Info Please: Australian? in Allied Unit, Douglas Orr, 1st Batt. Hong Kong VDC , 1st Batt

Need assistance on Who/Where/What/How for this man who is on the Australian Commemorative Roll which is for those "Australians" who died in other Allied Services. If proved not to be "Australian" there names will not be removed from the Commemorative Roll however their details will be updated accordingly.

I have researched the Air Force members but there are many more Land and Sea deaths in a myriad of different forces.

There is not a lot of information on these people that can be accessed easily and I ask your assistance to fill in at least some of the gaps.

Hopefully some relatives may see this thread and add more.

I will make a different thread for each along the way as they may tend to get lost if clumped together.

Commemorative Roll - Douglas Orr

Service number: 1990
Rank: Bombardier
Unit: 1st Battery
Service: Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
Conflict: 1939-1945
Date of death: 25 December 1941
Place of death: Stanley Peninsula, Hong Kong
Cause of death: Killed in action
Cemetery or memorial details: Stanley Military Cemetery, Hong Kong, China



In Memory of
Bombardier DOUGLAS ORR

1990, 1 Bty., Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
who died age 37
on 25 December 1941
Son of Thomas Orr and of Mary Orr (nee Coffey), of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; husband of Lallie Alice Elsie Orr, of Melbourne. M.Sc., Dip. Ed.
Remembered with honour
STANLEY MILITARY CEMETERY

 

Spidge, might I suggest that with a set of post nominals like that, he was a teacher & more likely than not at 1 of the prestigious Public Schools in the Crown Colony.

It may be worth your while to check with the King George V (Central British School - as it was known then)). It was used by the Britsh forces/VDC during the Defence of Hong kong. You may have joy from their archives if he was a master their (which is likely) I would think as I would not expect a foreign teacher from the Empire to be teaching the indiginous masses.

The hong kong war diary should give you details of his deployment as he is mentioned in it. Hong Kong War Diary

hope this helps

regards

Simon

 

Birth Record for Douglas Orr:

Nameouglas Orr
Father's Name:Thos Orr
Mother's Name:Mary Cath Coffey
Birth Place:Essendon, Victoria
Registration Year:1905
Registration Place:Victoria
Registration Number:2757

Mark

Note: From Ancestry's Australian Birth index.

 

Spidge, might I suggest that with a set of post nominals like that, he was a teacher & more likely than not at 1 of the prestigious Public Schools in the Crown Colony.

It may be worth your while to check with the King George V (Central British School - as it was known then)). It was used by the Britsh forces/VDC during the Defence of Hong kong. You may have joy from their archives if he was a master their (which is likely) I would think as I would not expect a foreign teacher from the Empire to be teaching the indiginous masses.

The hong kong war diary should give you details of his deployment as he is mentioned in it. Hong Kong War Diary

hope this helps

regards

Simon

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the info and I have sent off an email to Tony who maybe able to confirm his tenure there.

I used this website when doing a thread on the Canadian heroes in Hong Kong.

Cheers

Geoff

 

Birth Record for Douglas Orr:



Mark

Note: From Ancestry's Australian Birth index.



Thanks Mark.

Great info!

Two birth certificates now in two threads.


Cheers

Geoff

 

Just received this in response to my query from Tony Banham of the Hong Kong War Diary.............

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for this. I hadn't noticed that Orr was Australian before. He joined the Education Dept in 1933 (see attachment). I'm not sure if he had a permanent teaching post, but the book Dispersal And Renewal (page 299) notes that he was a part time lecturer in geography at Hong Kong University.[/FONT]

 

Somehow or another news of his death was made known to his family in August 1942 - tributes flowed in from around the country from his extended family.

Other articles point to Douglas & his wife being succesful in Hong Kong (& Tanganyika) pre-war & that his widow returned to HK post-war:

 

Somehow or another news of his death was made known to his family in August 1942 - tributes flowed in from around the country from his extended family.

Other articles point to Douglas & his wife being succesful in Hong Kong (& Tanganyika) pre-war & that his widow returned to HK post-war:

Thanks Dave,

Great info. A very well respected gentleman by all accounts.

Cheers

Geoff