World War II veteran reflects on the past

BILL Nolan was 14 years old when he heard on the radio that World War II had broken out. Remembering the first World War had lasted for four years, his dad commented, “At least it will be over before you’re old enough to go.”

But the conflict went for longer than anticipated, and to avoid being conscripted to the army or navy Nolan took matters into his own hands, enlisting for the airforce when he was 19 because he was assured he would receive further training in clerical work, in which he already had some experience.

The 99-year-old East Lismore resident was trained as a clerk and recorder (cypher assistant) before being sent to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, which had been invaded by the Japanese three years earlier, in 1945.

His role in the signals unit entailed sending coded messages to the Royal Australian Airforce headquarters in Melbourne.

When the Japanese infiltrated the allied perimeter, he also had to help out doing guard duty, with shifts sometimes starting at 4am.

“It was pretty frightening,” he said.

He vividly remembers the day when his tentmate, who was on signal duty at the time, woke him to tell him the war was over.

“The camp went mad,” he said. “Blokes were shooting rifles off. The commanding officer came on the two-way radio and said to quieten it down.”

Soon after, he came across the grave of an old schoolmate from Home Hill near Townsville at Torokina Cemetery, near where he had been based.

While the dawn service is a bit too early for him these days, Nolan planned to attend the morning service at the Memorial Gates at Byron Bay Recreation Grounds on Anzac Day.

“I never really got into it too much but as I’ve got older, I have become a bit more interested in it again,” he said.

“Crowds coming to Anzac Day services are increasing. I was never one for brow beating kids that you should do this and that, but I think it’s good that they are learning what some of the older people have been through.”