THE memory of a young Mid North Coast soldier who died as a prisoner of war in the final months of World War II was honoured in a deeply moving ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra last week.
Keith and Paula Buckley attended the Last Post Ceremony on Friday 20 February to pay tribute to Private Victor Harold Pride, known to his family as Harold, who died at Sandakan in Borneo in May 1945 at just 24 years of age.
Private Pride was Keith’s uncle and a local man from Rhones Creek, Talarm.
Keith had applied more than two years ago for his uncle to be commemorated in the daily ceremony, making the occasion especially meaningful for the family when it was finally realised.
In addition to a number of Private Pride’s family attending, “Nambucca ANZACs” author Trevor Lynch and Macksville RSL sub-Branch president Garry McKay were also present at the ceremony.
Private Pride’s name is inscribed on the Bowraville Cenotaph and on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, among almost 40,000 Australians who lost their lives during the Second World War.
Born on 3 July 1920 at Talarm, Harold Pride was the eldest child of Horace and Clara Pride and grew up on the family dairy farm.
After leaving Talarm School at about 12 years of age, he worked on the property before gaining employment at a local hide factory.
He enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force at Newcastle on 26 June 1940 and was assigned to the 2nd/10th Field Ambulance, a mobile medical unit providing frontline treatment to wounded soldiers.
In July 1941, as the threat of war with Japan intensified, his unit embarked for Malaya, arriving in Singapore in August.
Letters home revealed both his longing for family and the harsh realities of war.
In one letter he wrote, “It will be the first Christmas that I have spent away from home. Maybe I will be home in ’42, maybe,. Things are not looking the best, but we are here, so why worry?”
Following the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941, Pride’s unit withdrew south with Allied forces, eventually reaching Singapore.
There they treated hundreds of wounded soldiers and civilians before the island fell on 15 February 1942.
Captured by Japanese forces, Private Pride was among nearly 1,500 prisoners transported to Sandakan in North Borneo as part of “B Force” to undertake forced labour building an airstrip.
Conditions deteriorated severely over time, with disease, starvation and brutality claiming thousands of lives.
Of the approximately 2,428 Australian and British prisoners who died at Sandakan or on the infamous death marches to Ranau, only six Australians survived.
Private Pride died of appendicitis on 27 May 1945 at Sandakan No. 1 Camp.
His remains were never recovered, and he is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial in Malaysia.
For his family, the ceremony in Canberra provided a long-awaited opportunity for national recognition of his sacrifice.
As the Last Post sounded and the Australian flag was lowered, Private Victor Harold Pride, a young man from this small rural community, was remembered not only by his family but by the nation.
By Mick BIRTLES
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