Herbert Hawley enlisted on 7th November 1939 into the Australian Imperial Force. After his training, he departed for England, where he was stationed at Salisbury.
In December 1940, he was moved to Greece and came under heavy attack from the German Luftwaffe and Panzer Army. His regiment was evacuated and were to defend and airstrip against German paratroopers. 10 days later, they were forced to surrender and Herbert Hawley became a Prisoner of War. |
He arrived in Wolfsburg prison camp on August 1941, spending his next four years there. As a Prisoner of war, he was sent to work on roads, farms, and repairing and laying railway lines. After the surrender of the Germans on in May 1945, he was brought back to England and arrived home in Australia three months later.
[Photographs and Herbert’s story have been compiled from material sent to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs by his widow] |
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