Leslie Thomas Starcevich, VC (5 September 1918 – 17 November 1989) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

armed forces. He received the award as member of the 2/43rd Battalion, during the

Borneo campaign The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Leslie Thomas "Tom" Starcevich was born on 5 September 1918 at

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

, the son of immigrants: Gertrude May Starcevich ( Waters; born c. 1897,

Dunkirk, Kent Dunkirk is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England. It lies on the Canterbury Road between Boughton under Blean and Harbledown. This was the main Roman road from the Kentish ports to London, also know ...

, England) and Joseph Starcevich (born c. 1892,

Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

). The couple were married in 1915 at

Mount Magnet, Western Australia Mount Magnet is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is one of the region's original gold mining towns, and the longest surviving gold mining settlement in the state. The prominent hill that is adjacent to the current townsite w ...

. Starcevich and his older brother
Joseph Frederick "Joe" Starcevich (20 August 1915 – 27 May 2007)
grew up on a farm at Grass Patch, north of Esperance. Tom and Joe had eight siblings.

Military service

Following the outbreak of the

, Tom and Joe Starcevich enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

: Joe on 23 October 1940, after which he was assigned to the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion; and Tom on 9 April 1941 (service number WX11519), becoming a member of the 2/43rd Infantry Battalion. Joe Starcevich became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

following the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942. He endured harsh conditions in captivity, including forced labour at Japanese prisoner of war camps at

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...

, the

Burma-Thailand Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, Japan but survived the war. Tom Starcevich served with the 2/43rd Battalion in the North African campaign and was wounded in the thigh on 17 July 1942 at Ruin Ridge, Egypt during the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal ...

. He also saw action the following year in the Huon Peninsula during the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

. The 9th Division landed in Brunei Bay on 10 June 1945 with the 2/43rd Battalion landing at Labuan Island. Nine days later the battalion moved to the mainland and, on 28 June, during the capture of Beaufort, during fighting in

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

, the lead

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

of Starcevich's company came under fire from two Japanese machine-gun positions and suffered casualties. Starcevich, a

Bren gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

ner, moved forward and assaulted each position in turn, killing five Japanese soldiers and causing the remainder of the machine guns' crews to retreat. Later that day, when the company was again held up by two machine gun positions, Starcevich adopted similar tactics and single-handedly captured both positions, killing seven members of their crews. For his actions, Starcevich was awarded the

. The citation for the award was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 6 November 1945, reading: Starcevich was presented with the ribbon of the Victoria Cross by Brigadier

Victor Windeyer Major General Sir William John Victor Windeyer, (28 July 1900 – 23 November 1987) was an Australian judge, soldier, educator, and a Justice of the High Court of Australia. Early life and career Windeyer was born in Sydney, into a legal famil ...

, during a unit parade at

Papar The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of S ...

on 12 November 1945. He was presented with the actual medal at

Government House, Perth Government House is the official residence of the governor of Western Australia, situated in the central business district of Perth, the state capital. It was built between 1859 and 1864, in the Jacobean Revival style. Government House is loca ...

on 27 May 1947 by Sir James Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia. Starcevich held the rank of

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

throughout his military service and was discharged on 12 February 1946, as part of the prolonged demobilisation process that followed the end of hostilities. He reportedly wanted to re-enlist in the Australian Army during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, but his wife talked him out of it.

Post-war life

Starcevich spent the first four years after the war as a motor vehicle sales representative in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He married Kathleen Betty Warr ( Hardy), at the Perth

registry office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in England, ...

on 19 December 1947.''The Daily News'' (Perth), 19 December 1947, pg 1. The couple had three children but divorced in 1969. From 1951, Tom and Joe Starcevich obtained and jointly worked a

soldier settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...

wheat and sheep farm at Carnamah. In 1981, Tom Starcevich moved back to Grass Patch, where he had bought a small farm. He died at

Esperance, Western Australia Esperance is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The urban population of Esperance was 12,145 at June 2018. Its major in ...

, on 17 November 1989, aged 71.

Memorials

The track in Borneo on which Starcevich's celebrated action occurred was later renamed Victoria Cross Road. He is also commemorated by Starcevich Monument. Starcevich's VC is on display at the

Army Museum of Western Australia The Army Museum of Western Australia is a museum located in an historic artillery barracks on Burt Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The museum was established in 1977 and has three Victoria Crosses on display. History The Army Museum ...

, in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia. A bronze statue of Starcevich was unveiled at Grass Patch in 1995. The Leslie Starcevich Ward at the former

Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood Hollywood Private Hospital (Hollywood) is an acute care hospital located in Nedlands, Western Australia. Hollywood is Western Australia's largest private hospital, with more than 900 licensed beds. The hospital is part of Ramsay Health Care Gro ...

is named in his honour.

References

External links

"The Mallee’s First VC"
peoplesvoice.gov.au (2001)
Starcevich Memorial Stone, Beaufort, Sabah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starcevich, Leslie Thomas 1918 births 1989 deaths Military personnel from Western Australia Australian Army soldiers Australian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Grass Patch, Western Australia Australian people of Croatian descent Australian people of English descent Australian farmers Australian Army personnel of World War II