Family of Parkdale soldier Lance Corporal Paul Denehey plead with government to repatriate him
Parkdale Digger Paul Denehey was killed by a rogue elephant while serving overseas in 1965, and then buried in Singapore. It was his mum’s dying wish to bring his remains home, but after decades of government refusals, they are still waiting.
Inner South
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More than 50 years after a Parkdale Digger was killed during overseas service, the government still refuses to repatriate his body.
And the devastated family of 21-year-old Lance Corporal Paul Denehey has issued a fresh, heartfelt plea to have the young man brought home.
Lance-Cpl Denehey, who served as a signaller in the Special Air Service (SAS) from 1962 to 1965, died after a rogue elephant gored him during a four-man reconnaissance patrol in Borneo.
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He was buried in Ulu Pandan Cemetery in Singapore and relocated to Kranji Cemetery in 1975.
In the young soldier’s last letter to his mother Kathleen, which she received shortly before his death, he wrote “I detest this place in comparison to the good old Aussie”.
His mother died in 1994, and his sister Sheri Gigliotti said it was their mum’s dying wish that her son’s remains would be returned to Australia.
Ms Gigliotti, of Emerald, told the Leader her family finally sought justice from the Office of Australian War Graves after experiencing years of grief in the fight for his remains.
“At the time a letter was sent to my parents offering them three options with his remains, with one of them to repatriate him to Australia,” Ms Gigliotti said.
She said the letter, which has been lost over the years, was sent from the Commonwealth War Graves in England on September 8, 1975, requiring a response date no later than October 31, but was received by the family a month after the closing date.
Ms Gigliotti said the family had then put their case to the Minister of Defence, who was Malcolm Fraser at the time, but again their request was denied.
“We then sent another letter to Minister of Veteran Affairs Dan Tehan in 2015, but our request was once again denied and the fact that our family received the letter after the response date has never been acknowledged.”
Ms Gigliotti tracked down a copy of the letter sent to all bereaved families by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and has shown it to the Leader.
“This letter was sent from England because there wasn’t an Office of Australian War Graves in our country back then, which is probably why we received it after the closing date for responses. It’s my belief it came via sea and not airmail,” she said.
“I remember my mother constantly sobbing at the kitchen table when I would come home from school and it has caused us all years of unbearable grief.”
To add to the family’s distress, that same year Paul’s brother Stephen was in a horrific car smash in Edithvale, which left him severely brain damaged. He died in 2014.
“We have been through so much as a family. We just want what was honoured all those years back and we’re asking the government to please recognise Paul’s service to this country.”
Sandringham Liberal MP Brad Rowswell said he was writing to the director of the Office of Australian War Graves to seek an urgent review of its decision not to repatriate the remains of Lance-Cpl Denehey.
“The wishes of Lance Corporal Denehey’s family should be given the utmost respect and favourable consideration by government,” Mr Rowswell said.
“Given the sacrifice made by Lance Corporal Denehey in the service of our nation, it is not unreasonable to request that he be brought back home to Australian soil.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, who asked not to be named, said it had received correspondence from the family of Lance Corporal Paul Denehey and was investigating the matter accordingly.
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