Jim started by noting that over the last two years he had started to be grumpy and negative,
especially following COVID lockdowns and not being able to play golf.
To view things more positively, Jim reflects on his father’s life, especially as yesterday was
ANZAC Day.
Jim then spoke about his father’s life highlighting a number of challenges.
His father, also Jim Young, was born on 2 February 1918. His mother died of complications some
days later. His father, a miner in Broken Hill, brought up the young boy until he died from lead
poisoning (the miner’s disease) in December 1929, leaving the young 11-year-old boy as an
orphan.
The Great Depression had started in October that year.
In early 1930, an Aunty, Elsie Sartori, from Traralgon, travelled by train to Melbourne, then to
Adelaide and up to Broken Hill to pick up her orphaned nephew. He joined the Sartori family with
his cousins, Jack, Jim & Frank. Jim’s father was nicknamed Buddy to differentiate him from Jim
Sartori.
In 1933, things were tough and after passing fourth form Jim’s father left school, having just turned
15, and started working on a diary farm at Glengarry. He worked there for three years.
Jim Sartori was killed in a motorbike accident later in 1933.
In 1936, Jim’s father turned18 and joined the Victorian Railways.
In 1938 he joined the militia, today known as the Army Reserve. He was in camp with the militia in
September 1939 when World War II started and, in his words, he “never went home”. A short time
later he was on a ship to the Middle East.
Jim’s father fought across North Africa, especially in Libya and Egypt. The troops were then sent
to Greece. Then they went to Crete and in May 1941, Jim’s father was one of just over 3000
Australians who were captured by the Germans.
After being shipped to Greece, the 3000 prisoners of war were then marched over the next three
months, to POW camps on the Austrian-German border. Jim’s father was held prisoner for the
next four years. He and others escaped twice. The first time they were on the run for 10 days
making for Switzerland when they were recaptured. On the second occasion, Jim’s father was
shot in the leg just hours after escaping and returned to the POW camp. The bullet remained in his
leg for the rest of his life.
After being set free in May 1945, Jim’s father was repatriated to London. Here he was busted to
private from corporal for going AWOL for three or four days “on the grog”.
The Young family was to know more difficulty including the stillbirth of a child and, years later, the
premature death of Jim’s brother at the age of 42.
In 1977, Jim’s father had been shopping at the Victoria Market when he was struck by a car in
Queens Street Melbourne. He broke both legs and his pelvis and spent nine months in recovery
and rehabilitation.
Jim’s father passed away on 16 September 2000. Just before passing away he indicated that he
was satisfied that he had enjoyed a good life.
Jim finished by saying that compared to his father he had enjoyed great times and had nothing to
be negative about!
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