Ernest Munday was KIA 10th February 1942 less than four months following his enlistment.
He was from a large family of at least 6 or 7 girls and was one of two sons born to parents Harry James Munday and Fanny Grace Bassett. Harry died in 1968 and Fanny in 1955.
Harry’s parents originally came from Ewelme in Oxfordshire and were very early settlers in the Guildford area of W.A. The house his father George built is still standing at 4 Scott Street, Guildford. Fanny’s parents were also from Ewelme but settled in Roebourne where they made a good income from multiple enterprises – hotel, mail contracting, farming, etc.
Ernie was the 2nd of 10 children, the last, a boy, Charles, born in 1936.
The kids were all sent along to The Salvation Army in Guildford (probably to give their mother a couple of hours’ peace!) Most generations of the family maintained their links with, or are members or were Dedicated at The Salvation Army.
Ernie’s father, Henry (Harry) took any job available and so for a time was a wood cutter and moved from place to place along what is now the Great Northern Highway. This meant that all the family went along with him living in tents. The children went to a myriad of schools – today are known as the suburbs of Bellevue, Guildford, Middle Swan, Upper Swan etc. Henry settled on a job at the local meatworks in Bellevue, which is where Ernie worked for a time.
According to Dr (Mrs) Susette Bakker, the Munday family historian who has provided most of this information –
‘Ernie’s job was considered ‘essential’ and so he was actually exempt from military service, but, according to my mother’s written diary, (she was next in family line) he spent a whole evening discussing it all with his parents and decided to enlist and as he was neither married nor dating, his money would go to his mother to help her.
Well, of course, he was killed so soon after arriving in Singapore, his mother received very little, if any, money.’
We thank Dr Susette Bakker for providing the family background for Ernie Munday. (February 2019)
The above notice is from Martin Day’s brother Horace.
Please read about the boys from Midland
