S9339 Private Douglas William SWINCER
Douglas William SWINCER was born at Minlaton on 21 August 1914, the third child of Arthur Edwin SWINCER and Mary Lavence SWINCER (nee GEATER). He was educated at Minlaton and Tarlee and after the family moved to Victor Harbor, the Swincers farmed in the Waitpinga area, on land they purchased in 1936.
Doug, as he was known, studied accountancy at the School of Mines (the forerunner of the South Australian Institute of Technology) in Adelaide. On 28 October 1940, he was enlisted in the Australian Military Forces under the mobilisation provisions of the Defence Act. We do not have access to his service file held by the National Archives of Australia (not yet digitised) at this time so we are unable to determine precise details of his service, however it is believed he served most of his time at the Woodside camp.
Brothers Max and Roger also served in the defence forces during the Second World War; Max in the militia and then the air force (122671 LAC Maxwell Arthur SWINCER, RAAF) and Roger in the army (S21614 PTE Roger Gilbert SWINCER).
On 15 March 1941, Doug married Joyce Amelia PEARCE. The portrait taken on their wedding day shows Doug in uniform, his rank is lance corporal. Doug’s date of discharge from the army is not shown on the Nominal Roll; after his return to civilian life, Doug continued to farm the three properties at Waitpinga. Doug died on 26 July 2009, age 94, and is interred in the Victor Harbor Cemetery; there are six children of the marriage.
References:
Department of Veterans’ Affairs World War Two Nominal Roll (http://www.ww2roll.gov.au ).
Compiled by the Victor Harbor RSL History Research Team, January 2018.