Albert Percy Blinco

 

1908-1998

Father Nm:Edward Blinco 1872–1942. Birth 27 JUN 1872 • Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia. Death 7 SEP 1942 • Cottesloe, Western Australia, Australia

Mother Nm: Amelia Kain 1871–1916. BIRTH 1 JAN 1871 • Claremont, Western Australia, Australia. DEATH 18 JUN 1916 • Victoria Avenue, Cottesloe, Western Australia, Australia

Marriage Dt: 1935 • Perth, Western Australia,

K comments:  One of four brothers that served in WW2. Followed brother Ivan John into the 2/28th Bn. Noel Edward served with 11 Division Signals and brother  Mervyn Keith was 2/13th Field Ambulance initially but was discharged from the 2/4th Regiment of 2 AIF.

 

Spouse comments: Margaret Mary Davis 1916–1996

BIRTH 1916. DEATH 17 NOV 1996 • Dianella, Western Australia

(Research): Ancestry

Oldest Known Ancestor:

Children:

Birth

1908 • Claremont, Western Australia

WW2

Blinco Albert Percy , Corporal, WX18622, 2/28 INF BATT

Synopsis

While Albert followed older brother Ivan into the 2/28th Battalion they were not in the battalion at the same time. Ivan served in the Middle East before transferring out and Albert joining the Battalion for the New Guinea  Campaign. Unlike Ivan, we do not have Alberts service record we do know when he joined and that he was still with the 2/28th Bn in April 1945.

1942

• 6 January. Enlists age 36 with the  2/28th Battalion into Claremont Western Australia. Brother Ivan is stationed in Palestine but nearing the end of his overseas service so its very likely the brothers did not serve alongside each other.
• 28 September.Transferred to the 2/28th Bn reinforcements and embarked for Egypt to join brother IIvan John. HMAT P4 part of a US Convoy
• 8 October. Landed Egypt.

1943

• 24 January. Embarked for Australia and Disembarked — 27 Feb 1943 — Sydney.
• 18 February. Disembarked Fremantle.
• 25 March. Hospitalised with Typhus at 110 Australian General Hospital  at Claremont, WA
• 7 August. Embarked at Cairns for Milne Bay arrived the 11th.

Note: Record does not show Albert and the dates that follow for combat operation, was this because as a Carpenter he stayed behind ?

Reorganised for jungle operations, the 2/28th participated in the 9th Division amphibious landing at Red Beach, north-west of Lae, in early September. Following the fall of Lae the 20th Brigade landed at Scarlet Beach, north of Finschhafen, on 22 September. It gradually moved to Scarlet Beach, the 2/28th arriving on 14 October. Days later the Japanese made a strong counter-attack against Scarlet Beach but the brigade was too strong and by the end of the month the main Japanese force withdrew to Sattelberg. But large numbers of enemy troops were still north of Scarlet Beach, near Pino Hill and Nongora. Moving inland, the 2/32nd captured Pino and then Pabu. The 2/28th followed the coast and captured Guiska. It then moved to Wareo, where it spent Christmas. The battalion returned to Australia at the end of January 1944.

• 14 September. LAE Landing.

  

• “The 2/28th Bn.took part in the amphibious landings around Lae in September 1943, landing to the east of the objective and leading the Australian advance across the Busu River. During the advance, the battalion carried out a forced crossing of the Busu under heavy Japanese fire, during which 13 men were swept away in the rain flooded waters.”³

  

  

   

• “After the capture of Lae, which fell more quickly than the Allied planners had expected, the battalion took part in the Huon Peninsula campaign that followed as the Australians followed up the Japanese forces that were withdrawing north. During this time, the 2/28th took part in actions around Finschhafen, Gusika and Wareo before returning to Australia in January 1944.”³

  

1944

• 8 January. Evacuated to 2/3 Field Ambulance with Dengue Fever discharged 12 January
• 28 February, Evacuated to Western Australia sick with Pnemonia and or Malaria
• 6 March. Transferred to 115 AGH Northam, WA for a  Malaria relapse
• 3 April. Discharged from the 118th AGH .
• 13 May. Rejoined 2/28th Battalion

 

1945

• 24 April. Albert is discharged from the 2/28 at 37 years probably deemed too old to take part in the Borneo Campaign.  The War Medal was issued to Albert as well as medals awarded for the campaigns in the Pacific and Africa.

  

Medals

We have no medal records but he was entitled to these medals for his service

 

Death 1998

Death 4 DEC 1998 age 90 • Dianella, Western Australia.

Sources

1. National Archives Australia
2. The 2/28th by Philip Masel
3. 2/28th Battalion AIF Wikipedia
4. Ancestry Military Tree of Blencowes ww2

Gallery

. Three of the brothers the only one not shown is Noel Edward Blinco who for some reason doesnt at this stage have his file digitised at NAA.