Military historian, Lieutenant Colonel (R) Alistair Capp first became interested in the story of his great-uncle, Captain Ian Green, when he inherited his war medals at the 30 years old.
As with many families who lost sons, brothers, fathers and uncles during the war, Ian was never spoken of, but his story remained a curiosity for Mr. Capp who started making research during COVID-19 closures.
“From time to time I wondered what kind of person he was and during COVID I just decided to see what I could find out about him, his life and his times,” Mr Capp said.
Beginning his research journey with the medals, a few photographs, postcards and items that had been sent home after Ian’s death in battle, Mr Capp was able to piece together a story through war records and historical anecdotes.
Son of the prominent Morwell family
Born in Morwell in 1911, Captain Ian Green was the son of Katie and Arthur Green, who ran a family drapery, or general store, in Tarwin St, Morwell.
His grandfather had come from Wales in the mid to late 1800s and had followed the gold rush as a mobile clothier in Walhalla, Dargo and Omeo before establishing shops in Rosedale and later at Morwell when the railway line was built.
Growing up in Morwell, Ian loved sport and was described as a gentleman.
He graduated from Morwell State School and later worked as a bank clerk at the National Bank of Melbourne before transferring to Sale, where he enlisted.
“They were made to be in the cadets and they were made to be in the army until they were 26.”
When compulsory military service was canceled with the change of government in 1929, Ian chose to stay, joining the army in 1936 where he rose through the ranks.
“There was obviously something about being a soldier that he loved,” Mr Capp said.
“He remained in the army with only a three-year break until 1939.”
When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Ian, then aged 27, took a war service leave from the bank to enlist.
He was promoted to captain and posted to the 2/7th Battalion, part of the 6th Division, Second Australian Imperial Force, made up of volunteers mainly from Victoria.
After initial training at Puckapunyal, Ian’s battalion sailed for the Middle East in April 1940, where they trained in Palestine.
Killed under a white flag at the Battle of Bardia
In early January 1941, the Australian 6th Division was ordered to capture the Italian garrison at Bardia, a coastal stronghold in Libya.
“The Italians entered the war late in the Battle of France in 1940, Libya was at the stage of an Italian colony,” Capp said.
“They had initial plans to maybe try to invade Egypt and take over the territory, maybe going all the way to the Suez Canal.”
The Battle of Bardia was the first British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign and the first battle of the war for Australian troops.
Ian was company commander during the second phase of the Battle of Bardia, when one of the defensive posts was overpowered by an Australian attack.
The Italians appeared to surrender, raising a white flag to the Australians, before committing the ultimate act of treachery.
Ian was one of 130 Australians killed in the Battle of Bardia.
“I think the circumstances of Ian’s death have been cited in the official history and a number of other publications since the war, as they have stood out as different and tragic circumstances,” Mr Capp said. .
However, the battle was generally seen as a decisive victory for the Australian Army, as the 6th Division, consisting of 16,000 men, managed to capture 36,000 Italian prisoners.
As Ian was the first Morwell and Sale soldier to lose his life in World War II, his name is engraved on the Morwell and Sale war memorials.
