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Jack Talbot was just a “run-of-the-mill Tasmanian bloke” when he was called-up for service in 1941.
Born and raised at Campbell Town, at just 20 years old he was thrown into a world of discipline and respect as part of the 12th/50th Battalion.
For three years Mr Talbot formed an integral part of Australia’s defence – an experience he said shaped the rest of his life.
Now aged 95, Mr Talbot is one of only a few 12th/50th Battalion members still alive.
“I have spent most of my life thinking about those three years,” he said.
“The army took the villainy out of us – it was a place of discipline and you came out a man. It doesn’t feel all that long ago, but it was a very different time and we were different men.”
The 12th/50th Battalion was formed on December 1, 1936, with headquarters in Launceston and companies in Devonport, Burnie, Deloraine, Westbury and Latrobe.
When World War II broke out in 1939, many militia soldiers enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force.
Those remaining were trained as part of the battalion, originally based at Elphin Showground.
With Commonwealth laws restricting overseas service, 1200 Tasmanian men were instead trained in defensive strategies.
In 1943 the battalion was transferred from Tasmania to Queensland.
The journey was made on the HMAS Katoomba and for Mr Talbot remained one of the most memorable experiences during the war.
“We had to change direction so much to avoid the submarines,” he said.
“Well at least that is what they told us anyway. It was not smooth sailings, in fact it was about as rough as it could get. We spent a night at Sydney Showground where we slept in the horse boxes.”
After arriving in Townsville, the battalion was transported by trucks to Rollingstone where they stayed for six months, before being redeployed to Adelaide River.
Their next stop was a camp South of Darwin, where the battalion commenced the defence of the city’s main water supply Manton Dam.
“Darwin was one of the most heavily raided areas in the Pacific,” Mr Talbot said.
“There wasn’t much left of the place by the end of the war. The only thing that survived was the hotel, because we always heard that if the Japs came here that is where they wanted to be based.”
After being discharged in 1944, Mr Talbot returned to Tasmania to help fill the state’s demand for labour.
Taking a job on family farm ‘Glen Mavis’ at Nile, south of Evandale, it was here Mr Talbot met his wife Shirley.
The couple have lived and worked on the farm ever since, raising a family and enjoying “the simple life”.
It is a life that Mr Talbot credits with his longevity.
On Wednesday he will attend Evandale’s Anzac Day commemoration as one of the areas last surviving servicemen.