Keeper of the legends

REX Ruwoldt lied about his age to follow his older brother into the citizen’s forces and ended up in the frontline as a Darwin defencer when bombs rained.

The Armoured School at Torquay in 1941.

REX Ruwoldt lied about his age to follow his older brother into the citizen’s forces.

What followed was a frontline role as a Darwin defender when bombs rained on the city in World War II, and time ­behind the wheel of the first ­locally made armoured car.

The Clifton Springs man, now 91, has a vivid memory of his time in the Australian Army. “When I joined up at 17 years old, I thought I was only joining the CMF, like my brother Allan,” Mr Ruwoldt said.

The CMF (Citizen Military Forces) was formed after World War I to enable young men to learn weaponry and service basics to protect their local communities.

But the outbreak of World War II meant the CMF had to change to become a preparation ground and feeder unit for the army.

“The CMF ­became the 1st Armoured Regiment, part of the Light Horse Brigade,” Mr Ruwoldt said.

“It seemed I would be off working with the horses. By the time I went off to train at camp the horses had been moved on and we were left the equipment.”

Born into a farming family of 10 children in Murtoa, near Horsham, Mr Ruwoldt would have been at home in a unit with livestock.

The Armoured School at Torquay in 1941.

“Moving around through different training camps, I qualified as a machine gunner for the 19th Machinegun Reg­iment. I graduated and got ­licences to drive a Bren gun carrier,” he said.

The army used the tank-like vehicles to ferry supplies from the southern parts of Australia to Darwin. As troops were needed in greater numbers in the north an increasing demand for weapons, rations and military supplies came too.

The solution to the transport challenge came in the form of “Ned Kelly”, an improvised three-tonne truck base.

“Ned Kelly consisted of a standard Ford truck chassis wrapped in fairly substantial armour plating, making it ­appear like Kelly’s helmet,” Mr Ruwoldt said. “It was incredibly top-heavy to drive, so it rolled like a ship at sea. While it was probably quite dangerous, we all enjoyed it.

“Inside it was quite similar to any other truck, with four seats and a windscreen.

“There was a driver’s and a gunner’s seat in the front that could be in two positions.”

“At the higher position, the driver and gunners would have a pretty clear view through.

“In the lower position we had to look through a slot 100mm wide and the length of the vehicle. It was fitted with bulletproof glass so it would be safe from other shooters.”

One of the first armoured cars built for Australia in WWII.

Mr Ruwoldt arrived in Darwin with the 28 members of his platoon on January 15, 1941.

They were charged with ­defending a kilometre of beach against a potential invasion of up to 20,000 Japanese soldiers.

“They could have landed their tanks on the beach in front of us and gone right through us,” Mr Ruwoldt said.

“In the event of an invasion, we were to delay the enemy until reinforcements could be brought up. It would have been a short delay as we only had ammunition for five minutes of firing.”

Only 35 days into their service in Darwin, the first bombs were dropped on the city on February 19, 1941. Mr Ruwoldt agonised over the air raid.

“It was pretty devastating to watch the carnage over Darwin and not be able to do anything about it,” he said.

Mr Ruwoldt was attacked in several air raids, along with his platoon.

He was among the fortunate ones, who were discharged from the army.

Later in life he founded The Darwin Defenders, an organisation preserving the stories of those connected to the 1942-45 attacks on Darwin.

Don’t miss our 16-page Anzac Day special liftout ­inside tomorrow’s Geelong Advertiser.