Ruby Olive (Jones) Boye-Jones BEM (1891 - 1990)

Ruby (Jones) Boye-Jones BEM is Notable.

Ruby Olive Jones was born on 29th July 1891 in St Peters, New South Wales (Australia). She was one of eight children of English-born parents Alfred Jones, a storeman, and his wife Emily Wild. ^[1] After leaving school, she obtained work in sales.

On 25th October 1919 Ruby married Skov Boye, a laundry proprietor, in St Stephen’s Church of England (now Anglican Church), Newtown, in Sydney's inner southern suburbs. ^[2] They had three sons, the firstborn of whom passed away in infancy:

1. Richard (1921-21)
2. Ken (born in 1928 in Sydney)
3. Don (born in 1936 in the village of Paeu, Santa Cruz Islands)

Ruby (Jones) Boye-Jones BEM is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Women's Royal Australian Navy Service 1943-1946
Coastwatchers

From 1928 to 1935 the Boye family lived on Tulagi, British Solomon Islands Protectorate, moving in 1936 to Vanikoro Island, in the Santa Cruz Group, where Skov managed the Vanikoro Kauri Timber Co. As the Japanese began their advance into the South Pacific in late 1941, the staff of Vanikoro Kauri Timber evacuated to Australia, except for the Boyes. Ruby and Skov did send their boys back to Australia, to stay with family. Before he left, the operator of the company’s teleradio showed Ruby how to operate the radio and transmit weather reports in voice code. She taught herself Morse code, took over complete responsibility for the radio and became a member of Eric Feldt’s Coastwatching service. In May 1942, the Japanese occupied Tulagi and Guadalcanal.

British Empire Medal

Invasion of the Santa Cruz Islands seemed imminent. Most European residents left for Australia, but Ruby and Skov elected to stay; Ruby sending her daily weather reports and acting as a relay station between Coastwatchers further north and the naval intelligence office at Vila, New Hebrides. Being civilians, the Coastwatchers risked execution as spies if captured by the enemy. To provide a measure of protection, the Royal Australian Navy began to grant naval rank from March 1942, however, it was not until 27th July 1943 that Ruby was appointed a Third Officer, Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). ^[3] Her rank was honorary and carried no pay, setting her apart from her male contemporaries. The Japanese knew of her presence, having sent her a threatening radio message in 1942. She was unshaken. Feldt commended her courage and Admiral Halsey, United States Navy, made a special flight to Vanikoro to meet her. When she developed shingles late in 1943, Halsey sent a US Navy aircraft to evacuate her to Sydney for treatment. She returned to Vanikoro and on 25th July 1944 was awarded the Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM), on the recommendation of the Resident Commissioner, Solomon Islands, for 'Civil service in the Solomon Islands during the Japanese offensive'. ^[4][5] Ruby was presented with her BEM in 1946 in a ceremony in Suva. Her WRANS appointment terminated on 30th September 1946 at Vanikoro. ^[3]

Ruby left Vanikoro only when her husband became seriously ill in 1947. He died shortly after they arrived in Sydney, of leukemia.

On 19th June 1950 in St John the Evangelist Church of England (Anglican Church), King Georges Road, Penshurst, in Sydney's St George District, Ruby married fellow widower Frank Bengough Jones, a departmental manager. ^[6] After she was widowed again in 1961, Ruby remained alone in her Penshurst home until her mid-nineties – after having a leg amputated; moving into a nursing home in nearby Narwee at 96. ^[7]

Aged 99 years and seven weeks, Ruby passed away on 14th September 1990 in Narwee. ^[8] She was survived by her two sons and their families.

An accommodation block at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, is named after Ruby. The Ex-WRANS Association dedicated a page to her in the Garden Island Naval Chapel Remembrance Book.

Then Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Hudson, wrote to Ruby on her 98th birthday saying: "Your name is synonymous with the finest traditions of service to the Navy and the nation. We have not, nor will not, forget your wonderful contribution."

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #33271/1891
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #12260/1919
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: Third Officer Ruby Olive Boye; accessed 30 Apr 2022
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation); accessed 4 May 2022
5. ↑ Australian Honours: BEM; accessed 30 Apr 2022
6. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #18400/1950; registered at Hurstville
7. ↑ Gainsford, Jim. The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, 17 Apr 2021: 'Voice of Penshurst WWII heroine heard again'; accessed 4 May 2022
8. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #19424/1990; registered at Narwee

See also

• Djokovic, Petar. 'Semaphore: Calling Mrs Boye'; accessed 4 May 2022.
• Lindsay, Patrick. The Coast Watchers: The Men Behind Enemy Lines Who Saved the Pacific. Random House, North Sydney, 2011. ISBN 978 1 74275 312 6.
• Powell, Alan. 'Boye-Jones, Ruby Olive (1891–1990)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007; accessed online 30 Apr 2022.
• Veitch, Michael. Australia's Secret Army: The Story of the Coastwatchers, the Unsung Heroes of Australia's Armed Forces During World War II. Hachette Australia, Sydney, 2022. ISBN 978-0-7336-4847-2.