John Harcourt Bastian (1911 - 1990)

Born 8 May 1911 in Mount Magnet, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Rose Irene (Jeffery) Bastian — married Apr 1934 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 30 May 1990 at age 79 in Armadale, Western Australia, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Zoe Cochrane [send private message]

Biography

Jack Bastian, my grandfather, was born in 1911 in the Western Australian goldfields. Jack and his brother Bert played in a band in the 1930s in Perth where weekly dances took place. Jack was also very active with a photography club and making home movies.

Jack met his future wife Rose at a picnic in Glen Forrest National Park in the Perth Hills, through his sisters Evelyn, Alice and Ruby. Jack and Rose married in 1935. They lived in Paddington Street, North Perth and had Geoff in 1937 and Gwen in 1939.

Jack served in the Militia (or Citizen Military Forces) between 1935 and 1938, and joined as a reservist on 9 July 1940.

He enlisted in the RAAF in Perth on 3 March 1941, then followed Air Training School at Pearce, WA, a Wireless Air Gunner’s Course in Ballarat, Victoria, and a Bombing and Gunnery School in Port Pirie, South Australia.

After arrival in the Middle East on 22 November 1941 he was seconded to the Royal Air Force (Egypt) from 8 December 1941 to 14 Oct 1944, then returned to the RAAF. He was promoted to Sergeant 17 April 1942, Pilot Officer on 13 May 1944, to Flying Officer on 13 November 1944, and was demobilised on 19 Oct 1945.

There were 30 men in his squadron and only six survived. As Jack grew up in the Murchison as a child, he was a crack shot. When he was in the Airforce, they all took turns as a "gunner" which was highly dangerous. On several occasions, their plane crashed in the ocean, and Jack was a strong swimmer and he was able to help some of the other men in his squadron to shore. The war changed many men and when Jack signed up, he thought it was the right thing to do but could see the futility of war, and that it does not achieve much in the end, and many innocent lives were lost.

In 1946 another son Dennis was born but he was born a few weeks premature and the hospitals were not equipped adequately and he died at eight days of pneumonia. In 1956 when Rose was 42 and Jack was 45, Neville their last child was born.

When Jack returned from being away overseas, the family lived with his parents Sam and Millie at Gardiner Street in East Perth before they moved to their own place in Cape Street, Tuart Hill.

Jack had a variety of jobs, he worked in Advertising for a while, then he worked with his brother in law in a family business for a few years. In his late 50s to early 60s Jack worked as a Gardener for the local school which was one of his favourite jobs as he found it very therapeutic.

Jack and Rose had nine grandchildren, Ken, Zoe, David, Fleur, Chad, Ashley, Kahlia, Jabin and Dayna.

When Jack retired, the family sold up and moved to Inlet Drive in Denmark with their own little jetty and enjoyed a life of fishing and tinkering in his shed.

In his 70s Jack was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was early days for understanding the disease. It was sad to see someone so clever and accomplished decline, but all the family cared for Jack until he passed away.

Sources

• BIRTH

Name: John H BASTIAN
Registration District: Murchison, Western Australia, Australia
Registration number 53
Registration year 1911
https://www.bdm.justice.wa.gov.au/_apps/pioneersindex/default.aspx

• MARRIAGE

Name: John H BASTIAN
Spouse's name: Rose I JEFFERY
Registration place: Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Registration number 738
Registration year 1935
https://www.bdm.justice.wa.gov.au/_apps/pioneersindex/default.aspx

• DEATH

Name John Harcourt BASTIAN
Gender Male Age at Death: 79
Father’s name: Sampson BASTIAN
Mother’s name: Millicent Clara JOHNS
Place of Death: Armadale, Western Australia
Death Year: 1990
Registration place: Canning
Reg No 1400338 Reg Year 1990

• FIND A GRAVE

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/237404582/john-harcourt-bastian : accessed 10 March 2022), memorial page for John Harcourt “Jack” Bastian (8 May 1911–30 May 1990), Find a Grave Memorial ID 237404582, ; Maintained by Zoe Cochrane (contributor 49427328) Cremated.