Harold
Hillis
Page
DSO MC
Born in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia
Ancestors 
Son of Charles Page
and Mary Joanna Haddon (Cox) Page
Brother of
James Edwin Ainsley Page, Edith Emily de la Force Page, Mary Victoria Page, Charles Ernest Maund Page, Rodger Clarence George Page, Earle Christmas Grafton Page GCMG, Elsie May T Page, Reginald Arthur Page, William Robert Page, Ella Claire (Page) Hedberg, Cyril Moulton M Page and Gladys Daphne (Page) Clifton
Husband of
Annie Miller (Brewster) Page
— married
5 May 1919 in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Father of
Robert Charles Page DSO
Died
at age 53
in at Sea
Profile last modified
| Created 22 Mar 2014
This page has been accessed 802 times.
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| Visit: St. George's Chapel In Westminster Abbey |
Biography
Harold Page DSO MC was born on 8th August 1888 near Grafton, New South Wales, Australia. He was the son of Charles Page and Mary Cox. Following State school education he was a teacher and attended Teachers Training College in 1908-09. He attended the University of Sydney from 1911-1913 and earned a Bachelor of Arts and did the first year of an LLB.
Harold Page DSO MC is an Anzac who served in World War One.
He applied for a commission as an officer in the AIF on 31 May 1915 and was appointed as a Lieutenant with effect 12 Apr 1915. At the time he was working as a clerk at the Electoral Office for Richmond, Department of Home Affairs. He was 5ft 10 & 1/2 in tall.
Harold Page DSO MC was wounded at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during The Great War.
On returning to duty with 25 Bn, he arrived in France on 19 Mar 1916. He was promoted Captain on 27 May 1916. He was wounded for the second time (bullet wound, back) in Jun 1916 and was repatriated to hospital in England.
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| Military Cross, 1916 |
He was awarded the Military Cross(MC) in Aug 1916 and was also Mentioned in Despatches. After time in administrative posts (overseeing Australian participation in elections back in Australia), he rejoined 25 Bn in Jul 1917 and was promoted Major the same month. He was wounded in action for the 3rd time on 02 Sep 1918 (bullet wound, abdomen), while helping to lead the successful attack on Hamel. For this he was appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He left England to return to Australia on the "Czaritsa" on 16 Mar 1919. He transhipped to the "Dunluce Castle" in Alexandria and arrived in Melbourne in May 1919.
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| DSO, 1918 |
He married Annie Miller Brewster at St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Lismore on 05 May 1919.[1] There were three children:
- Robert (1920-45), who was executed by the Japanese for espionage (commando raid on shipping in Singapore Harbour)
- Sheila (c1922-)
- Jean (c1928)
Several sources state there were two sons, but the second is not listed on his death form.
- His appointment in the AIF was terminated in Sydney on 17 Jul 1919.
Shortly after leaving the Army he was living at "Yamba", Grosvenor St, Croydon in Sydney's inner west. He had resumed work in the Electoral Office, but later transferred to the Taxation Branch of the Treasury.
He was Superintendant of Police for the New Guinea Territory from Jul 1921, and seems to have been based in Rabaul. He was promoted to Government Secretary on 01 May 1923. Interestingly, his brother Dr (later Sir) Earle Page, leader of the Federal Country Party acted as intermediary to ensure his application was received in time.[2]
He was Government Secretary and Acting Territory Administrator, and therefore the Government's representative, when Rabaul was captured by the Japanese in Jan 1942. He was interred and was being transferred from Rabaul to Hainan with over one thousand other POWs and civilian Internees on the Montevideo Maru, which was torpedoed by a United States submarine and sunk off the coast of the Philippines on 01 Jul 1942. 
See Australian Dictionary of Biography for more details.[3]
Sources
- ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195333123
- ↑ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3219607&S=31
- ↑ A. J. Sweeting, 'Page, Harold Hillis (1888–1942)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-harold-hillis-7942/text13823, published first in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 11 June 2017.
- Wikipedia - Harold Page
- Wikidata: Item Q21538702
- Birth - NSW BDM Birth index - PAGE HAROLD H; 22511/1888; CHARLES; MARY J; GRAFTON
- Marriage - NSW BDM Marriage index - 6305/1919; PAGE HAROLD H; BREWSTER ANNIE M; LISMORE
- WW1 AIF Service record - National Archives of Australia - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=8000466
- Appointment as Official Secretary New Guinea Territory - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3219607
- Death Form - National Archives of Australia - Defence - General - Information of deaths for persons lost on the MONTEVIDEO MARU - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=102239&S=133
- Death on Montevideo Maru - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=432028&S=5
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/3173325/harold-hillis-page/
Acknowledgements
Page-4917 was created by Desmond Albert through the import of Albert_wiki.ged on Jan 20, 2015.
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P > Page > Harold Hillis Page DSO MC
Categories: St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Lismore, New South Wales | 25th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, World War I | Gallipoli Campaign | University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales | Australia, Notables | Montevideo Maru Sinking, 1942 | Anzacs, World War I | Wounded in Action, Australia, World War I
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