WOODLEY BROTHERS

Tim and Bill Woodley paid the ultimate sacrifice losing their lives in World War Two.  They fought in the same battalion.  They were captured at the same time and are now laid to rest in the same cemetery in Thailand.

They were the eldest sons of Joseph and Minnie Woodley who both came from pioneering families. 

Minnie (1870-1934) was the daughter of Basil Hurst, who, with his parents Abraham and Ann and seven siblings left England for Australind in 1842 on board the “Diadem” (reference).  Sadly on the journey, their baby named John, died (reference).  Minnie’s mother Maria Gardiner arrived at Australind on board the “Trusty” in late 1842 with her parents Reuben and Ann and five siblings (reference, reference).

Joseph (1860-1905) was the son of Emma Gardiner (daughter of Reuben and Ann) and Charles Woodley, who arrived in Western Australia on board the convict ship Pyrenees in 1851 (reference, reference).

Tim (whose registered name was Clifford) was Joseph and Minnie’s eldest child, born on 15 June 1899 at Yarloop.  Their second son, Joseph William, otherwise known as Bill, was born on 20 February 1901.  Sadly a daughter, Dorothy May died in infancy in 1903.  Their youngest son, Charles Edwin Brown Woodley was born in 1903 also at Yarloop (reference). 

Tragedy struck in 1905 when their father died and Minnie was left with three boys under the age of six to bring up alone.  By 1912 the family had moved to Rathmines, Bunbury (reference, reference).

On 20 April 1917, aged 17, Tim enlisted at Bunbury with the 1st Field Company as a Sapper and left for the Western Front in October 1917 (reference). Tim’s service records can be read in detail at https://anzacheroes.com.au/anzac_heroes/woodley-clifford/.

Tim returned to Australia in August 1919 and was discharged as a Lance Corporal on 28 September 1919.  His name is on the State School Roll of Honour Board 1914-1919, now located at Bunbury RSL (reference).  In 1922 Tim and his mother were living at Roelands where he was farming, whilst Bill had moved to Louisa Downs Station at Fitzroy working as a stockman (reference, reference). 

In 1924, Minnie saw two of her boys marry the Gibbs sisters of Roelands.  On 3 November, Tim married Sylvia and a few weeks later, Charles married younger sister Elsie “Jean”.  Like the Woodleys, the Gibbs were also great grandchildren of Reuben Gardiner (through both paternal and maternal mothers) (reference).  

By 1925 Minnie, Tim, Charles and their wives had returned to Bunbury, where Tim was a teamster (or truck driver) and Charles was working as a motor mechanic (reference).

A few years later Charles joined the police force and moved his family to Perth (reference).  Bill had returned to Bunbury from Fitzroy and was working as a truck driver and was living with the rest of the family in Burt Street (reference).  Tim later went on to work as a foreman for the Bunbury Roads Board (reference).

In 1934 Minnie died aged 64 and was buried at the Bunbury Cemetery (reference, reference).

Tim answered the call to serve his country for the second time and enlisted on 27 July 1940 at Claremont (reference).  Bill joined up on 15 January 1941, his last address was Brennan Street, Kalgoorlie (reference).

In May 1941, Tim arrived at Suez, Egypt with the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Blackburn VC.  The battalion was part of the 7th Australian Division who successfully fought against the pro-German Vichy French forces in Syria for a couple of months, remaining there in an occupation role for a further eight months (reference, reference,reference).  

Meanwhile Bill arrived in the Middle East on board HMAT US12A on 23 September 1941 and three months later was transferred to 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, the same unit as Tim (reference).

Their unit was recalled to Australia when Japan entered the war and they left Suez on 31 January 1942 on board the fast troop carrier, SS Orcades (reference, reference) .  On 15 February Singapore fell to the Japanese who then advanced throughout what was then called Dutch East Indies, now known as Indonesia.  The Orcades arrived at Batavia, Java (now known as Jakarta) on 18 February and unbeknownst to the soldiers on board, they arrived when the allied military chiefs were arguing how to proceed at this turning point in the war.  They sailed into a conflict with no means of extraction (reference).

The 7th Australian Division (including 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion) combined forces with British, American and Dutch artillery units to become known as Blackforce to defend Java.  However, the 3000-strong unit lacked adequate ammunition, vehicle supplies and were greatly outnumbered but they bravely fought the Japanese for a number of days until the Dutch forces surrendered, leaving the rest of Blackforce exposed.  As a result they had to surrender (reference, reference).

Tim and Bill were reported missing on 7 March 1942 in Java (reference, reference).

From this point on, records are scarce regarding Tim and Bill’s exact movements, but on 16 January 1943 a Miss Elsie Clark of Nedlands heard a shortwave broadcast from a Prisoner of War Camp in Java, of both Tim and Bill reading letters to loved ones back home.  Elsie transcribed the broadcast, tracked down Tim’s wife in Bunbury and it was published in the South Western Times 18 February 1943:

“My darling Wife,

Just a line to say I am safe and in good health.

You have no need to worry.  Of course the main diet is rice and you would be surprised the number of ways there are of cooking it.

I hope you are keeping well and find plenty to keep you occupied.

If by any chance you can send a parcel, reading matter is the most needed, put a book of accountancy in there as there is plenty of time to study.

Well, dear, how are the children?

I suppose I would not recognise them now.

There is not much one can write about, so will close with love from Cliff.”

Sadly, Bill’s broadcast was not published (reference).

At some stage between the broadcast and March 1944, Tim and Bill were moved to Thailand near to where the infamous Thai-Burma Railway was in its early stages of construction by POWs .  Whilst it cannot be confirmed that Tim and Bill were part of the working party on constructing the railway, we do know that as Japanese Prisoners of War, they were treated inhumanely. They, like many POWs, probably endured illnesses brought on by malnutrition such as as beri beri; contagious illnesses such as cholera; tropical illnesses such as malaria; tropical ulcers and a demoralising sense of hope (reference, reference).  

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Ernest “Weary” Dunlop commanded the hospital at Tha Sao and wrote:

“The most distressing picture of all was seen in the tropical ulcer ‘wards’ which resembled horrible ‘butchers’ shops, filled with stench of gangrene and buzzing with flies which hovered tenaciously on the crude rags of clothing.”  (reference).

Sadly Tim and Bill were part of the one hundred and thirty-nine men of the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion who died as prisoners (reference).

Private Joseph William Woodley (Bill) died of an illness on 12 March 1944 at Tarsau, Tha Sao, Thailand (reference).  

Corporal Clifford Woodley (Tim) died of an illness on 20 April 1945 at Nakom Paton, Thailand (reference).

Whilst they died 150 kilometres away from each other, they now lie in rest at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand. Their bodies were exhumed by the Allied War Graves Commission in March and April 1946 and brought to a more peaceful location (reference, reference).  

Both Tim and Bill are listed on the Bunbury War Memorial (reference).

Woodley Road, Glen Iris is named in honour of Tim Woodley through his work as a Foreman of the Bunbury Roads Board (reference, reference).

Not forgetting the youngest brother.  Charles became a Detective Sergeant with CIB, WA Police and died in Perth in 1952 aged only 49.  His funeral took place at Karrakatta Cemetery with full police honours on 8 November 1952 (reference).

Sylvia died in 1974 and was buried at Balingup Cemetery (reference).  Jean died in Perth in 1975, aged 67 (reference). 

In memory of those who fought but never returned.

Clifford Woodley (1899 - 1945)

Joseph William Woodley (1901 - 1944)