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John Cornell Whittle
1925 - 2015
John was born on the 9th of November, 1925 in the town of Dubbo, NSW to Arthur and Eva Whittle. At the time of enlistment he is recorded as being 5'11" tall with Fair hair, Blue eyes and a fair complexion.
On the 2nd of July 1943 he enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the age of 17 years 8.5 months. On the 5th of July he was posted to HMAS Cerberus to commence training. By the end of the year, he had risen to the rank of ordinary seaman and begun training as a signalman. In January of 1944, he served a short stint aboard the HMAS Goolgwai which was an Australian minesweeping vessel. By the end of the month he was posted to HMAS Penguin, a navy base in Sydney, NSW. Over the next several months he would be transferred around to several bases including Penguin, Morton, John Okly and Cowra.
Finally in June of 1944, he was posted to a permanent position as a signalman aboard the HMAS Burdekin. The Burdekin was an Australian Frigate and was posted to New Guinean waters in October 1944. From November 1944 to May 1945, she escorted convoys travelling between New Guinea and the Philippines. In May 1945, she supported the Australian landing at Tarakan and carried out surveillance operations in the Borneo and Celebes areas.
HMAS Burdekin fitting out at the Walkers yard in Maryborough, Queensland.
By the wars end the frigate was awarded the battle honors "Pacific 1944–45" and "Bornero 1945" for her wartime service. After a refit in Sydney, Burdekin operated in the Netherlands East Indies following the end of the war. The Japanese surrender of Dutch Borneo was accepted on board the ship by Major General Milford of the 7th Australian Division, on 8 September 1945 and the ship later participated in occupation duties off Borneo and Macassar. HMAS Burdekin returned to Australia in January 1946 and was paid off from the RAN and placed in reserve on 18 April 1946.
On the 1st of July, 1946 Whittle's time with the Burdekin came to an end. He would spend his last days in the RAN at HMAS Rushcutter, where on the 12th of July, he was discharged. Following the war he was offered the chance to learn a trade through the navy and began working as a carpenter.
Following the war, it appears Whittle took up residence at his family home where he had lived before the war. As of the 1948 census roll, he is listed as working as a Clerk and would hold this job until at least 1954. Around this time Whittle would use his skills a carpenter to build his own house, which he would sell in 1958 and buy the Western Star Hotel in Dubbo, where he worked as a Licensee and lived at. By the early 60's he was offered the role of temporary manager at the Dubbo RSL, eventually becoming the full-time manager and working for the establishment for the coming decades.
Vice Admiral Kamada following the surrender of his sword to General Milford. (RC Higgins collection)
In 1989, Whittle was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for outstanding service to the veteran community. He passed away 19th July 2015 Aged 89 years , and is buried at the Western Districts Memorial Park, Boothenba Road, Dubbo. He had married Johnnie and together had atheist 3 children. John whittle passed away at the age of 89 on the 19th of July 2015 and is buried in his hometown of Dubbo.
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