Raymond Jesse Allsopp SG MB BS (1915 - 1945)

Born 25 Jun 1915 in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Edna Pearl (Blackwell) Allsopp MB BS — married 4 Mar 1942 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died 1 Jul 1945 at age 30 in Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)

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Biography

Formative years

Captain Raymond Jesse Allsopp SG MB BS was born on 25th June 1915 in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia. He was the younger son of Francis Allsop, an orchardist, and Irish-born Ellen Connolly, ^[1] and a great grandson of Francis Alsop, a Battle of Waterloo veteran who was transported to New South Wales the following year having been convicted of jumping ship on the voyage home from the battle.

Raymond was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Parramatta and St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. After graduating from the University of Sydney with the dual degrees of Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS), he was registered as a medical doctor.

Two lives, far too short

On 31st August 1941 Raymond was commissioned as a medical officer (Captain) in the Second Australian Imperial Force, his nation's overseas expeditionary force for the Second World War; in the Australian Army Medical Corps. ^[2] He was posted to Wollongong, New South Wales, with the (now Royal) Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC).

On 4th March 1942 in St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, Raymond married fellow medical practitioner Doctor Edna Blackwell, daughter of John Cornelius Blackwell, an engineer of Kingsgrove, New South Wales, and his wife, Lilian Anderson / Rogers. ^[3] Edna had been diagnosed two months earlier with acute myelocytic leukaemia, a chronic blood and bone marrow disease. They made their home in Olwin, Kingsgrove Road, Kingsgrove, in Sydney's south; which was possibly the Blackwell family residence.

With no time for a honeymoon, Raymond served as the medical doctor with the 2/5th Independent Company (later known as the 2/5th Cavalry (Commando) Squadron and 2/5th Commando Squadron, 2nd/7th Australian Commando Regiment), his unit arriving in Port Moresby on 17th April 1942, on the SS Taroona, during an air raid. He saw action with the 2/5th Commandos at Wau (24th May), Salamaua (29th June), Huon Gulf, Mubu (1st October), Wau (January 1943) and Markham Valley (March-April). The unit departed Papua for Australia on the troopship Duntroon on 13th May 1943.

Captain Ray Allsopp SG MB BS was killed in action at Balikpapan during the Second World War.

Throughout the remainder of 1943 all of 1944 and the early stages of 1945, the 2/5th trained with the rest of the 7th Division, conducting a number of complex brigade and divisional level exercises, but it did not go into action again until June 1945 when, as part of the newly-formed 2/7th Cavalry (Commando) Regiment, it landed on Green Beach, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), as part of the 7th Division's Operation Oboe II, and were almost immediately again in the thick of combat, moving up the 'Vasey Highway' into the nearby hills, occupying first Lady Shofield's and then Jade and Jelly Hills. Having turned thirty years of age six days prior, Raymond was killed in action on 1st July 1945 at Balikpapan. The account of his gallantry in the face of a violent enemy can be read here. Raymond Jesse Allsopp's name is located at panel 86 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra and in the Labuan War Cemetery, Labuan, Malaysia. ^[5] He is also commemorated on the Australian Commando Memorial, Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory, South Gippsland, Victoria. ^[6]

Star of Gallantry

Star of Gallantry

Following the war, his parents (at present, assumedly) received Raymond's campaign and service medals: 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945. Raymond was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches (equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry) for 'exceptional service in the field in the South West Pacific Area'; gazetted both in London and Canberra on 6th March 1947. ^[7][8] A Mention in despatches is identified by an Oak Leaf Clasp, worn on the Australia Service Medal.

On 17th July 2017, 72 years and a fortnight after his death, a review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal upgraded Raymond's Mention in Despatches to the Star of Gallantry (SG) for 'acts of gallantry in action as a member of 2nd/5th Australian Cavalry Commando Squadron, 2nd/7th Australian Cavalry Commando Regiment during Operation Oboe Two to the North East of Balikpapan on 1 Jul 1945'. ^{[9][10][11][12]} The Star of Gallantry is the second-highest award for gallantry under the Australian Honours System, surpassed only by the Victoria Cross for Australia.

Truly an Aussie commando

"TENDED WOUNDED FOR HOUR UNDER FIRE! How Captain Allsopp Met His Death.

"How for an hour Captain R. J. Allsopp tended the wounded under incessant enemy machine gun and rifle fire before he was fatally wounded himself near Balikpapen on July 1 is told in the official report of his bravery. "Captain Allsopp's action," the report says, "undoubtedly saved the lives of at least three badly wounded men at the cost of his own life, for which he showed not the slightest consideration." Captain Allsopp was the Medical Officer of the 2/5 Australian Commando Squadron. On the afternoon of July 1, No. 1 Section of D Troop of the Squadron was trapped in an enemy ambush in open country north-east of Balikpapan. Shortly after the commencement of the action, the officer commanding the section and a trooper were wounded. "Although their position was in the open on a low spur which was swept with the fire of at least six enemy light machine guns and one heavy machine gun," the report says, "Captain Allsopp, with total disregard for his personal safety, went forward to them and dressed their wounds, sending the officer back as walking wounded, and then proceeding to drag the trooper to safety. "After proceeding some thirty yards, still under fire, the trooper was again hit and Captain Allsopp was wounded in the left thigh. As the trooper was dying, and in spite of his own wound, Captain Allsopp crawled to another trooper who was wounded, dressed his wounds, then carried water to the dying man. "He then proceeded to the assistance of another wounded trooper who was unable to extricate himself, dressed the soldier's wounds, then carried him to safety. When returning to bring out another badly wounded man, Captain Allsopp was fatally wounded by fragments from a mortar bomb.

"In all Captain Allsopp was tending the wounded in the open for approximately an hour under incessant enemy machine gun and rifle fire. "His actions throughout were cool and deliberate. He remained forward even after the withdrawal of the survivors of the trapped section, and refused to return to safety. Captain Allsopp's action undoubtedly saved the lives of at least three badly wounded men at the cost of his own life, for which he showed not the slightest consideration. "The extreme courage, fortitude, and devotion to duty displayed by this officer in the face of such odds will ever remain an inspiration to the men of his unit."

"Captain Allsopp was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Allsopp, of Baulkham Hills, who have received from Major Ian Kerr the following letter:

"I wish to express the deep sympathy of the Squadron and myself in your bereavement at the passing of your son Ray. To him we owe a debt which can never be repaid. During his service with the Squadron his efforts in the welfare of the men, his unceasing studies, and the manner in which he applied his energies to the training of his staff earnied him the complete confidence and respect of us all. "I have never known a unit medical officer to equal him; nor have I ever known a braver man. The courage displayed by Ray in our first action was insuperable, and you may find some consolation in the fact that his passing was by way of the supreme sacrifice in devoting his life to save those of our wounded. Words can never express our feelings. The memory of Captain Allsopp's extreme bravery and devotion to duty will never be forgotten by us, and must ever be an inspiration to those of us left to carry on the task. Your loss is indeed a great one, and the passing of such a brilliant young doctor and courageous soldier is indeed a loss to his fellow men. We can never pay adequate tribute to the supreme example set us by your son. May I again express our grief and pray that yourselves and family may find pride and solace in your sorrow, knowing that Ray's passing was due to his magnificent bravery and self sacrifice in the salvation of his fellows." ^[13]