February 19 is the 70th anniversary of the major Japanese air attack of Darwin. It wasn't exactly a surprise but the Australian millitary was ill-prepared for the event. Recorded deaths were 251 but hundreds more were injured. The Japanese dropped more bombs on Darwin that day in 1942 than were dropped at Pearl Harbour.
Air attacks in the Northern Territory, WA and Queensland continued for the rest of '42 and into '43. Neil (Poppa to his grandchildren) Roff served in the NT during this period. While he wasn't injured by the bombing, he broke his leg in a training accident in Darwin and was subsequently moved to an army hospital near Katherine farther south.
According to Neil, the hospital was nestled under one of the tallest mountains in the NT.
"The Japanese bombers used the mountain to get their bearings and would circle it at low level before going off to their targets for the night. We assumed they wouldn't bomb an isolated hospital but we always suffered an attack of the "butterflies" when they passed.
"While my army service was relatively modest (particularly when you compare it with my father who landed with the ANZACs and Uncle Ken Seage who flow bombers over Europe), it took six years of my life at an age when there were probably more pleasant alternatives.
"I was discharged on May 14, 1946, and granted the 1939 -45 Medal; Imperial Medal; Defence Medal and, subsequently, the '39-45 Star. It wasn't a big deal but it wasn't bad for someone with a broken neck."
Few pictures of Neil in uniform remain partly because camera technology wasn't very developed at the time. The studio shot above is complemented by a far more realistic view of army life in the Territory during the war. Of the half-dozen pictures I can find in the family archives, he only has his shirt on in one. That's Poppa in the middle.
Neil wrote briefly about his war service in the old print version of the Roff Report - look for the last two issues in 1996 for parts one and two. Good on you, Dad.
4 comments:
Grant
You're stealing Quentin's thunder but a very timely post and thanks for digging up the old photos.
Good work Gandalf. Have you got any more history like that?
The war history of the family gets worse from here, Damian.
I have a photo of Glenn in the Joey's cadets where he appears to be defending his tent from an impending attack from some other elite private school in Sydney.
Stuart's contribution was to get into trouble from Eileen becasue she saw him marching in the protests against the war in Vietnam. The Roff boys have avoided armed conflict largely thanks to people like our father and grandfather. I hope it's the same for our own kids.
Grant, those sydney boys grammer school kids always had a glint in their eye. No wonder Glenn was on gaurd. Good on you Glenn.
Also, how many men in our generation would descibe being bombed and describe it as "there were probably more pleasant alternatives"?? Good on ya Poppa.
Zac
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