Huston, Andrew William George (Able Seaman, b.1923 - d.1944)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of B3312 Able Seaman Andrew William George ‘Happy’ Huston, Z Special Unit, Royal Australian Navy, Australia, 1942-1950.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of correspondence relating to Able Seaman Andrew William George Huston’s training, service with Z Special Unit in the Netherlands East Indies and Singapore, and subsequent death. It contains:
1x Letter from Mrs L Dusting [identity unknown] to Able Seaman Huston’s mother, Mrs Violet Irene Huston (née Holness), Melbourne, Victoria, c 1942-1943. In this letter, Mrs Dusting tells Mrs Huston of the pleasure it was to host Able Seaman Huston while he was training in Melbourne.
1x Letter from Able Seaman Huston to his family, HMAS Assult, Nelson Bay, New South Wales, c mid-1943. In this letter, Able Seaman Huston responds to news from home.
1x Telegram from ‘Viley’ [identity unknown] to Able Seaman Huston’s mother, Mrs Violet Irene Huston, 20 April 1944. In this telegram, the writer congratulates the Huston family on the award of Able Seaman Huston’s Distinguished Service Medal.
1x Letter from Able Seaman Huston to his siblings, Billy and Trixie Huston, [date unknown]. In his letter, Able Seaman thanks his siblings for a food parcel they had sent and arranges for a pair of trousers to be repaired.
1x Letter from Dr J L Dart to Able Seaman Huston’s parents, William and Violet Huston, Brisbane, Queensland, 27 February 1945. In this letter, Dr Dart expresses his sympathy upon hearing the news that Able Seaman Huston was missing in action.
1x Letter from the Governor of Queensland, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, to Able Seaman Huston’s uncle, Mr I A Holness, Brisbane, Queensland, 1945. This letter mentions Able Seaman Huston’s service.
1x Letter from the Department of the Navy to Mrs Violet Irene Huston, Melbourne, Victoria, 6 June 1946. This letter accompanied the Mother’s and Widow’s Badge that was issued to Mrs Huston.
1x Letter from Mrs Jane Lyon to Mrs Violet Irene Huston, Farnham, United Kingdom, 12 December 1947. In her letter, Mrs Lyon writes about Operation Jaywick, which her son, Major Ivan Lyon, and Able Seaman Huston had served in together.
1x Letter from the Brisbane Telegraph to Mrs Violet Irene Huston, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 February 1949. This letter refers to Roll of Honour notices that Able Seaman Huston’s family had posted in the newspaper the previous year.
1x Letter from Mrs Jane Lyon to Mrs Violet Irene Huston, Farnham, United Kingdom, 5 November 1950. With this letter, Mrs Lyon sent a brooch as a gift to wear and remember their sons.

Able Seaman Andrew William George ‘Happy’ Huston enlisted to the Royal Australian Navy on 20 March 1942. After a period of training in Melbourne, Victoria and Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Able Seaman Huston joined Z Special Unit. With this unit, he was part of Operation Jaywick, in which a small crew of commandos and sailors travelled to Singapore in a small Japanese fishing craft, destroyed Japanese ships in the harbour using limpet mines, and safely returned to Australia. For his work during the operation, Able Seaman Huston was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Able Seaman Huston later died during his participation in Operation Rimau, on 1 November 1944. He is commemorated at Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon, United Kingdom.