Family Histories

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PORTEOUS Archie Alfred

Archie was the youngest of nine siblings who moved to Gnowangerup in 1904 with their parents William (Bill) and Ellen Mary Porteous from the Echunga area of South Australia. They took up land on the south side of town and were soon joined by Bill’s brother Robert (Bob), his wife Alice and their nine children.
The Great War (1914-1918) saw Archie’s brother Laurie (20) join the AIF in July 1915 and saw action in France with the 60th Battalion before returning to Australia in December 1917.
In February 1916 another brother, Roy Edgar (22) and his cousin Roy Albert (22) set off on their war time experience. Both joined the 10th Australian Light Horse before embarking together to Egypt where they were transferred into the Imperial Camel Brigade. Roy Albert succumbs to an existing heart condition and was forced to return home nine months later. The Camel Corps disbanded in July 1918 and Roy Edgar was transferred to the 15th ALH and returned to Australia in March 1919.
It is strongly believed that the stories of adventure that these three brought back from The Great War duly impressed the young Archie of 17yrs. How impressed was to come out later when joining the 2nd AIF in 1940.
Not a lot is known of the early years of Archie other that his mother passed away in November 1938 and that he was employed at the Hospital as an Orderly from 1935-1940 before enlisting in the AIF.

ARCHIE ALFREC PORTEOUS              #1
As an Orderly he lived at the Hospital and not only helped attend to patient care but was a very keen gardener and the produce was used at the Hospital. Also related recently was that it was not beyond the role of Orderly to milk the cow for a fresh supply of milk for staff and patients.
Archie was very close to his sister, Mrs Ethel Black, who regularly provided him with his evening meals at her boarding house in the main street of Gnowangerup.
On the 12th July 1940 Archie travelled to Katanning to enlist into the AIF.
On the first attempt to join up the Attestation Form shows that he changed his birth date to 1905 so he met the criteria of being 35 yrs old, the maximum age to join. It also showed his occupation as an Orderly and living at the Hospital. It appears that his first application was rejected.
Not deterred he amended the form to now show that he was a Cook and lived at Box 7, Gnowangerup. The form was presented at Claremont recruitment depot and accepted on the 28th Nov 1940.
Archie spent the next 3 months training at Northam Army Camp and was attached to the 4th Reserve Motor Transport Company prior to embarkation to Singapore arriving in April 1941.
Illness plagued Archie. He was in and out of Hospital suffering from Hepatitis, Pleurisy and Pneumonia before he found his feet and was “Taken on Strength” with the 4th RMT Company in December 1941.
 

   A.I.F. 4 Res, M.T.Coy., AUSTRALIAN ARMY CORPS          #2
ARCHIE PORTEOUS IS 6th FROM LEFT IN SECOND ROW
 
After the fall of Singapore in Feb. 1942 the Australian Forces, now POW’s, were progressively moved to Sandakan, Borneo.
Archie arrived in Sandakan on board the Ubi Maru in July ’42 with about 1500 other men.
Reading related books and cross referencing with Archie's records he would have arrived in Sandakan in July 1942 to be treated reasonably good until the arrival of the new Formosan guards in April 1943. This is when the food became less and beatings became a daily occurrence.
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on you view of life, Archie died of Beri Beri on the 3rd November 1944 prior to the complete loss of rations in January 1945 and the start of the now infamous death marches.
The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of three forced marches from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of more than 3,600 Indonesian civilian slave labourers and 2,400 Allied prisoners of war held captive by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II at prison camps in North Borneo.
 


 LABUAN WAR CEMETARY          #

By the end of the war, of all the prisoners who had been incarcerated at Sandakan and Ranau, only 6 Australians survived, all of whom had escaped. It is widely considered to be the single worst atrocity suffered by Australian servicemen during the Second World War.
Due to a combination of a lack of food and brutal treatment at the hands of the Japanese, there were only 38 prisoners left alive at Ranau by the end of July.
All were too unwell and weak to do any work, and it was ordered that any remaining survivors should be shot.
They were killed by the guards during August, possibly up to 12 days after the end of the war on August 14 1945.[2]. Remembering Sandakan: 1945-1999
This was a tragic death of a loved and respected community member, Lest We Forget.
William Porteous died on the 9th February 1943 in Albany WA”.

 

The portrait above is a photo of the portrait which was held at the Gnowangerup Hospital the Hospital waiting room, positioned by request of both his parents and the Gnowangerup RSL. It remained at the hospital until around 2012 when it was removed during renovations and passed to a family member.

Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.

 

References:                 Article:    Kevin Porteous.

                                  Image:  1, 2, 3       Kevin Porteous.

 

Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2024