May 2000 Volume 81 Number 5 "serving the protectors"
By Brett Williams

SA Cops who Died in War

small but special band of war veterans quietly honoured its fallen mates during the Police ANZAC Memorial Service at Fort Largs last month.

Uniquely bound by their committed service to SAPOL as well as their country, the veterans stood in silent tribute to 22 police officers killed during World Wars I and II, and in Cyprus.

Those killed had been granted indefinite leave from the police force; and few who attended the ceremony could escape horror images of their own war service.

Of his service throughout the battlefields of Europe, WWII veteran, Francis “FAJ” King said: “You were going in day by bloody day, and you could get fired on or not fired on. You never knew what was coming.

“At night time you were spending two hours on and two off, so in a couple of days you were that bloody tired you couldn’t give a stuff what happened. I’ve even been with blokes who, crawling through a ditch full of water, went to sleep in the water.

“Soldiers only thought about what they were going to have in their guts, where they were going to sleep and whether they were going to get killed.”

And that experience of war, from the age of 17, shaped King’s entire future. After joining SAPOL in 1953, he was never demoralized by the ugly side of police work: it did not compare with the wartime carnage of Europe.

Of his later philosophy as a police officer with “dirty jobs” to perform, King, 74, remarked: “I could always think: ‘Well, at least I’ve got a bed, and food in my gut’.”

In 1987, King was the last WWII veteran to retire from SAPOL. He helped form the Police RSL sub-branch in 1969 and today remains its secretary-treasurer. In 1983 he was awarded life membership of the Police Association of South Australia.

Elizabeth LSA boss, Superintendent Milton Clark, served in Vietnam with the Third Royal Australian Regiment in 1968. Conscripted just after his permanent appointment as police officer, he remembers writing to his parents shortly before the end of a 12-month tour of duty in Nui Dat.

“I can remember writing the letter in a state of depression,” he said. “I’d just absolutely had a gutful, and you really get to the point where you wonder what it’s all about.

“Of about 120, I think about 12 in 'D' company were killed over the 12-month period. We also faced malaria, which took a toll on quite a few. There would be some of those (malaria-afflicted soldiers) still suffering today.”

Living and soldiering in constant rain and humidity, as well as an intense craving for “decent food”, remain some of Clark’s most vivid memories.

He also remembers engaging the enemy while on operations which lasted for up to four weeks. “There was a lot of scrub jungle and often you couldn’t see them (enemies),” he said. “They’d pick one of your party off and that would be the end of it. We’d set ambushes and do the same."

Clark, 53, said he learned much about the human condition from his wartime experiences. “It taught me about the ability of people to continue in some pretty desperate situations and not give up; to admit that the mind rules the body and not the reverse,” he said.

Clark said that, whenever he attends the memorial service, he thinks of “a couple of people who died”. “It’s a chance to remember some of your compatriots in a pretty simple and quietly meaningful service, without all the fanfare,” he said.

Conducted at the foot of the police academy clock tower, the service was addressed by police chaplain, Reverend Chris Beal. He told a congregation of about 100 that soldiers and police best understood the world’s hatred and violence.

“The best advice about life has often come from returned soldiers and police officers,” he said. “Their experience of life at the sharp end makes their advice real and practical.”

Police Association president, Peter Alexander, laid a wreath on behalf of his membership and applauded the police-specific nature of the service. He also spoke of the importance of reflecting on police officers’ wartime sacrifices.

“People had to break their police service to go and serve overseas, not knowing if they’d come back,” he said. “And many did not come back.

“I don’t think you should live in history, but you should learn from it. Services like this one promote that learning.”

Held annually since 1985, the memorial service was conceived after the Police Historical Society discovered 13 commemorative plaques honouring SA police killed in WWII. The plaques had been removed from Thebarton police barracks years earlier and stored in a bag.

Of the 22 constables honoured in last month’s service, 10 had served with the RAAF and 11 with the AIF. One other served with the Australian UN police contingent in Cyprus.

- Brett Williams

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