A review by John Cook.
Thank you Yorick Smaal, Gary Wotherspoon, Graham Willett, Ruth Ford, Shirleene Robinson, John Barrett, George Simmers, Noah Riseman, and now Jonathan Butler and so many of the others who have opened up the gay history of Australian Armed Forces. They serve as a counter to those well-remembered years when then RSL spokesperson Bruce Ruxton said ..
“Days earlier Ruxton had told broadcaster Derryn Hinch that if his son was queer he would shoot him, the magazine reported. “ SBS Pride – Ben Winsor 25 Apr 2017
I have a vague memory of a royal personage who expressed a similar sentiment. Ruxton also claimed, “I don’t remember a single one from World War Two.” So clearly some didn’t want to know and those capable of a ferocious response. Butler has exercised these issues with a case within his own family (Warwick Meale – Great uncle?) combined with his own coming out experience more recently to his family and community. The trigger for this process was an old photo beloved by his mother (now sadly departed from a neurodegenerative disorder) which showed a very young boy (Warwick) and his elder sister cross-dressed. I have memories of the same, especially for fancy dress purposes. The photo had an accompanying story of Warwick’s tragic murder as a serviceman (Signaller) in Townsville in WWII and family rumours that he might have been gay.
Warwick had had a conventional exemplary life as a teenager and then shop assistant in Sydney before hostilities (as did the author – spooky!). He trained as a signaller and served under fire in New Guinea. He was encamped with his company in Townsville in 1944 with the war on the improve.
One night, out on the town in Townsville on August 15, 1944, Warwick was separated from his two mates and seemed to be sleeping off his alcohol in a greened space near the underpass for Victoria Bridge across Ross Creek. He was found there later by his mates returning from a TocH dance in a comatose state with evidence of having been bashed and with severe heads wounds from a heavy-duty blacksmith’s hammer. He died of his wounds without gaining consciousness.
There were eventual investigations by military and civilian police personnel -Brisbane sent up the then No1 gun Frank Bischof to investigate to no avail, unlike his ignominious end following the Fitzgerald years. The coroner was likewise unable to unearth anything concrete despite numbers of suspects being looked for, the main being a large white/blond-haired sailor. Butler, in his investigations, found that lack of effective liaison between these two power groups may have stifled any potential investigative success.
There the matter may have remained in the ‘too difficult – not interested’ basket especially there had been whispers that the murdered man was a ‘pervert’. Jonathan Butler wasn’t going to let matters go as he was fascinated by that beloved photo of Warwick and his sister and the fact that he was undergoing his struggles to come out in Launceston, Tasmania in what sounded like 20 years ago. He started in a small way with what was readily available but with the range of resources available via the net has dug deeply into all sorts of detailed documentation carrying out the kind of investigation short-circuited in the past. It is a tale familiar to anyone who has delved into their family tree in more recent years.
At the same time, he tells the tale of his own stirrings and developments especially some of his painful coming-out experiences with his own family. I identified strongly with the tearful ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’ response. He appears to have found the proverbial supportive good man and has a great life ahead despite the painful loss of his mother.
This is not a complex book though the twists and turns of following up leads can get a little tangled at times. It is simply and clearly stated both in terms of his investigative rationale and opening up his own coming out.
I recommend it strongly to all readers both for yet another light shining on wartime sexuality and a fascinatingly similar story by a young man with an unquenchable curiosity.
BCC Library has 5 copies and eBook
queerreaders 