Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War II (1939-1945)

Date of Enlistment

14/07/1942

Date of Discharge

09/11/1945

Place of Enlistment

Canberra ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

23/05/1919

Place of Birth

Hobart, Tasmania

Address (at enlistment)

Gorman House, Braddon ACT

Occupation

Public servant

Next of Kin

Alfred Richards (father), Edgecliff Road, Woollahra NSW

Service Number

NX128785 (N43006)

Final Rank

Captain

Final Unit

3 Battalion

When Don Richards arrived in Canberra to work for the Department of the Interior he lived at Gorman House. He joined the militia in Canberra in July 1937, was mobilised with the 3rd Battalion on 5 January 1940 and arrived in Port Moresby as a lieutenant in the Battalion on 29 May 1942. A week later he was in hospital with the measles along with more than a hundred men from the 3rd Battalion as an epidemic swept their camp outside Port Moresby. Like most militiamen, Richards spent his time in labouring duties around the port and building defences and occasionally taking part in military exercises.

Richards enlisted in the AIF on 14 July 1942 and entered the Kokoda Track as part of Maroubra Force on 8 September 1942. He served with 16 Platoon, D Company of the 3rd Battalion at Ioribaiwa, Imita, Templetons Crossing, Oivi and at Gona where he was wounded twice during November 1942. He returned to Australia in January 1943 to marry Moya Kavanagh on 16 January at St. Christopher's in Manuka. When the 3rd Battalion was disbanded he joined the 2/3 Battalion, but after recovering from malaria he was seconded to the 2/5 Battalion. Richards was promoted to Captain in February 1945 with the 2/5 Battalion and served in the Aitape - Wewak campaign in New Guinea including in the Torricelli Mountains. After the war he and his wife lived in Wise Street, Braddon. He died on 18 June 1964 and is buried in Woden Cemetery.

Description - height 5 feet 7 inches, weight 150 pounds, chest 37.5-40 inches, medium complexion, brown eyes, dark hair, Catholic.

WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
ACT Electoral Rolls 1916 to 1967 http://canberraheritageportal.org/default.php
NAA RecordSearch - Series B883 (Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947)
Canberra Public Cemeteries http://www.canberracemeteries.com.au/cem_gravesearch.asp
Colin Kennedy, 'Port Moresby to Gona Beach. 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion 1942', 1992
The Canberra Times - 25 November 1941, 15 January 1943, 17 February 1943, 21 June 1944