|
Philip Henry Dudley
16th June 1915 - 10th July 1977
Philip Henry DUDLEY was born in
Cunnamulla, Queensland on 16 June 1915.
He was the last child born to William
Henry and Elizabeth Anne DUDLEY. Philip
was born a few months before his father
joined the Army and was sent overseas.
His nickname was 'Tim' because of a
childhood prank involving a bucket of
tar - hence 'Little Timmy Tar Legs'.
Philip was a tall man, 5ft 11, had dark
hair and complexion and piercing green
eyes. He was of slender build and very
handsome. It is said that he was quite a
ladies' man. In his early years he was a
drover and then came to the city at the
age of 19. At around this time, the
early 1930's, he may have spent time in Boggo Road Goal, Brisbane on a minor
theft charge, although research of
prison records that are available for
the period do not confirm this.
He met Florence May BERGER, born 19
March 1915 in Glen Innes. She was a
housemaid and a country girl and her
family came from the Glen Innes and
Tenterfield regions. Philip and Florence
were married on the
17 March
1935 at St. Stephen's Catholic
Cathedral, just two days before her 20th
birthday and two months before the birth
of their first child. He was 19, almost
20. They lived in Brisbane for a while
and Leone Margaret DUDLEY was born at
Lady Bowen Hospital, Wickham Terrace
14th
May 1935.
The
family then moved to Toowoomba where
Philip got a job on the wheat board.
Their second child, a son Barry Ronald
DUDLEY was born on 31 October 1936. A
third daughter Beverly Ann DUDLEY was
born in Brisbane on 7th
February 1938.
Philip enlisted in the Army on 7th
May 1941. QX18084 Private Philip Henry
DUDLEY served at home and overseas with
the 2/9th Battalion. He saw
service in the Middle East and New
Guinea. Whilst Philip was away, Florence
and the children lived in Water Street,
Toowoomba. They then move back to
Brisbane and lived with Philip's sister
Rita and her family at 44 Grey Street,
South Brisbane. Finally they moved to Cribb Island during the last period of
the war.
After Philip was discharged from the
Army on 13 December 1945, the family
moved to the Brisbane suburb of
Paddington, where he worked for some
time as a labourer and then became a
tram driver for the Brisbane City
Council.
Philip and Florence where devoiced in
1953. Following the devoice Florence
went back to Tenterfield, where she
remarried, Stuart Warren COOPER born 10th
July 1915, he was a meatworker and
border gate keeper. Philip was to remain
single for the remainder of his life and
lived at 4 First Street, in the Brisbane
Suburb of Virginia.
When trams became obsolete in the late
1960's Philip moved on to driving buses
for the city. He held this job until he
was forced to retire due to ill health
in about 1969. During the 1960 and 70's
Philip was an active member of the 2/9th
Battalion association and served as
secretary for many years.
Philip was recognised as a Totally
and Permanently Incapacitated
ex-serviceman in 1970 and spent much of
his last years in repatriation hospitals
at Kenmore and Greenslopes in Brisbane.
He died in the Greenslopes hospital from
a heart attack and chronic lung disease
on 10th July 1977 and was
cremated at Albany Creek crematorium on
13th July 1977.
Florence May BERGER was a short,
attractive woman of just 4ft 11 with
dark hair and brown eyes. She was warm
and friendly and an immaculate
housekeeper. In her later years she
lived with her 2nd husband,
Wal, at Thulimbah, just outside
Stanthorpe, Queensland. Florence and Wal
had a daughter, Denise Maree COOPER,
born 3rd April 1956. Florence
was a member of the Country Women's
Association and a keen lawn bowler. She
was also a great cook and keen knitter
and needlewoman. When Wal retired in the
late 1970's they moved to Brisbane.
Florence died in the Redcliffe Hospital
after a stroke on 13th May
1985 and is buried in Tenterfield, NSW.
|
