Thomas Albert Bax:
Mini Biography
A number of
the Australian prisoners of war were medically repatriated from German POW
camps. One was Thomas Albert Bax. As part of my research into the Australians
of Stalag Luft III, I compiled a very brief mini-biography. I acknowledge the
assistance of Geoff Swallow and his fellow aviation history enthusiasts of the
WW2Talk forum in piecing this together. I should note here that my main
interest lies in the lives of the Australians in captivity and beyond.
Accordingly, I have paid little attention to Tom’s RAF service career.
Sadly, I have
not come across a photo of Tom.
Thomas Albert Bax was 22
January 1910, Mt Pleasant, South Australia. His father was Albert James Bax. Various
references in newspapers indicate that the family lived in Kandina.
Bax was athletic. He won
the Glenelg Sprint in 1930 (as reported in Advertiser
(Adelaide) 24 June 1932). In early 1932 he participated in a number of ‘pedestrian
events’ at Payneham Oval, including those listed in 22 March 1932 News (Adelaide), which reported his
handicap.
In June 1932, aged 22, he
accompanied former state champion, Malcolm Dunn, on a voyage to England. Dunn
anticipated competing in sprint events in England and hoped to be back in Australia
by October that year to prepare for the world’s championship. (Advertiser (Adelaide) 24 June 1932). Bax
left Australia aboard P&O vessel, Ballarat, working his passage to the UK,
arriving on 27 July 1932. It seems he did not return to Australia before the
war as he is not included on any shipping entries (via Fremantle records)
between 1932 and 1940.
UK marriage records indicate
that he married Violette D. Locke of Surrey in April-June quarter 1937. Sadly, the marriage
was short-lived as 23 year old Violette Doris Bax died on 28 May 1937 at Selly
Oak Hospital, Birmingham, following an accident. (The Times, 1 June 1937, This
notice confirms her husband was Tom Bax of Adelaide.)
Bax’s RAF service number,
78742, was one of a block of RAFVR service numbers issued between 1937 and
January 1941. The London Gazette 14
May 1940 recorded his commission ‘for the duration of hostilities as Acting
Pilot Officer on probation WEF 12 April 1940. TLG 2 July 1940 records that Acting Pilot Officer Bax, on probation,
was graded as Pilot Officer on probation on 1 June 1940. TLG 25 July 1941 confirmed his appointment WEF 12 April 1941, and
promotion to war substantive rank of Flying Officer WEF 1 June 1941. TLG 16 October 1942 recorded his promotion
(war substantive) to Flight Lieutenant WEF 1 June 1942.
These later gazettals occurred
after his last operation.
At some point he joined 9
Squadron RAF. On 9 June 1941 he was gunnery leader and air gunner on Wellington
serial R1758, piloted by Wing Commander George Claringbould Arnold. Gordon Thorburn,
Bombers, First and Last (page 54) indicates
that this was a scratch crew and 9 Squadron Wellington was one of four sent to attack
enemy shipping off Belgian and Dutch coasts. http://www.aircrewremembered.com/roy-arnold.html
indicates Claringbould was on a reconnaissance operation and that the Wellington
was downed in the North Sea near Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Arnold was killed
and the rest of crew, including Bax, were taken POW. According to an interview
with The Argus (Melbourne) Special
Correspondent, Godfrey Blunden 18 September 1944, Bax parachuted out of a
burning aircraft in Zebrugge Harbour. It seems that he was ‘severely injured’ in the downing. http://www.anzacpow.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/22740/3853_Anzac_European_Freemen_10-4-14.pdf
Bax’s Red Cross record
card reveals that on 13 June 1941 he appeared in RAF casualty lists as missing.
His father received a telegram advising his status of POW Germany on 3 July
1941. The POW Information Bureau advised the Red Cross on 19 August 1941 that Bax
had been imprisoned at Spangenberg Castle.
On 6
September 1941 advice was received by the Red Cross that Bax was in Oflag
IX A/H (H’ being an abbreviation for Hauptlager or main camp). They
were then advised on 11 November 1941 that he had been transferred to Oflag
VIB, Warburg where he remained for some time. The Red Cross received word on 11
December 1942 that he had been transferred to Oflag XXIB since 4 September 1942,
where he remained until he was transferred to Stalag Luft III. The exact date
of arrival is not known but the Red Cross received details of transfer on 27
May 1943.
I have not found Bax’s name in any of 'my' Australian records except for one letter (mentioned
below) and he does not appear in any of the photos held by Australians. The
only reference to his life in captivity that I could find is in the aforementioned
Argus article where he talked about
gambling and camp two-up rings. He also noted the importance of Red Cross
parcels and how the men could not have existed without them.
On 4
September 1944, the Camp Leader advised the Red Cross that Bax had left SLIII on
26 July 1944 for Stalag IV DZ, where and others severely wounded POWs were sent
as they awaited medical repatriation. NOTE: this date might not be correct as one
of the Australians in East Compound (where I assumed Bax ‘resided’) noted in a
letter home of 24 July that ‘another batch of repats leave this
week including three Aussies—Chuck Lark will know them—‘Dusty’ Miller, [George
Eric Miller] ‘Hap’ [William Henry] Edwards, and Tom Bax’.
The Red
Cross enquired about his state of Bax’s health on 21 September 1944 but received
no details, only that he was due to be repatriated.
I have
no details as to why he was repatriated but it is likely it was as a consequence
of the severe injuries from the downing.
After repatriation,
he appeared to remain in the UK (Blunden interviewed him in Liverpool shortly
after he arrived) and in the RAF. His appointment was terminated WEF 23 March
1948, and he retained the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He travelled on the Orion to
Australia, arriving in Fremantle on 19 April 1948. His address is listed as 29
Yanco Avenue Bronte Sydney.
I don’t
have access to electoral rolls and can find little other trace of him during
his years in Australia. In 1952/53 he married Adarie Hunter in Hong Kong. They
had no children. He died of a heart attack, age 65, on 7 May 1975. His death
certificate lists his occupation as a taxi drive, and address as 4/58 Dover
Road, Rose Bay.
If anyone has any knowledge of Tom's life in captivity, I would appreciate it if you could contact me.
