War veteran dies

Umina war veteran Mr Louis James has died aged 88 still actively involved in a protracted battle for those many answers to come from NSW State and Local government.

Mr Louis Phillip Verdun James finished a long and exemplary working life while still battling from his hospital bed.

Mr James passed away on Monday, August 8, at North Gosford Private Hospital.

As a young man before the war, he was evidently a resourceful and inventive Australian putting his idea for an application of canvas diffusers he designed into production, securing a lucrative contract for their manufacture at one shilling and six pence each.

Their use had substantially increased gold production for a small mining company close to his boot repair business located in Foxlow St, Captains Flat.

Louis Phillip Verdun James, NX 57230, served alongside thousands of other young Australians including his four brothers who all returned from the many theatres of war.

In the Western Desert in the Middle East against the Germans, he was in hospital with poisoned hands at the start of the Tobruk campaign.

On his release, he was placed with a unit which was trying to fight its way into Tobruk, while everyone else was fighting to get out.

He was one of a group of 27 engineers being prepared for transport to Greece, and was pulled out at the last moment to do bridge work around Suez Canal. Of the group which went to Greece, only two returned.

It was two years and eight months before Louis came home for his first furlough of seven days.

Like many of his comrades, he went on to serve in Papua New Guinea, Cape Moem, Cape Womb, Beram Beach, Cape Puss, We Wak, Sepik River area, Morotai Island, and Borneo.

He was then mobilized to Japan where he was placed with the British Occupational Forces and stationed at Port Kure in charge of work crews building drains for over 12 months.

That was barely six months after the A bomb had been dropped.

His service resulted in his being presented with the Africa Star, the Pacific Star, the 1939 to 1945 Defence Star, the 1939 to 1945 Australian Service Medal, the War Medal 1939 to 1945, the 1945 to 1975 Australian Service Medal with campaign bars for PNG and Japan.

He was at times a member of both the Australian Expeditionary Forces, and the Australian Infantry Forces, considered an unusual distinction by some people who served.

In later times, Mr James relocated his enterprises from Anzac Pd, Kensington, to West St, Umina, in 1960.

There he built a factory and rental shop, and went on to fabricate his own designs of high-gain television antennas, which he supplied and installed.

These items are known to be in use across Australia.

He continued his working life well into his 80s.

Interested readers will be able to find his name listed in a book "The Sappers War, Engineers in Tobruk", authored by Ken Ward-Harvey.

Louis's active service was six years and seven months in six theatres of war.

In the last weeks of his life, he took a great comfort in assurances from me that our Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 which he had fought for would eventually be resourced in his service.

Louis James was laid to rest at Palmdale Ourimbah in the company of his family and friends on Wednesday, August 17.)

Edward James Umina