Roy Gardiner by Jack Lattas

 

Corporal Roy Stewart Gardiner

 

Born on the 12^th of September 1917, in Culcairn Roy Stewart Gardiner was the first of a soon-to-be family of six. Growing up in Culcairn his father Arthur John Gardiner was a labourer for over twenty- four years before becoming a glazier. Roy Gardiner spent his early years playing for Culcairn’s and Henty’s AFL and Rugby teams, in his spare time he also went down to the shooting range and was known for his incredible clay pigeon shot. In 1935 at the age of 18 after marrying Maida Beatrice, he was employed as a mechanic and share farmer in which he eventually won the Culcairn Pastoral Agricultural Horticultural and Industrial (PAH & I) Society Incorporated wheat crop competition (A mouthful wow). In 1941 as the war continued across the world Roy Gardiner travelled to Melbourne to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Forces (RAAF), however, he was rejected due to his skin disorder of psoriasis (A long-term inflammatory disease which means skin cells grow too quickly and can cause joint pain). This rejection, however, did not stop him, from persevering as Roy Gardiner applied for the Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F) however they too rejected him as they weren’t taking farmers or married men with families at the time.

Gardiner disappointed wished to help Australia so he stayed in Melbourne acquiring a job in a munitions factory, soon after though Darwin was declared a warzone as the Japanese war efforts continued to advance into Southeast Asia. A reinforcement call was made, with a desperate need for volunteer drivers and mechanics. Roy Gardiner took this opportunity and volunteered and after passing the tests he was accepted on the 9^th of June 1941 joining the 7^th Military District Ordnance Workshop Company. (To assist in the administration of the Australian army and all communications, Australia created multiple different designated districts. In this case, the 7^th Military District, or the 7MD. At the start of World War Two the 7MD became the Northern Command). The convoy would take a train to Alice Springs before driving off-road to Darwin, ensuring to stop each night to repair any damages done to the vehicles. Roy Gardiner had taken his repeater rifle and would often shoot rabbits and other small game to provide the cooks with fresh meat breaking up the monotony of army rations and bully beef.

On Gardiner's arrival in Darwin, the convoy stayed in Larrakeyah Barracks, in which soon after Gardiner got promoted to Corporal. Gardiner whilst in Darwin decided to transfer to the Royal Australian Army Electrical Engineers (R.A.A.E.E) A.I.F as he was studying electrical engineering, (Because of this he was given a new service number of VX129388). Sometime in February Gardiner was admitted into the Berrimah Hospital after suffering from one of the fevers which were common during the wet season. However, the placement of Berrimah Hospital was poor, being located less than 1.5 kilometres from the end of an important runway and nearly directly next to an anti-aircraft gun position. This combination of poor design would eventually be the cause of Roy Gardiner's death.

On the 19^th of February 1942, Japan sent 27 bombers accompanied by fighter escorts to Darwin, in the first wave of bombings. It was sometime during the raid that one of the Japanese Fighters began shooting at the anti-aircraft position beside the hospital, the fighter would not only strike the anti-aircraft position but the Berrimah Hospital too. A patient too ill to be moved which is believed to be Roy Gardiner was hiding under a bed before he was hit in the back of the neck and killed. It was on the 23^rd of February 1942, 4 days after Gardiner had been killed, Maida Gardiner, Roy’s wife was notified of his death. Roy Stewart Gardiner was described as a ‘good soldier and a grand man’ by his commanding officer in a personal communication. (The Gardiner Family requested for this to stay private). Even after facing multiple rejections Roy Gardiner searched for ways to support his country and help them in their war efforts. Roy Stewart Gardiner gave it all for Australia even after his rejections. Roy Stewart Gardiner sacrificed it all for Australia and his memory will forever be remembered.

After his death Roy Stewart Gardiner left behind his wife and two children, Kenneth Roy Gardiner, and John Raymond Gardiner however, John Gardiner passed in 1957 at the age of 22 just 15 years after Roy’s death. I would like to touch on Kenneth Roy Gardiner, who created multiple sources that proved instrumental in finding, collating, and creating multiple crucial resources on his father, ensuring his legacy. Kenneth Roy Gardiner lived a long life marrying and having multiple children and eventually grandchildren before in October 2016 he died peacefully in his house.

 

References:

¹Family, G. and Gardiner, K. (no date) Roy Stewart Gardiner. Northern Territory Stories. Available at: https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/840332/0 (Accessed: April 3, 2023).

²List of people killed in the Darwin Bombings (no date) Details of those killed during Japanese raids on Darwin, NT on 19 February 1942. Available at: https://www.ozatwar.com/japsbomb/killeddarwin19feb42.htm (Accessed: April 3, 2023).

³Family History, N.I. (no date) Roy Stewart Gardiner, Roy Stewart GARDINER b. 12 Sep 1917 Culcairn, NSW, AUS d. 19 Feb 1942 Darwin, NT, AUS: Shetland Family History. Available at: https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I456984&tree=ID1 (Accessed: April 3, 2023).

⁴1941 'CULCAIRN SHOW', Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), 18 September, p. 9. , viewed 03 Apr 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article143991689

⁵1941 'CULCAIRN', Border Morning Mail (Albury, NSW : 1934 - 1935; 1938 - 1951), 25 April, p. 2. , viewed 03 Apr 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255279086

⁶1940 'Clay Pigeon Shoot at Culcairn', Border Morning Mail (Albury, NSW : 1934 - 1935; 1938 - 1951), 18 September, p. 5. , viewed 03 Apr 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255029410

⁷Grave, F.a (no date) Flowers for Kenneth Roy Gardiner - find a grave..., Kenneth Roy Gardiner Grave. Find a Grave. Available at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182171791/kenneth-roy-gardiner/flower (Accessed: April 3, 2023).

⁸Gardiner, Ken, Roy Stewart Gardiner - Telegram. Available at: Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/841570 [accessed 3 April 2023]

⁹Gardiner, Ken, Roy Stewart Gardiner. Available at: Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/841568 [accessed 3 April 2023]

¹⁰Memorial, A.W. (no date) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/military-districts (Accessed: April 4, 2023).