Norman Rawlinson Beck (1895 - 1942)

Born 1895 in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at about age 47 in At Sea

Anzacs on Wikitree

Biography

Norman Beck was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Norman Beck died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

Norman was born in 1895 in South Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Charles Beck and his wife Rebecca Alice Rawlinson.

Norman was a Biograph operator (movie projectionist) when he enlisted in the AIF on 12 Jul 1915 in Melbourne. He was 5 ft 5 in tall, with sallow complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He was under 21, and presented a letter of consent from his father. He became a Private (No 4135) in the 13th Reinforcements for the 7th Bn, embarking from Australia on HMAT A64 "Demosthenes" on 29 Dec 1915, disembarking in Suez on 31 Jan 1916. He was taken on strength with 7th Bn at Serapeum on 18 Mar 1916. He embarked at Alexandria on 23 Mar 1916 for Marseilles, France where he disembarked on 31 Mar 1916. ^{[1] [2]}

On 24 Jul 1916 he was wounded in action hospitalised with shell shock (and possibly a gun shot wound to the hand). After a period of treatment he was returned to Australia from England on the "Ulysses", departing Plymouth on 13 Feb 1917, disembarking in Australia on 12 Apr 1917. He was medically discharged in Melbourne on 18 May 1917. ^[1]

After the War, he was living in Horsham, Victoria. He was one of the proprietors of the local picture show, Soldiers' Pictures from mid-1919^[3] and was a member of the Masonic Lodge.^[4] He ceased to be a partner in Soldiers' Pictures, Horsham, Victoria in early 1926.^[5]

Norman moved to the New Guinea Territory in about 1932. In 1937 he was engaged by the Territory administration as the Roadmaster for Wau, managing road maintenance.^[6]

He was at Kokopo, near Rabaul when the Japanese invaded in Jan 1942. He was captured and interned as a civilian prisoner. He died on board the "Montevideo Maru", when it was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of the Philippines on 01 Jul 1942.

Research Notes

Obituary for his brother Carl Beck is in the Pacific Islands Monthly, Mar 1941, p.39 (died at Wau) - https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/234087075

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} World War 1 Service: Veteran Details for Norman Rowlinson Beck for Service with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Regimental Number: 4135; Rank: Private; Unit: 7th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement; Enlistment Date: 12 Jul 1915; Returned to Australia 13 February 1917 Link to UNSW AIF Project Record: accessed 8 Jan 2024
2. ↑ Virtual War Memorial Australia: Veteran Details for Norman Rowlinson Beck; Service Number: 4135; Unit: 7th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, World War I VWMA link; accessed 8 Jan 2024
3. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72733559
4. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72736376
5. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73001161
6. ↑ Pacific islands monthly : PIM; Vol. VII, No. 7 ( Feb. 24, 1937) p. 44 - https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/234078264

• Birth - Victoria BDM Birth index - Event: births; Registration number: 31206 / 1895; Family name: BECK; Given name(s): Norman Rawlinson; Place of event: MELBOURNE SOUTH, Australia; Personal detail Mother's name: Rebecca Alice; Mother's family name at birth: RAWLINSON; Father's Name: Chas

• WW1 AIF Service record - National Archives of Australia - Beck Norman Robinson : SERN 4135 : POB Melbourne VIC : POE Melbourne VIC : NOK F Beck Charles - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=3065157

• Death Form - National Archives of Australia - Defence - General - Information of deaths for persons lost on the MONTEVIDEO MARU - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=102239&S=16

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/3173223/norman-rawlinson-beck/