Laurence Roy "Roy" O'NealBorn: 14-07-1912 Died: 30-06-1975 Life Member-RSL 1960
LVRSL Club President: 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1961.
LVRSL Life Member - RSL: 1960
LVRSL Assistant Secretary: 1948, 1949, 1950
LVRSL Secretary: 1953
Laurence Roy O’Neal was a great member of our Club. The following contribution is from his grandson Cameron O'Neal.
Roy O’Neal was born in Hobart on July 14, 1912.
He was the 5th child of 9 born to Albert and Florence O’Neal.
Roy was one of many grandchildren of emancipated convicts sent from Scotland in the early to mid-1800s.
As a boy, Roy lived with his family at Upper Merton, the now abandoned settlement that was located at the top of Tolosa Street at the foothills of kunyani/Mount Wellington.
His father was working as a labourer for the Merton Lime Company at the nearby limekiln quarry.
Roy’s early education was gained at the Merton school.
In 1935 Roy wed Mollie Riley and they started their married life living at 7 Tolosa Street.
In January 1942, Roy enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces where, at the time, he was working as a shop assistant at the T.S. Hickman store in central Glenorchy.
Upon completion of his training, he volunteered for service with AIF where he was taken on strength and assigned to the 2nd/1st Australian Base Supply Depot.
In July 1943, three days before his 31st birthday, Roy sailed from Brisbane disembarking at Buna, a village on the northeast coast of New Guinea.
At the time Buna was being defended by the Allies after they had recaptured the village from the Japanese a year earlier following a protracted battle due to inexperience and poor leadership by the Allies.
Buna was considered vital to the Australian and American forces as a strategic base with it’s two airstrips from which they could launch air attack on the enemy, who had advanced along the Kokoda Trail.
From his war service records it is difficult to determine precisely what fields of battle Roy participated in.
However anecdotally, it is believed he served with the detachment responsible for distributing vital supplies to our troops in and around the Buna area.
While it is common among returned servicemen to not talk about what they witnessed during war time, snippets of stories of his experience have filtered through the O’Neal family that suggest he served aboard planes that were referred to as ‘biscuit bombers’. These planes could deliver food, ammunition and medical equipment to forward troops in inaccessible areas of the dense New Guinea jungle.
Flying Dakota DC3 airplanes, teamwork and communication between the flight crew and dispatchers in the fuselage was critical when unloading supplies midflight.
Flying at high speed and very low altitude, somewhere between 45 to 60 metres off the ground, the crew would dispatch the pallets of supplies with incredible accuracy.
This was harsh work for army personnel often working without safety harnesses or hearing protection.
Fighting in the tropical heat of the New Guinea jungle there was little protection from swarms of mosquito and Roy didn’t escape being bitten.
In late ’43 he contracted the first of many bouts of malaria.
After a short stay in hospital he recovered and was returned to his unit.
Six months later, in mid-1944, he fell ill again and this time he was evacuated back to Australia to recover.
September 1944 saw Roy return to New Guinea but after another couple of months his health deteriorated and in December ‘44 he was medevaced back to Tasmania where he was discharged at Brighton in January 1945.
Not long after came home, Roy recalled how he learned of the crash of a biscuit bomber in which one of his close mates was killed. He must have thought how lucky he was but at the same time very sad for his mate’s family and friends.
After a period of adjustment back into civilian life, Roy and his family moved to Lenah Valley where they went into business, setting up a grocery store on the corner of Augusta Road and Greenway Avenue.
Today, the building is currently occupied and trading as the Valley Floral Boutique.
In 1946 a meeting of interested people was held to establish a Returned Services League in Lenah Valley. Roy attended its second meeting and he was elected as an assistant to the Secretary.
There was keen interest in the community and the new club recorded steady growth in membership. By 1950 there was almost 200 members, but with no facilities of their own, meetings of the sub-branch were held in the nearby Creek Road school room.
In 1951, Roy was elected President of the sub-branch and the RSL, a position he held until 1959.
In the annual report of January 1952, Roy reported the wonderful effort of the committee and the community in raising enough funds to build the new Lenah Valley Memorial Hall which is now known as the Pat Murnane Hall.
A whopping £500 was raised from fairs and food stalls and Roy advertised donations could be left at his grocery store.
A special grant of £750 was provided by the Tasmanian Government and a further £500 loan was borrowed from the Hobart City Council.
Generous donations of building materials and services rendered for free by key trades ensured the final cost of construction came in under budget.
Roy made special mention of the electrician who wired the hall, a Mr Geeves, who he added wasn’t even a member of the club.
The hall became a focal point for the community and was used for meetings, dances and various other functions. The Women’s Auxiliary, a group in which Mollie was an active member, utilised it for their fundraising activities and the Baptist Church held Sunday services there too.
It was said that the floor was not quite level and on one ANZAC Day the beer was flowing so well, a hole had to be drilled in the floor to let the spillage drain away.
Roy was a great member and servant of the club and his leadership in the early years paved the way for what our club has become today.
In 1953, 50 members of the sub-branch unanimously decided to recommend Roy for life membership of the RSL for his efforts in building the hall.
Their recommendation was forwarded to the state branch and Roy was bestowed with this great honour in 1960.
At the time he was the first Tasmanian ex-WW2 veteran to be awarded life membership of the RSL.
In the 1960s, Roy and Mollie wanted a tree change where they moved to Oatlands. Roy worked for many years as steward of the local RSL.
Upon returning to Hobart in the early 70s they retired to their home in Claremont.
It was there that Roy passed away in July 1975 at the age of 62.
Mollie was awarded with life membership of the club and she continued to live in their house for a further 40 years. She died there in 2016 at the grand age of 100.
Roy was a truly great member of our club and for his leadership and dedication we honour, Laurence Roy O’Neal.
Source: Cameron O'Neal; grandson of Roy O'Neal.
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