Laurance Keith Mason (NX160883)

Laurance MASON was born in 1925 in Lithgow, NSW, AUS the second child of Keith Oscar MASON (1903-1962) and Rose WILSON (1907-1928). He spent his early years in Lithgow before moving to Redfern / Waterloo after the death of his mother.

Leaving school after second form, he became an apprentice bootmaker before enlisting at the age of 16yrs and 8mths in April 1942 - lying about his date of birth so that his service record shows him as aged 18 at the time of enlistment.

Initially, Laurance was assigned to the 8th Infantry Training Battlion and then transferred to the 12th Mobile Laundry and Forward Decontamination Unit. He served with this unit in the Northern Territory.

In March of 1943, Laurance was transferred to the 16th and then 19th Advanced Ordnance Depot units. He departed Australia aboard the Gorgon in November 1944 and disembarked at Aitape in New Guinea. He served during the Aitape-Wewak Campaign (Nov 44 - Aug 45):

" The Australian portion of the Aitape-Wewak campaign took place in northern New Guinea between November 1944 and August 1945. … Although their primary role was the defence of the base facilities at Aitape, Australian commanders opted to advance to the east of Aitape, towards Wewak, to destroy the remnants of the Japanese 18th Army. … After preliminary patrolling by the 2/6th Cavalry (Commando) Regiment, the Australian advance by the brigades of the 6th Division began in December 1944. It had two axes - one along the coast towards the Japanese base at Wewak, and the other into the Torricelli Mountains, …The resulting operations were characterised by prolonged small-scale patrolling, often in particularly arduous conditions. Assaults, when they occurred, were similarly small-scale - company attacks being the largest conducted in most instances. Constrained by supply difficulties, progress was slow but steady. But, on the coast was occupied on 16 March 1945, and Maprik was secured on 23 April. Wewak fell on 10 May. The remaining Japanese bastion in the area remained the Prince Alexander Mountains to the south of Wewak. Operations there were still continuing there when the war ended in August. Australian casualties in the campaign amounted to 442 killed and 1,141 wounded. Over 9,000 Japanese were killed and 269 became prisoners of war. The Aitape-Wewak campaign is one of several of those fought in 1945 that has been subsequently branded an "unnecessary campaign". While there is no doubt that the Japanese troops, bypassed and isolated, were strategically irrelevant, there was also a political imperative that Australia should be seen to be clearing the Japanese from what was, at the time, Australian territory.." (Source: AWM)

Laurance returned to Australia in July 1946 aboard the Ormiston and was admitted to Concord Repatriation Hospital suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. He was given a medical discharge in March 1947.

Subsequently, Laurance dedicated his working life to the service of veterans, with the TB Sailors, Soldiers & Airmens Assocation as well as being involved with the City of Sydney RSL Club, Poppy Day and serving on many committees. He worked as an advocate for fellow veterans and was committed to aiding them in obtaining their entitlements and improving conditions. For his service to veterans, Laurance was awarded the OBE in 1972, an OAM in 1993 and the Centenary Medal in 2000.

In his personal life, Laurance married shortly after the war and had two sons. At the time of his passing in February 2004 he was a proud grandfather and great-grandfather.

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