| Service number | VX37081 |
|---|---|
| Birth Date | 1913-04-02 |
| Birth Place | Australia: Victoria, Bendigo |
| Death Date | 1988-10-22 |
| Death Place | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne, Heidelberg |
| Final Rank | Acting Staff Sergeant |
| Service | Australian Army |
| Unit | 3rd LAA |
| Places | |
| Conflict/Operation | Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Gazettes |
Published in London Gazette in 1946-02-21 Published in Commonwealth Gazette in 1946-10-31 |
Acting Staff Sergeant Rolstyn Nicholas Tonkin
Description
VX37081 Sergeant Rolstyn Nicholas Tonkin became a prisoner of war following the capitulation of Allied Forces on Crete in May 1941 and was taken to Stalag XIIIC at Hammelburg in North Bavaria. He arrived there in August and worked in the Administration Office keeping records on the POWs and providing information to the Red Cross in Geneva. Tonkin was recruited by a British Army Chaplain, Captain John King, to become part of an intelligence cell formed within the camp and communicate relevant information in code, to the Military Intelligence War Office in London, for which he was awarded a MID [Mentioned in Despatches].
After Stalag XIIIC was liberated in April 1945, Tonkin found his way to England and returned to Australia in May. He was discharged from the Australian Army in July.
Rolls
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 3rd LAA
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Acting Staff Sergeant
- London Gazette
- 21 February 1946 on page 1050 at position 17
- Commonwealth Gazette
- 31 October 1946 on page 3047 at position 41
Timeline
| Date of birth | 02 April 1913 | |
|---|---|---|
| Date of enlistment | 25 July 1940 | |
| Date of discharge | 24 July 1945 | |
| Date of death | 22 October 1988 |