Vital Statistics
Oliver David Pinson: 1923 –2005 GRO1972 Parliamentary Officer, Sydney New South Wales, Australia
Gweneth May Beattie: 1926 – 1988
Married: xxxx: xxxx, xxxx
Children by Gweneth May Beattie:
Daughter (GRO2000)
Son (GRO2001)
Daughter (GRO2002)
Son (GRO2003)
Family Branch: Bristol
PinsentID: GRO1972
Oliver David Pinson was the youngest son of James Pinson by his wife Minnie (née Calder). He was born in Concord, New South Wales, where his father was a “tram conductor”. He had two brothers (James George and Leslie Andrew Pinson). He also had three sisters. His father was later to become a “box maker”.
Oliver and his brothers volunteered for service in the “Australian Armed Forces” during the “Second World War”. His “Service Records”, which are housed in the “Australian National Archive,” are available on-line. They show that Oliver David Pinson signed on with the “Civilian Military Force” (“C.M.F.”) – a militia force restricted to home service – before transferring to the “Australian Imperial Force” (“A.I.F.”) which was eligible for service overseas.
Oliver David enrolled in the “C.M.F.” on 19th January 1942 and transferred to the “A.I.F.” on 29th March 1943. He made the transferred to the while “in the field” in Western Australia. He was only twenty years old. Private Oliver David Pinson (#NX156893) was assigned to the “2/8 Field Ambulance Group” which saw service in Australia for much of the war; however his unit was sent to “Borneo” in 1945. In fact, he actually disembarked in Morotai on 3rd May 1945 and he served there until he returned to Australia on 7th February 1946.
Moratai is a small Island in what is now Indonesia but was then in the “Dutch (Netherlands) East Indies”. The allies recaptured the Island from the Japanese in early 1945 and used it as a staging post for the rest of the war. Oliver’s time there overlapped with his brother James George Pinson, who was a “lines-man” – presumably involved in restoring communications while the Australians built their base there.
Oliver was demobilized on 29th August 1946 after serving 1,279 days in Australia and 297 days overseas. Sadly, this was insufficient for him to qualify for the Australian 1939/45 Star. He finished his service in “Concord Military Hospital” in New South Wales, where his release was deferred until the end of August 1946 because his services were deemed to be “essential”.
Oliver married Gweneth May Beattie, although when or where I do not know. They appear to have had four children. In 1955, Oliver and his wife seem to have resented his not getting the Australian 1939/45 Star and the “Central Army Records Office” contains a considerable amount of correspondence concerning his entitlement to it. According to the “Powers-that-be”, he had not served enough time overseas. Gweneth also asked “Records Office” for a duplicate copy of this discharge certificate – which she feared might have been accidentally burnt. Oliver applied for a job as a “parliamentary attendant” in the 1960s and he may well have needed the record to support his job application.
The Electoral Rolls tell us that Oliver became a “bricklayer” after the war. They also show that Oliver and Gweneth was living on “Hinemoa Street”, in Panania, by 1949 and that they were still there five years later. However, they had moved to “Hawthorne Street”, which is in the Ramsgate Subdivision by 1963. By then, Oliver was a “parliamentary attendant”. The family moved again a few years later and they were living on “Antill Street” in Blaxland by 1968. Oliver was now a “parliamentary officer” – although of what type I am not sure. They were still living on “Antill Road” in 1972 but had moved to “Lennox Street”, in Glenbrook, in Blaxland by 1977. Oliver was there by himself in 1980. The Electoral Rolls, somewhat surprisingly, show the couple were also living back on “Hinemoa Street” in Panania that year – and he was back to being a “bricklayer”. This seems rather unlikely!
Gweneth May Pinson died in July 1988 (Sydney Morning Herald: Monday 1st August 1988). She was buried in Kemps Creek Cemetery in Liverpool, New South Wales (FindaGrave.com). Her husband Oliver David died in October 2005 and was also buried there. There is a plaque honouring his military service. Their children and grandchildren are probably still living in the Sydney area of New South Wales.
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: Archibald Frederick Pinson: 1869 – 1951
Grandmother: Rosanna Pettit: xxxx – xxxx
Parents
Father: James William Pinson: 1889 – 1950
Mother: Minnie Calder: xxxx – xxxx
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
Elizabeth Jane Pinson: 1887 – xxxx
James William Pinson: 1889 – xxxx
Richard Thomas Pinson: 1889 – 1945
Archibald Frederick Pinson: 1891 – 1973
William James Pinson: 1893 – xxxx
Stanley Roy Pinson: 1896 – 1898
Rose A. Pinson: 1903 – xxxx
Doris Violet Marjory Pinson: 1905 – xxxx
Mary Agnes Pinson: 1907 – xxxx
Thomas Henry Pinson: 1909 – 1978
Male Siblings (Brothers)
James George Pinson: 1913 – 1990
Leslie Andrew Pinson: 1915 – 1960
Oliver David Pinson: 1923 – 2005
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