N. E. SANDERS

In mid-February 1917, Norman enlisted into the Australian Army with the consent of his parents. Only 17 at the time, he lied about his age to meet the minimum requirement of 18 years old. Possibly due to his age, he was held in Australia for a long time. He initially trained as infantry and later transferred to the medical corps. By the time he embarked from Australia and arrived in London, it was September 1918. He was put into a reinforcement holding unit and on the 17th of November, after the signing of the armistice, was assigned to the 2nd Australian General Hospital. Here he served in France and subsequently Germany, caring for sick and wounded waiting to repatriate. He would depart Europe in May 1919 and returned to Australia a couple of month later.

Between the wars he took up the trade of a plumber and seems to have also dabbled in engineering. Between the wars he was married multiple times. The first was in April 1921, when he married Kathleen Clancy, and had at least one daughter together. In March 1931, he married a jessie Louis Claridge, and on his Second World War record his wife is listed as Florence Sanders.

During the Second World War, Norman once more enlisted. This time, he was made a full-time member of the Citizens Military Forces (CMF) and given the rank of Sergeant. Initially he was employed as an engineer, and soon after promoted to Staff Sergeant. Throughout his time in the CMF, he was repeatedly sent to Alice Springs, where he worked with the 6th Workshop and Park Company. In March 1942, he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II, and then to Class I in September. He remained in his posting until March 1945 when he transferred to the 2nd Australian Hospital Maintenance Platoon, a position he held until the wars end. He was discharged on the 3rd of July 1946.