WHEELER, George Francis James

WHEELER, George Francis James – A Southern Downs Veteran

CONFLICT : WWII
SERVICE NO : 134840
RANK : Leading Aircraftman
UNIT : 3rd Aircraft Depot
ENLISTMENT DATE : 8/06/1943
AGE : 19
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT : Sydney, New South Wales
PLACE OF BIRTH : Marrickville, New South Wales
RELIGION : Roman Catholic
OCCUPATION : Ecclesiastical Student
DATE OF DEATH : 8/09/2017
PLACE OF BURIAL : Hemmant, Queensland

MEMORIALS : Unknown

View Veteran’s Service File : WHEELER, George Frances James

NOTES :

WHEELER, George Francis James (Frank) was born on November 9, 1923 to William James and Ada Wheeler of Earlwood, Sydney, NSW. Frank was the eldest of six children born to the couple.

His father, William James Wheeler 1753, was a WWI veteran who was one of the original 88 men to leave Wagga Wagga on November 15, 1915 to march all the way to Sydney in the famous Kangaroo March.

When Frank was ten, his younger brother Bill died of polio. His mother never recovered from this and subsequently Frank was sent off to boarding school and then onto the Seminary. He had a great interest in languages and was proficient in Latin, Italian and French. Although a deep believer in his faith, after two years at the Seminary Frank realised this was not the life for him.

At 19 years of age he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in Sydney on June 8, 1943 and after training was posted to Amberley Air Force Base just outside Ipswich QLD. Part of his duties was to fit bombsights into the planes. These instruments helped the pilots aim and release bombs accurately by accounting for factors like airspeed, altitude and wind. If the sights became inaccurate it would be his job to remove and recalibrate them before refitting them into the aircraft.

When the airfield photographer retired, Frank’s OIC asked him to take up this position because Frank had experience with photography. He remained an avid photographer his whole life. It was during his time at Amberley that he met Ipswich girl, Joyce Keenan.

After Frank’s discharge he returned to Sydney and started work for the Federal Customs Department. However, it was not long before he returned to Ipswich and asked Joyce to marry him. They moved to Revesby in Sydney where they built a new house. Five of their children were born there before they moved back to Queensland and purchased the general store at Esk. From here they moved to Lota and then settled in Wynnum where Frank once again joined the Customs Department.

Their sixth child was born in Brisbane a few months prior to Frank and Joyce purchasing the Cottonvale Store in 1974. Frank was in his element at Cottonvale and the couple forged many lasting friendships with the local community, many of whom had also served during the Second World War.

After leaving Cottonvale they moved around Queensland a few more times before once again settling in Wynnum. Frank passed away peacefully in 2017. When talking about his life, he would say he always wanted to be remembered as a country storekeeper.

Read about Southern Downs Military History here.