Family in the Wars

Henry Lockey, my grandfather, was a quartermaster at the Northam Barracks and Rottnest Island during World War II. He also served during the Great Water, but no photo survived, though one was available of his brothers.

Grandad's brothers - Ephraim Lockey is seated, beside him stands William Thomas. Both were in the Coldstream Guards during the Great War. Uncle Ephraim was a prisoner for two years.

My Dad, John Patrick O'Grady, was an NCO and Medical Orderley on the Hospital Ship Manunda during the final months of the war with Japan. After the war, he remained in the Interim army under General Thomas Blayney and helped with the problem of disposing weaponry from the war.

The hospital ship Manunda
Dad served aboard on its journey through the Pacific Islands and Phillipines, then at the end of the Japanese hostilities, to Singapore to bring the POWs home. Then he sailed off again to Japan with the vessel to bring home the sick and wounded, dropping the British and Indian personnel off at other places on the way back to Australia

James Delaney O'Grady, a first cousin one time removed, served in an antitank regiment in Western Australia, as part of the force there to combat a Japanese invasion. My son Murray is the spitting image of him, his photo is below

James had four brothers; Martin Delaney, Eric Vincent, Norman John and Stanley Joseph. Eric (Pat), Norm and Stan served in the 28th and were caught in Singapore and spent the rest of the war in Changi. They were like bags of bones when the war was over. No photo is available of Eric, but the other two had their photo taken holding a huge python with a couple of other army friends, Norman at left, then Stanley, taken before things got very rough for them