PROMOTING THE HISTORY AND ARCHIVES OF MT COMPASS
Pittaway, Harold
Harold Lindsay Pittaway (Corporal)
Harold was a brother to Hurtle, who is also on the town’s WW2 Honour Roll. Born at Virginia in December 1922, his parents were Albert Hurtle Pittaway and Harriet May Pittaway (nee Holman).
His sister Doreen owned the bakery in Mt Compass along with her husband E M (Snow) Beaumont. Harold helped deliver bread on their local delivery round for a period prior to the war. Although his address when enlisting was given as Salisbury it is likely he boarded with his sister when helping with deliveries, which may explain his inclusion on our Honour Roll.
His brother-in-law, Snow, provided Harold with a reference stating that he had been driving for the Beaumonts “for some time and is quite capable of driving motor vehicles”. Harold also had two other references to help him join the RAAF, both from Salisbury employers, for whom he also drove vehicles.
Harold originally signed up for the Citizen Military Force (CMF) as a gunner with the 108th Anti-Tank Regiment in October 1941, at the age of eighteen. He listed ‘motor driver’ as his occupation, with his religion noted as Methodist. In March 1942 he was called up for full time duty and two months later was transferred across to the RAAF after passing their pre-requisite entry tests. From July 1942 to October 1943, Harold served as a guard with the No2 Lockheed Bomber Squadron at Darwin and other bases in the Territory.
On the 30th October 1943, Harold married Ethel Maude Lewis, who would live in Edwardstown for the remainder of his war service. Their first daughter Jennifer Maude was born in September 1944 while Harold was still serving and their other daughter Helen Kathryn was born in February 1946, two months before Harold’s discharge.
In May 1944, Harold was transferred to the Service Police Unit following an eight week training course in Melbourne. Harold’s previous RAAF occupation was listed as ‘guard’. He also received training in unarmed defence and had ‘special approval’ as a motor cyclist while with the Service Police. A trade test report from May 1945 rated his driving ability as “very good”.
Harold did not talk about any war experiences with his family, but they believe he was involved with operations that required his secrecy. He was awarded the 1939-45 Star due to his service in the Northern Territory, along with the Defence Medal , War Medal 1939-45, Australian Service Medal 1939-45, Returned from Active Service Badge and a Distinguished Unit Citation.
Following the war, Harold was employed for eleven months by a British Company, English Electric, who were contracted to the Weapons Research Establishment at Salisbury. They supplied him with a uniform and Rolls Royce to chauffeur the company’s VIPs while they were in Australia.
In 1949, Harold then continued this service as a ‘light car driver’ with the Department of Supply, Stores and Transport, participating in all the Royal Tours up to and including the 1956 Olympic Games. His family recalls that one of the proudest moment in Harold’s life came when he was the driver for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on one of her tours during this period.
For twelve months during the Maralinga and Emu Field atomic bomb tests, Harold was also the personal chauffeur to Sir William Penny (who later became known as ‘the father of the British atomic bomb’). Viewers who have watched the ABC TV series “Operation Buffalo” will have a good idea of what these tests involved.
In 1956, Harold was transferred to the heavy transport section at Salisbury and later to Pennington. He progressed to 16 tonne semi-trailers which he drove interstate for twenty years. During that time, Harold was involved in the transport of equipment and supplies to the Woomera Rocket Range.
When Australia converted to decimal currency, Harold was one of the drivers selected to transport the new money throughout the country.
After 30 years of never being in a road accident despite covering many miles, Harold received certificates and medals from the Road Safety Council.
Harold & Ethel retired to live in Salisbury with Ethel passing away in 1999 and Harold in 2014.
References: Service Records, Gilbert Haywood, trove.nla.gov.au, 1982 article written by B J McIntosh, findagrave.com
