SAUNDERS, Geoffrey VETERAN

Name – SAUNDERS, Geoffrey VETERAN
Born – 12/05/1915
Died – 26/02/1950
Location – No 43 Methodist Section
Mother – Edith Mary Evenden
Father – John Henry Saunders

Notes –

Saunders, Geoffrey (Geoff) was born at Freshwater on the Isle of Wight, England on the 12/05/1915 to John Henry and Edith Mary (nee Evenden) Saunders. He was the third of five boys in the family. His brothers were George 1912, Wilfred Leslie 1913, Alfred Ernest 1919 and Percy 1920.

Geoff was employed as a farm worker until the outbreak of World War Two. In 1940, aged 25, Geoff joined the British Army serving with the RASC (Royal Army Service Corp) from the 14/06/1940 until his discharge on 05/02/1946.

After the War he returned to the Isle of Wight and worked as a farmer and tractor driver until late 1949 when he applied as an ex-serviceman for free passage for overseas settlement to Queensland, Australia. He was granted free passage and Geoff, now aged 34, sailed on the ship Ranchi from England on 3/12/1949 arriving in Brisbane on the 12/01/1950. Read immigration record here.

He immediately sought work and was taken on as a ringbarker at Undulla Station near Tara on the Western Downs. Unfortunately his stay in Australia would be drastically short.

On the 26/02/1950, just six weeks after landing in Queensland, Geoff and two other men he was working with were walking back from their work camp to the homestead on Undulla Station to replenish their provisions. They came to Undulla Creek and Geoff, as the only swimmer, volunteered to cross first to test the depth of the creek. Half way across he suddenly disappeared under the water. His companions tried to locate and help him to no avail so they went for help. The police located the drowned body of Geoff the next day not far down the creek from where entered it.

Geoffrey Saunders was buried in Tara Cemetery on 28 Feb 1950. The RSSAILA in Tara arranged the funeral as Geoff was a British Veteran. There is no headstone for Geoff.

Newspaper Article – Read the Toowoomba Chronicle and the Dalby Herald.

War Service File  –

Learn more about the Tara Cemetery here.