Arthur Leslie Varley (1893-1944) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Brigadier Arthur Leslie Varley

Born 13 Oct 1893 in Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia)

Son of William A Varley and Elizabeth Eden (Stubbin) Varley

[sibling(s) unknown]

Husband of Linda Adelaide (Middleton) Varley — married 1919 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Ethel (Stevens) Varley — married 1926 in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia

Father of John Ashton Varley, Robert Ashton Varley and [private daughter (1920s - unknown)]

Died 13 Sep 1944 at age 50 in At Sea

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Profile last modified 24 Feb 2024 | Created 2 Aug 2017

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Biography

Brigadier Arthur Leslie Varley MC & Bar was born on 13th October 1893 in Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia). He was the son of William Varley and Elizabeth Stubbin. ^[1]

Arthur Varley is an Anzac who served in World War One.

On 24th August 1915 Arthur enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, his young nation's overseas expeditionary force for the (First World) War. ^[2] He embarked for the Middle East at Sydney on 13th October 1915 aboard HMAT Port Lincoln A17. He was then a Private in the 13th Australian Infantry Battalion, 9 to 12th re-inforcements. Commissioned as a Lieutenant on 12th March 1916 and posted to the 45th Battalion, he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for gallantry in June 1917. ^[3] He was later awarded a Bar to his Cross for a further act of valour in August 1918. ^[4] He was Mentioned in Despatches, equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry in March 1919 whilst seconded to Headquarters, 12th Infantry Brigade. ^[5] He returned to Australia 16th June 1919 with the rank of Captain. ^[2]

The war behind him, Arthur married Linda Middleton in 1919 in Armidale, New South Wales. ^[6] They had two sons.

Arthur married once more, to Ethel Stevens, in 1926 in Randwick, New South Wales. ^[7] They had a daughter.

Brigadier Arthur Varley died while a prisoner of war during the Second World War.

Re-mobilised in 1939 as a temporary Lieutenant Colonel, Arthur transferred to the Second Australian Imperial Force. ^[8] In July 1940 he was appointed commanding officer of the 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion, a unit in the 22nd Infantry Brigade, 8th Division. He arrived in Singapore with his battalion in February 1941. On 31st January 1942, in the heat of battle in Malaya he was appointed administrator of 22nd Brigade and commander of the brigade on 12th February. On 15th February, the entire 8th Division was ordered to surrender and Varley went into captivity at the sprawling Changi Prison complex. In May 1942 he was moved to another prison camp in Burma. Whilst being moved fo Formosa (Taiwan) aboard the converted Japanese passenger ship / freighter, Rakuyō Maru, Arthur died on 13th September 1944, after it was torpedoed and sunk in the Luzon Strait by the United States Submarine Sealion. He was one of 1,159 POWs killed (Japanese survivors were rescued by an escort ship whilst the POWs were left in the water). A further 950 POWs were aboard the Kachidoki Maru, sunk at the same time. Half of those died also. ^[9] Arthur was Mentioned in Despatches once more in 1946, posthumously. ^[10]

Arthur Leslie Varley's name is located at panel 12 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. He is also commemorated at the Labuan Memorial, Labuan, Malaysia. ^[11]

Sources

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Arthur Leslie Varley (1893 - 1944)

Biography

Sources

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