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A CHANCE MEETING THAT WAS ONE IN A MILLION
Ruby Berthelsen, one of ten children was born on 4th June 1920 in Brisbane. Her parents were George Christian Berthelsen and Margaret May Madden. Ruby’s siblings were Edna, Olga, Trafalgar, Violet, Bernice, George, Clarance, Cecil and Roy. Family nicknames were the order of the day in the Berthelsen household.
During the height of the Second World War, Brisbane was a hive of dance halls: they were aplenty, there was no shortage[1].
In the years between 1942 and 1945, up to one million military personnel were stationed in eastern Australia. Many US personnel were stationed in and around Brisbane that was the headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, South-West Pacific Area. Here we were hosting personnel awaiting deployment to combat operations elsewhere in the Pacific, troops resting, convalescing, and/or refitting from previous operations, or military personnel manning Allied military bases and installations in Australia.
Meanwhile, Ruby (my mother) loved dancing, and as I had heard often enough, she frequented the dance halls of the time. It is, in my opinion, the way of their chance meeting. He was a serviceman from the United States, and the one thing they had in common was their birthdays that were only a few days apart, in the same month and year.
Private Steve began army training in the infantry and medical corps at Fort Sam Houston, Texas before transferring to Fort Dix, New Jersey and then overseas to Australia and New Guinea.
Wartime is a period of life when everyone lives for the moment as though there were no tomorrow!
I was not familiar with the finer points of my biological father until early in 2024 when my elder daughter, Thérèsa received her DNA results. Although I was aware of the name, I had only ever heard it twice; I had never seen it in writing, and I had no idea of the correct spelling. So I had very little to go on!
But spurred on with encouragement from my daughter and her revelations, I underwent the necessary test and received my own DNA results. Records were searched and matched. I now have my newfound Dad’s army record and his family details. Stephen was third in a family of six surviving children. Below are the names of his father and mother, and his five siblings.
Two more children who did not survive, one male and one female between the births of Olga and Mary were:
Stillborn Female
born 2nd July 1928
Male Child, born 8th November 1932
Proposed name Volodymyr
“Steve” volunteered to enter army training by enlisting on Saturday, 18th January 1941. He was born in Northampton, Pennsylvania and died at the age of 67 years on 1st February 1988 in Wilkes-Barr, Luzerne City, PA. He is buried in the Assumption of Virgin Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church Cemetery, Northampton PA.
I applied for Steve’s United States of America army records and his wartime service is confirmed.
He later served from 7th December 1941 and separated from active service on 28th August 1945. The military history of the United States during World War II covers the nation's role as one of the major Allies in their victory over the Axis Powers. The United States is generally considered to have entered the conflict with the 7 December 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan.
In due course, Steve returned to Brisbane in 1944 before flying home to the USA to enjoy 21 days furlough ahead of reporting to Camp Butner, North Carolina. My mother later married a New Zealand serviceman in the Australian army but after his return from overseas duty they separated. Apart from a short stint lasting but a few months, I never lived with my stepfather. My legacy: to be known now as Raymond Joseph Kotoris Thurlow.
Ruby did not finish her primary schooling and left before completing year 7. She was not in the best of health and went to convalesce at her married sister, Edna’s home in Lismore, New South Wales. In due course she returned to Brisbane and found temporary work wrapping meat in a butcher's shop at Paddy's Market opposite Overells Department store in Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley. Later she worked for Austral Clothing Factory near the Botanic Gardens in Edward Street. Her second job was clipping cottons and making flys and pockets using an electric sewing machine. This lasted a few years before she was laid off due to the supply and demand of orders waning. Her third job was with Olsens Clothing factory in Fortitude Valley at 711 Ann Street making trousers and shirts. Job #4 was with Brakes Clothing Factory making army clothing.
Ruby was an adventurous type in her youth and was known to ride pillion on a friend's motorcycle.
After Raymond was born her sister Violet stayed with Ruby and took care of him while Ruby worked. Her later jobs were at the Bulimba State Pineapple Cannery, then Arnott Morrow's Biscuit and Chocolate Factory on Coronation Drive, Milton.
By this time Mum and I were living in hut #20 at the Housing Camp Area, Victoria Park in 1948/49. After some time, we moved in with my Aunty Val (Trafalgar (Berthelsen)) Thorpe, Uncle Dave, cousins Daphne and Kay. When Dave received his war time gratuity, the family moved to Mount Gravatt and Mum and I lived at that house at 13 Markwell Street, Bowen Hills. The house was demolished sometime in the late 1960s to make way for a new road which was never developed. It was all part of the Wilbur Smith plan to develop a ring-radial freeway system, including a Central/Northern Freeway that was to cross the river at New Farm and connect to a Northern Freeway alignment. (Further reading: FREEDOM, FREEWAYS AND BRISBANE PROTEST IN THE SEVENTIES | State Library of Queensland).
[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Halls_in_the_twentieth_century
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