Victorians at War - Oral History Project

Personal Stories
Ned Egglestone (Army - WWII & Korea)
Ned was born in Meekatharra in Western Australia and sent to an orphanage for Aboriginal children taken from their families when he was 2 years old. He was sent out to work on a farm at Manjimup when he was 15 years old but absconded from the farm to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) when he was 17. Despite his young age, Ned managed to find a recruitment officer who accepted him and was sent to train in Bathurst, New South Wales. Initially he undertook training in mortar school and then in jungle school at Canungra in Queensland. In 1943 Ned was posted to the 1/10 Infantry Battalion and sent to Morotai near Borneo where he served for the rest of the war. After peace was declared Ned was involved in supervising the return of the Japanese to their home country. He arrived back in Australia in June 1946 and was discharged in December 1946. Without any family to return too, Ned decided to rejoin the army not long after his service in World War Two. He left and rejoined two more times before marrying and settling into army life in 1950. He was sent to serve in Korea in 1951 and saw active service in the battle of Kapyong. Ned was discharged at the end of the Korean War and settled in Victoria.	Listen to interview (approx. 1 hour) Read Transcript