Pingelly War Memorial- WW2 Robert ROUSE WX7656

WX7656 ROUSE, George Robert born Pingelly 1914 to George Henry and Harriet Lucy Rouse.  He was one of eight children.   He enlisted with AIF 10 Aug 1940 and later joined 2/4th’s ‘D’ Company 15 Platoon under Commanding Officer Lt Meiklejohn.

‘D’ Company was sent to the north west coast to defend Singapore, part of AIF 22nd Brigade.  The machine gunners of ‘D’ Company, including Meiklejohn’s Platoon was on the front line of the Japanese invasion on the night of 8 Feb 1942. 13,000-15,000 Japanese overran 3,000 Australians.    Meiklejohn and several of his men were killed.  The Japanese greatly outnumbered the sparsely located machine-gunners.

Rouse was captured on the 8th, then during an attempt to escape was shot and killed by the Japanese.   He was 27 years of age.  Please read about the men of 15 Platoon

George Rouse left behind his widowed wife Hannah and his young son Robert as well as his parents and siblings to mourn him.

George married 1940 at Northam to Hannah Jemina Nora Neale.  Hannah is sister to Stanley Edward Neale WX9260 attached to 2/4th MGB as member of 88 Light Aid Detachment. Stan enlisted October 1940.  He was taken with ‘B’ Force to Borneo from Singapore July 1942 and died 1945 – one of the brave men from Sandakan who lost their lives and one of 72 Machine Gunners to die.

George’s father George Henry had died young of illness at the age of 44 years in 1921.

Harriet Lucy Rouse remarried 1934 Beverley to William Millwood.  The Millwoods initially resided in Pingelly.  William Millwood died 1949 Bayswater.  Harriett Lucy died 1965 Bayswater.

A family tragedy occurred in 1932, when Harriet’s second youngest son Arthur, and young brother to George drowned at Point Walter in 1932 during a family holiday. Arthur was 13 years old.