Acting Sergeant Donald Bone, 6 Australian Division
Australian War MemorialDonald Bone was born at Noorat, a small township in south-western Victoria, on the 31st of March 1910. The son of Annie and Henry Bone, after his schooling he went on to work as a clerk and accountant.
Donald Bone enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 30 November 1939. Taken on strength at Melbourne Showground Depot, he began training. In December, Bone was posted to 6th Division Headquarters and classified for duty as clerk, becoming part of the Australian Army Service Corps.
As part of 6th Division Headquarters, Bone would travel with the 6th Division as it took part in the early stages of the war, seeing action against Italian forces in North Africa, and then participating in the defence of Greece.
Embarking at Melbourne on 14 April 1940, he arrived at Kantara, an Egyptian city on the western side of the Suez Canal, in mid-May. While at sea, Bone was found absent without leave for a short period, and was fined accordingly.
This minor breach of military discipline did not prevent him from rising through the ranks, and he was promoted to corporal in November and then acting sergeant in December.
During January and February 1941, the 6th Division pushed the Italian army back across Libya, with actions at Derna, Barce and Benghazi. Although the plan was initially for the 6th Division to remain in Cyrenaica for defence, it was withdrawn from North Africa to defend Greece.
Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies agreed to sending Australian troops to defend Greece against a German attack in March, despite concerns that the operation was risky and might end in disaster.
Arriving in late March and early April 1941, the 6th Division joined a New Zealand and British force. On 6 April the Germans began their invasion of Greece. Despite their efforts, the Allied force was unable to halt the rapid German advance. The Allies were outnumbered and outflanked by the Germans, and by 27 April were driven off the Greek mainland. The 6th Division's casualties in Greece amounted to 320 killed, 494 wounded and 2,030 captured.
Among their number was Sergeant Donald Bone. Initially reported missing in action on 18 April 1941, he was later believed to be a prisoner of war.
Bone was Mentioned in Despatches in July, with his distinguished service being recognised.
He was later presumed to be dead.
Today Donald Bone is remembered at the Athens Memorial, which commemorates nearly 3,000 members of the land forces of the Commonwealth who lost their lives during the campaigns in Greece and Crete and have no known grave.
The Bone family suffered greatly during the war. Donald’s brother, Ivan, also enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force. He served with the 2/22nd Battalion and became a prisoner of war after the Japanese invasion of Rabaul, later dying of illness on or before 31 March 1942.
- Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1700412
