College updating war honour boards
October 17, 2016
Over the past two years, College Archivist Catriona Banks has been collecting names of SPC’s Old Collegians who have served in the armed forces since WWII, in order to update- honour boards in the College Chapel.
One Old Boy to recently get in touch and add his name to our records is Trenton (Trent) Prince (SPC 1985-1989 (PY1990)), pictured above in a 1989 College class photo. Trent left SPC after completing Year 11 to join the Australian armed forces. He served as a Gunner with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Cambodia, and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for his actions, many of which are described on the Australian War Memorial website as follows.
-Gunner Trenton Prince
As a radio operator with the United Nations operation in Cambodia, Gunner Trenton Prince met both human suffering and danger. On one occasion he came upon a local truck which had careered out of control over a cliff. Prince took charge and organised the rescue and evacuation of the severely injured passengers, gave them first aid and accompanied them to hospital. For this he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross.
In August 1993, Prince was with a group staffing a post on the Thai-Cambodian border when they were attacked by Khmer Rouge forces. Smashing his radios with a screwdriver to avoid them falling into Khmer Rouge hands, Prince joined his observer team in beating a strategic retreat. They could not go far as the surrounding roads had been mined, and ended up as captives of the Khmer Rouge for eight hours. Prince had kept a hand-held radio, but whenever a call came through from headquarters trying to find out what was happening, he would get a kick or a punch from a young Khmer Rouge soldier.
Whatever the temptations, the Khmer Rouge soldiers did not want to kill a group of United Nations peacekeepers in cold blood. So, in the end they allowed the group to be evacuated into Thailand by local Thai soldiers (who seemed to Prince to be acting more or less in concert with the Khmer Rouge). Two days later Thailand allowed UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia) to send a helicopter to pick them up.-
To read more, click on- this link– and this link
Catriona would be very happy to hear from other Old Collegians whose names are not listed, so they can be added before the honour board updates are organised later this year. Catriona can be contacted on 5331 1688, or by email at cbanks@stpats.vic.edu.au
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Listed below are the names of Old Collegians who have served in the armed forces since WWII that Catriona has received so far:
Surname |
Initials |
SPC Start |
SPC End |
Where Served |
Baker |
B J |
1962 |
1964 (PY1966) |
Vietnam |
Bassett |
P R |
1983 |
1988 |
Afghanistan, Iraq |
Beckerath |
L F |
1962 |
1964 (PY1965) |
Vietnam |
Benson |
M J |
1957 |
1961 (PY1962) |
Vietnam |
Brisbane |
W S |
1958 |
1960 |
Vietnam |
Cain (Cox-Sutton) |
M |
1971 |
1972 (PY1973) |
East Timor, Afghanistan; Iraq |
Callinan |
J T |
– | – |
Malaya |
Case |
B J |
1962 |
1964 (PY1966) |
Vietnam |
Cates |
S H |
1990 |
1991 |
Afghanistan |
Costigan |
D J |
1961 |
1966 |
Vietnam |
Crawley (Navarre) |
P N |
1961 |
1967 |
Vietnam |
Crough |
P J |
1957 |
1962 |
Vietnam |
Crowe |
A T |
1959 |
1963 |
Vietnam |
Cullinan |
M J |
1961 |
1961 (PY1966) |
Vietnam |
Day |
P |
1959 |
1961 (PY1964) |
Vietnam |
Diddams |
B F |
1988 |
1989 |
Afghanistan |
Dihm |
A M |
1989 |
1994 |
Iraq |
Elliott |
M L |
1974 |
1979 |
Iraq |
Every |
M W |
1987 |
1992 |
East Timor- |
Firns |
B J |
1955 |
1960 (PY1964) |
Vietnam |
Flynn |
A J |
1951 |
1952 (PY1956) |
Vietnam |
Gallagher |
J |
– | – |
Korea |
Greer |
G |
1951 |
1955 |
Indonesia, Vietnam |
Hanuszewicz |
S- |
1957 |
1962 |
Vietnam |
Heenan |
P D |
1963 |
1965 (PY1966) |
Vietnam |
Kemp |
J W |
1951 |
1953 |
Vietnam |
Liston |
B J |
1990 |
1995 |
Iraq |
Long |
R C |
1958 |
1963 |
Vietnam |
Lyons |
D J |
1957 |
1961 (PY1962) |
Borneo |
Mahar |
D J |
1961 |
1962 (PY1965) |
Vietnam |
Mahar |
N F |
1958 |
1962 (PY1963) |
Vietnam |
McCarthy |
J J |
– | – |
Korea |
McIntyre |
I T |
1962 |
1962 |
Vietnam |
Moylan |
F J |
1952 |
1953 |
Vietnam |
Nolan |
H J |
1938 |
1948 |
Vietnam |
Nolen |
B H |
1947 |
1948 (PY1949) |
Vietnam |
Pardoel |
P M |
1982 |
1987 |
Iraq |
Penny |
B L |
1955 |
1960 (PY1961) |
Vietnam |
Penny |
R J |
1957 |
1961 (PY1963) |
Vietnam, Malaya |
Prince |
T J |
1985 |
1989 (PY1990) |
Cambodia |
Rintoul |
C B |
1960 |
1964 (PY1965) |
Vietnam |
Robinson |
M R |
1944 |
1947 |
Malaya |
Ryan |
T M |
1964 |
1968 |
Vietnam |
Sarteschi |
J |
1959 |
1962 |
Vietnam |
Simpson |
L M |
1994 |
1999 |
Afghanistan; Iraq |
Slockwitch |
G T |
1951 |
1956 (PY1957) |
Vietnam |
Smith |
K L |
1958 |
1963 |
Vietnam |
Smith |
M J |
1960 |
1962 (PY1963) |
Vietnam |
Tierney |
F M |
1962 |
1968 |
Vietnam |
Walsh |
B P |
1959 |
1963 (PY1964) |
Vietnam |
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