Jack Gabolinscy war service during World War II

I have been meaning to write up the basics about the service record of Jack Arthur Charles Gabolinscy for some time. I have had his service record for around 8 years or more now and have been meaning to go through the record, but life including finishing a Bachelor degree has gotten in the way along with working life. I decided that once my studies have been completed, I will go over some records I do have on me and Jack’s or John Robert Gabolinscy as he is known was one that I would look into especially since he served for New Zealand. It has taken several months after my studies to get into the service record. I will be following the name on the official service record and, what also appears on the Cenotaph website through the Auckland War museum.[1] I wont list everything that is in the service record as that is a huge monster of a service record.

Something I have noticed while going through the service was that he was not part of the 24^th Battalion for the entire time he served overseas during World War Two. I think everyone who has read up on him including myself only know that he was injured while with the 24^th battalion, or assumed he spent the entire service with the one Battalion.

New Zealand declared war on Germany on the 3^rd of September 1939. Jack would sign up for military duties when he was attested on the 20^th of September 1939 in Hamilton and would not enter camp until the 3^rd October 1939. The camp mentioned was camp Papakura located in Auckland. The meaning for being attested is to basically fill out the enrolment information, which includes your age, name, parents and other physical details including medical fitness. An example can be found on this footnote and down in the bibliography.[2] The address he had on his record was the Cashmore Bros., Putaruru. His occupation was Sawmill manager on the Cenotaph website, but his service record states the occupation of Bushman. From some research the head office of the company was in Newmarket, Auckland and closed in 2002.[3] Details about Jack are as follows

Service number: 2832

Height: 5’ 8”

Religion: Church of England

Relationship: Single

Particulars of Will: Will in possession of a Kirkpatrick in Hokianga.

According to the service record, Jack was part of the 18^th Battalion when he boarded the ship for Egypt on the 5^th of January 1940. Wikipedia has been helpful in tracing the movements of the Battalion. The ship would have been the liner HMS Orion most likely leaving from Auckland as that was where they were training.[4] Jack Gabolinscy would not reach Egypt until the day before Valentines Day on the 13^th of February 1940. He was admitted to 4 forward Ambulance Hospital on the11th of July 1940 and discharged days later on the 15^th. He does seem to have several hospital visits in 1940 until he is promoted to Sergeant on the 29^th of July 1941. He was promoted to other ranks earlier. Jack was discharged from hospital back into the 18^th Battalion on the 3^rd of February 1942. I have come across terms like X(II), which has meaning especially being placed on medical lists or unit is under strength. For further information about the different meanings to service records like being marched in and out along with other acronyms (military speak) the footnote has a sample and also the bibliography.[5]

 

The 18^th New Zealand Battalion was formed in 1939 during the Second World War. The unit was involved within the Middle East and would later in 1941 heat to Greece. If the readings for the 18^th Battalion are correct and with Jack’s involvement, he would have been in Greece for the Battle of Greece and within Crete and in Operation Crusader later on in Africa. Jack was with the Battalion from the first time they landed in Egypt in February 1940 and only departed around the 13^th of August 1942, where he was marched to the NZ Reception Depot, which could have been near Cairo at the time was the main New Zealand base by the name of Maadi. Not much exists of that today apart from plaques and Cairo.[6] I will note here that the first time Jack was wounded as there are mentions he was wounded several times. The first time he was wounded was in December 1942 but discharged from hospital around a week later. Within the Medical files the first time Jack is wounded is mentioned. The Report of Injuries reports Gabolinscy was injured while playing football in the division competition. He rolled? His left ankle, which was not likely to interfere with future operations. It would be interesting to see if there was a game reported and if it was between Australians and New Zealand soldiers.

About Jack's football war injury

Jack would be marched into the 24^th Battalion on the 16^th of September 1942 where he was marched in as reinforcements. Maybe he wasn’t required for the armoured division, although there would have been reasons for being sent elsewhere. Jack would then be marked as safe on his records when he joined the 24^th New Zealand (Auckland) Battalion. There does seem to be a bit of movement regarding Jack. On the 3^rd of December 1942 he ended up in the 6 New Zealand field ambulance where he would be in the General hospital and Reception Depot. Around that time the Afrika Corps were withdrawing. Jack was marked in the general hospital on the 2^nd of January 1943, where by the 23^rd of January the same year he would strangely join the 21^st Battalion another Auckland group. It would not be until the 12^th of February 1943 where he would rejoin the 24^th Battalion. The North Africa campaign would end around 23^rd May 1943, where the Battalion would be sent to Italy. The Battalion left in October of 1943.

Jack on the other hand would not be travelling with the 24^th Battalion to the Italy campaign. He had been wounded around the 27^th of March 1943. He was with the 4^th New Zealand Field Ambulance. Jack is mentioned within the book on the 24^th Battalion by R.M Burdon, A copy is online and it is page 172, where he is mentioned further reading is in the footnotes. Further note the Auckland War Memorial holds a copy of the book, but there does not seem to be many copies available for sale anywhere.[7] The Battalion was involved with the taking of the Mareth Line, although would have been some distance away. It was still the desert region and would have been hot and obviously sandy. On the 26^th of March the battle around Tebaga Gap began, which involved armoured vehicles like Crusader tanks. Tebaga Gap is located in Southern Tunisia is a mountain pass that is very rocky and rough. Sergeant Jack Gabolincy took over 16 platoon that had traversed a minefield after the Second Lieutenant Carter had been killed. Jack would become one of the casualties and from the way the book reads the fighting was at night and everyone else in 16 platoon were casualties during heavy fighting.

