Date: 01/07/2012
Views: 4265
Owner: Pete Rogers (Admin)
Lieut. John Channon Erskine
This photo courtesy of his son Andrew Erskine who adds " My father John Channon Erskine was an Australian mining engineer in London. At the outbreak of World War 2, he joined the British Army. He was an officer in the Royal Engineers before joining No 3 Commando for the invasion of Sicily. Among other operations he took part in the capture of the Malati Bridge. After the war, he worked on the construction of the Pitlochry Hydro-Electric scheme before taking a position as Inspector of Mines in Nigeria. In the mid 1950s he returned to Australia to take up farming - that was not a great success. He left farming and was appointed Officer in Charge of the Australian Mawson expedition to Antarctica from 1967-68. On his return to Australia he took up engineering again and for many years up to his retirement worked with the Bureau of Mineral Resources in Canberra. He took great pride in his membership of the Commando. He considered his service with the Commando and in Antarctica to be the high points of his career. He died July 25th last year aged 95. He is survived by his wife Betty (whom he met in Cambridge in 1944) and four children."
To read his account of operations in Sicily including Malati Bridge click here