Reginald Arthur Hardy (1919 - 1942)

Born 22 Aug 1919 in Portland, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 22 in At Sea

Reginald Hardy was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Reginald Hardy died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

Biography

Reginald was born in 1919 in Portland, Victoria, the son of Alfred and Catrina Hardy.

He enlisted in the Australian Army for overseas service at Caulfield, VIC on 08 Jun 1940 as a Private (VX24164). At the time he was single, a labourer and was living with his father in Portland, VIC. He had black hair and brown eyes.

He was posted to 2/22nd Bn on 15 Jul 1940.

He entrained from Victoria to Sydney on 10 Apr 1941, embarked in Sydney on HMT "Katoomba" on 12 Apr 1941 for Rabaul, New Britain in the Territory of New Guinea, disembarking there on 26 Apr 1941. His Battalion was to form the core of "Lark Force" to defend the Territory.

After the Japanese invasion of 23 Jan 1942, he was captured at Kokopo and became a Prisoner of War, initially held at Rabaul. Japanese records show him as part of D Coy.

He was among those prisoners who were able to write a carefully scripted letter to next of kin advising that they were a POW. The letter was dropped from a Japanese plane over Port Moresby, Papua.^[1]

He died on board the "Montevideo Maru" when it was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of the Philippines on 01 Jul 1942, en route from Rabaul to Hainan where he was destined for forced labour.

Sources

1. ↑ https://gallery.its.unimelb.edu.au/imu/imu.php?request=multimedia&irn=48494

• Birth - Victoria BDM Birth index - Event: births; Registration number: 22079 / 1919; Family name: HARDY; Given name(s): Regd Arth; Place of event: PORTLAND, VIC, Australia; Personal detail Mother's name: Ctina; Mother's family name at birth: KEMPTON; Father's Name: Alfd

• WW2 Australian Army Service File - National Archives of Australia - HARDY REGINAL ARTHUR : Service Number - VX24164 : Date of birth - 22 Aug 1919 : Place of birth - PORTLAND VIC : Place of enlistment - CAULFIELD VIC : Next of Kin - HARDY ALFRED - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6226916

• Roll of Honour - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1706611

• https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2615750/hardy,-reginald-arthur/