He would then be placed in the care of the New Zealand Discharge Depot to be discharged. The record mentions his name being placed on the NZ roll, which does appear in the newspaper as being wounded.[8] The dates are interesting as it seems to take time for him to be moved as he was mentioned in the files on the 5^th of June 1943 but embarked for Wellington on the Hospital Ship ‘Oranje’ on the 24^th of June 1943. Jack would disembark in Wellington on the 15^th of July 1943. [9] While not the end of the journey as he would have to recover from the wounds he received.

On the 21^st of December 1943, Jack was mentioned in Whangarei to continue convalescence until middle of January, remains on pay file NMD. By the 28^th of March 1944 he was in Rehab in Auckland with what was considered to be grade III. He was discharged from the rehab or hospital on p/f war pension around the same time. Jack would be discharged in July 1944 where he would be considered to be medically unfit with a Grade III injury. The injury did involve the words physiotherapy so he would hopefully have had help as it was a shoulder wound from all accounts.

In June 1946 he was with the State Forest Service in Rotorua. He was receiving a temporary war pension, which on the War service gratuity form. He received 174 pounds in 1946. He would resign from the Forestry service in 1950, where he had worked since 1945 as a Forest Foreman Jack would play 12 games for the Bay of Plenty representatives 1948-51, from the Kahurkura club until 1949, then the Minginui club. He also played for a Bay of Plenty-King Country team against Thames Valley-Waikato in an All Black trial in 1948.

In 27 April 1950 he claimed his war medals. The address they were sent to are Care of Henderson and Pollard. The Defence Medal mentions he was in Syria on the medal paperwork.

Medals

1939 – 45 star

Africa Star

Clasp to Africa Star

Defence medal

War medal 1939 – 45

NZ war service medal

Length of service

NZ 3/10/39 to 4/1/40 – 94 days

16/7/43 to 6/5/44 – 295

Overseas 5/1/40 to 15/7/43 3 yr 192 days.

Total 4 years 272

I will continue to include more information as I do some more research and come across information.

Sources / Bibliography

Primary

‘NZEF Casualties’, Evening Star, 12 August 1942, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19420812.2.12, accessed 23 April 2019.

‘Back from War, Sick and Wounded men’, New Zealand Herald, 19 July 1943, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19430719.2.47, accessed April 2019.

Sample Attestation, http://www.army.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/general/attestation.pdf, accessed 23/04/2019.

Gabolinsky , Jack Arthur Charles Cenoteph Record, http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C36051?n=gabolinsky&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch, accessed 23/04/2019.

Gabolinscy, Jack Arthur Charles New Zealand Army military Forces record History Sheet. Trentham Military Camp, New Zealand

Gabolinscy, Jack Arthur Charles New Zealand Medical History sheet, Trentham Military Camp, New Zealand

Stone, Andrew ‘NZ’s lost city’, New Zealand Herald, 4 April 2009, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10565096, accessed 24 April 2019.

Thompson, Wayne’ Old timber business pulls up its roots’, New Zealand Herald, 12 July 2002, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=2097042, 23 April 2019.

Secondary

18th Battalion (New Zealand), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Battalion_(New_Zealand), accessed 23 April 2019.

Burdon, R.M 24 Battalion, Wellington, 1953, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-24Ba-c9.html#n172, accessed 23 April 2019.

Dawson, W.D 18 Battalion and Armoured Regiment, Historical Publication Branch, Wellington, 1961,

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-18Ba.html, accessed 20 January 2019.

How to access WWII New Zealand service records,

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/personnel-records/nzdf-archives/accessing-military-service-records.htm

X Lists and Postings in WW2 army service records, New Zealand military,

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/nzdf-archives/x-lists-guide.pdf, accessed 20 January 2019.

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[1] Jack Arthur Charles Gabolinsky , Cenotaph Record, http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C36051?n=gabolinsky&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch, accessed 23 April 2019.

[2] Sample Attestation, http://www.army.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/general/attestation.pdf, accessed 23 April 2019

[3] Wayne Thompson,’ Old timber business pulls up its roots’, New Zealand Herald, 12 July 2002, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=2097042, 23 April 2019.

[4] 18th Battalion (New Zealand), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Battalion_(New_Zealand), accessed 23 April 2019.

[5] X Lists and Postings in WW2 army service records, New Zealand military,

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/nzdf-archives/x-lists-guide.pdf, accessed 20 January 2019.

[6] Andrew Stone, ‘NZ’s lost city’, New Zealand Herald, 4 April 2009, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10565096, accessed 24 April 2019.

[7] R.M Burdon, ‘Chapter 9 Tebaga Gap’, 24 Battalion, Wellington, 1953, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-24Ba-c9.html#n172, accessed 23 April 2019.

[8] ‘NZEF Casualties’, Evening Star, 12 August 1942, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19420812.2.12, accessed 23 April 2019.

[9] ‘Back from War, Sick and Wounded men’, New Zealand Herald, 19 July 1943, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19430719.2.47, accessed April 2019.