Notes
In September 1942, as a Second Radio Officer, I left Melbourne for San Francisco as part of a crew, namely three Mates, three Engineers and three Radio Officers, to bring back to Australia an Ocean-going Salvage Tug. The ship to be called CALLEDONIAN SALVOR, was 213 feet long, with a tonnage of 1441 tons. The CALLEDONIAN SALVOR was being built in San Francisco by the Kaiser Mining Company, with little experience in shipbuilding but good American know-how. However, it was no surprise that the building of the ship was well behind schedule. The function of the ship was to attend war-damaged merchant ships at sea or in bombed harbours in the Pacific area. After many trials we set sail from San Francisco in July 1943 - nearly nine months after our arrival. Unescorted, with one naval gunner, we sailed across the Pacific. We had one stop at Papeete on the island of Tahiti, which is the capital of French Polynesia, for refuelling. Existing as a free French Colony, Papeete was very welcoming to our sailors. So welcoming that most of our crew did not come back from shore leave. The captain eventually assembled those on board and read the riot act. I believe that when we set sail for Australia, some of the crew’s sailors had not returned to the ship. On my return to Australia, I spent the next 18 months on coastal ships until my discharge in 1945. Lewis Woolf Radio Officer Merchant Navy Member of VAJEX Australia since 8 November 1955.
John Monash (Monasch) born
in Melbourne, Australia on 27 June 1865, the son of
German Polish Jewish migrants, can be researched in any
military history encyclopaedia or in fact by just
‘Googling’ his name on the internet. His history
and list of achievements are long and far too many to detail
in this brief summary. However, might I say that reading his
history is well worth the effort and I can assure you that
his deeds will amaze you. I have found that the deeds are
better labelled on more than one man and in more than one
lifetime.
An
announcement was made in the weeks leading up to the
Centenary of ANZAC by Judy Landau, President VAJEX Aust.
She stated that it gave her great delight to announce
that VAJEX Aust (Victorian Association of Jewish Ex
& Servicemen & Women Australia Inc) has
successfully raised the required funds to build a new
Victorian Jewish Memorial after the style of the
historic Memorial located in the Jewish section of the
Melbourne General Cemetery. After an extensive two year
process, Judy has single-handedly sought letters of
support, raised the funds, and obtained approval from
the City of Port Phillip.