Defensively Armed Merchant Ship (DEMS) Gunner.
LEADING SEAMAN HERBERT ROY DADLIFFE RANR PA1457 Herbert Dadliffe was born in Glanville South Australia on the 2nd of April 1919, serving under the surname “Dadleff”. He was the son of Alexander and Violet Dadleff. Herbert was a Naval Reservist, rated as an Able Seaman with seniority of April 1937, and he was called up for service at the outbreak of war in September 1939. A Seaman Gunner, Herbert was at sea by November 1939 on the British tanker Sitila. In October 1940 the Sitala was torpedoed by the U100 in the north Atlantic whilst enroute from Curacao to Manchester in the UK. Herbert then became part of the DEMS Party on the Refrigerated Cargo liner New Zealand Star where he would serve until March 1943. He would later serve on the DEMS equipped ships Kooringa, Iron Duke, Poonbar, Elizabet, and River Murchison. He was rated Acting Leading Seaman in June 1945 and discharged to shore in March 1946. Post war he married Mavis (Known as Clarice) and returned to South Australia. He passed away in South Australia on the 29th of May 1979 and is buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery in Adelaide.
Sources
Service Record - Australian National Archives
Nominal Roll - Department of Veterans Affairs
