STORCK, Raymond Gerald

STORCK, Raymond Gerald – A Southern Downs Veteran

CONFLICT : WWII
SERVICE NO : QX11037
RANK : Lance Corporal
UNIT : 2/26th Battalion
ENLISTMENT DATE : 20/06/1940
AGE : 34
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT : Warwick, Queensland
PLACE OF BIRTH : Glenoak, New South Wales
RELIGION : Roman Catholic
OCCUPATION : Farmer/Timber Faller
DATE OF DEATH : 11/02/1942
PLACE OF BURIAL : Kranji, Singapore

MEMORIALS : Warwick Central State School WWII Honour Board, Emu Vale Honour Roll, Warwick War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour

View Veteran’s Service File : STORCK, Raymond Gerald

NOTES : Raymond Gerald Storck was the son of George Joseph and Lydia Ann Storck. He attended Warwick Central State School and later in life worked as a farmer and timber feller in the Emu Vale area.

Raymond enlisted and was one of the original members of the 2/26th Battalion. His battalion was later nicknamed The Gallopers, because of the cracking pace they set on their route marches.

He saw service in Malaya and when the Japanese attacked on December 8, 1941 his battalion were involved in a fighting withdrawal down the Malay Peninsular to the Island of Singapore.

STORCK, Raymond Gerald and fellow Warwick veteran Thomas Oldfield, also of the 2/26th Battalion lost their lives in this conflict.

Below is a song attributed to Lt (then Sergeant) Tom Oldfield-Scots Lassie Jean, The Battalion Story. Lt Col Ron Magarry MC, JP, PHF [Killarney].

THE GALLOPERS
One day in sunny Queensland, the Gallopers were born,
And from the training depots its men were quickly torn,
To form a band of brothers, with a name they proudly shared,
The Galloping Battalion, the never unprepared.

Way down in frosty Bathurst, we toiled by day and night,
And every member learned there, that we’d be named aright,
Who thought to march along with us were welcome if they dared,
The Galloping Battalion, the never unprepared.

From Queensland’s sunny beaches and Bathurst’s frosty plains,
To Palestine or Libya or Malayan jungle lanes,
The merry tales of cobbers by comrades have been shared,
Of the Galloping Battalion, the never unprepared.

The day we left Australia, we gave three hearty cheers,
It seemed we’d waited for it for many dreary years,
But now at last we’re over here, our foe will soon be scared,
By the Galloping Battalion, the never unprepared.

We swing along the Highway, the road to victory,
A loyal band of brothers, a cherry family,
And of all this war’s adventures, there’s few that won’t be shared
By the Galloping Battalion, the never unprepared.

Read about Southern Downs Military History here.