from a catalogue for $200. No evidence provided. Ms Zammit provides none either. Where are the citations explaining the circumstances that accompany such awards?
I'm afraid that this lady is looking at a whole heap of trouble if she continues to press these claims, and God help those poor little kids if/when they find out that their new-found pride in great-granddad is based on falsehoods.
Regards
Sandi
I have done a lot of research in my time of WWII records including VC winners and no where is her grandfather, Frederick Charles Perry, mentioned as a VC winner. Also she says he served IN the 39th and 53rd Battalions in PNG. Well he cant have served in both as BOTH were in PNG at the same time!!!! The 39th arrived in Moresby ... See moreat the start of January 1942 as did the 53rd. This info is freely availiable on the Australian War Memorial site:
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11908.asp (39th Bn)
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11966.asp (53rd Bn)
Here is the list of ALL Australian VC winners
http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/medals/vc/austlist.html
The other thing I noticed was the little boy wearing the set of 4 medals is wrong. My Grandfather served in PNG and has 5 medals. The boy should be wearing the 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, ASM 39-45, Defence Medal and 1935-45 War Medal. The last 3 medals are round ones so one of them is missing from the set.
People should have to provide proof of service and relationship BEFORE they can get these medals made.
Anyway I think she must be a bit naive...surely she would realize that a "long lost VC winner" who hadnt been awarded his medals but was suddenly discovered just before ANZAC Day would have been made a big deal of by the Dept. of Defence and Govt. But interestingly she makes no reference as to who supplied the medals....and getting them re-issued by Govt is near on impossible so she has had to have had them made privately.....
"Ms Zammit said not much was known about Perry’s time in the war."
Even the authorities didn't know aboutit.
I think she's a member of the infamous Miuayga tribe.
Crumbs, I also meant to say "Welcome back Mr Sharpe."
You are right Maree. I had noticed the claim to both the 39th and 53rd Bns. While not impossible, it is highly improbable.
The sad thing is that this wasn't picked up as soon as she started making noise. Where was the local RSL in this? Surely someone there would have had the wherewithal to notice something was amiss, even if the "journalist" writing the story didn't.
It is a sad indictment on Australian society that nobody within cooee had enough nous to call BS before it went to print, let alone before someone actually marched in an ANZAC Day parade wearing a “brand new” VC from the Second World War.
Assuming for a moment that there was a skerrick of truth to this, and there was indeed a previously unclaimed VC won by an indigenous person at Kokoda, then KRudd and Co would have been all over it like a fat kid on a lolly. It would have been front page on every newspaper in the country, and not consigned to the Mt Druitt/St Mary’s Standard.
A good number of 53rd battalion men where transferred to the 39th battalion after the 53rd was withdrawn from the Track by Brig Arnold Potts in Aug 1942 They served in Gona as members of the 39th battalion I presume that many died in this last battle of the Kokoda campaign as it was more costly than the Owen Stanleys.
Alex
Alex, as I said, it is not impossible. The archives don't show a full posting history, but it is interesting that his last posting was to a transport platoon with the rank of Driver. Now, it is entirely possible that he was posted to both the 39th and the 53rd, and then was tranferred to a logistic platoon later in the war. Although, it must be noted that both the 39th and the 53rd were militia battalions, while the transport unit was 2nd AIF. PTE Perry would have to have transferred from the militia to the 2nd AIF as well as from the infantry to the service corps - not impossible, just unlikely.
Added to all that, as Maree pointed out, he doesn't appear on the nominal roll of either battalion.
Strange stuff.
The yanks have them too - see this article:
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=18988
What drives them to it? A horrible sense of inadequacy perhaps?
I have learned to shut up about the Battle of Pinjarra. An ancestor fought in the battle. Whenever that has been mentioned, some smart alec asks the question "on which side?"
I saw that one over at Black Five. They have a good term for it - stealing valour.
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