Four: Private J. McAuliffe, 2/22nd Battalion, Australian Army, who was killed in the desperate action at Rabaul, New Britain in January 1942 - and possibly among those murdered by the Japanese at Tol Plantation

1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45; Australia Service Medal 1939-45, all officially inscribed ‘VX. 17426 J. McAuliffe’, extremely fine (4) £400-500

Joseph McAuliffe was born in Hobart, Tasmania in July 1901 and enlisted in the Australian Army at Caulfield, Victoria in May 1940. Posted to the 2/22nd Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Carr, he was embarked for Rabaul, New Britain in April 1941, where the 2/22 was allocated to “Lark Force” in readiness for the inevitable Japanese invasion. Having commenced heavy bombing of the defences in early January 1942, the Japanese landed in strength in the early morning hours of the 23rd, some 5,000 enemy troops throwing back “Lark Force’s” 1400 men, an overwhelming onslaught that compelled the senior officer, Colonel John Scanlan, to order “every man for himself” - in the event, after many adventures, some 400 men from “Lark Force” got away, but the majority, if not killed in action, were taken P.O.W. - 160 of these latter unfortunates were subsequently murdered by the Japanese at Tol Plantation.

McAuliffe’s official date of death is given as 23 January 1942, but given the chaos that reigned from the moment the Japanese landed, it is more than likely an assumed date - he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Rabaul Memorial, Papua New Guinea.