Horace William Madden, GC (14 February 1924 – 6 November 1951), also known as Bill Madden, was a soldier in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

who was a posthumous recipient of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

for his conduct while 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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Horace William Madden was born in Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney, on 14 February 1924 to Australian-born parents. He was working as a fruiterer's assistant when he was called up for the Australian Citizens Military Forces (CMF), the militia, in May 1942.Greville, 2000

Military career

Madden was initially posted to the 114th Australian General Hospital in Goulburn, New South Wales. As part of the CMF, he was not required to serve outside of Australia or its territories, but despite this he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in August 1943. Nicknamed 'Slim' due to his lean build, Madden saw service with the 8th Field Ambulance in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, during which he contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

.Ashcroft, 2010, pp.249251 He later served with the 5th Motor Ambulance Convoy Platoon on Bougainville and was part of the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

after the war. He was eventually discharged from the army in June 1947. After leaving the army, Madden took up work at a mental hospital. Two months after the

broke out, he reenlisted with the

for service as a

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 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Initially assigned to

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...

(3 RAR) for duty as a driver, he later volunteered for signalling duties. In April 1951, the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

attacked the regiment's positions near Kapyong in what would be known as the

Battle of Kapyong The Battle of Kapyong (or Gapyeong) ( ko, 가평전투, 22–25 April 1951), also known as the Battle of Jiaping (), was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) forces—primarily Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand� ...

. Madden was among three Australian soldiers captured during the battle. During captivity, he demonstrated strong defiance to his captors. His defiant conduct, observed by many of the other prisoners and which would eventually see him nominated for the

, was maintained despite beatings and other punishments such as extreme rationing of his food. His ill treatment eventually resulted in his death from

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

sometime in late November or December 1951 at age 27. Madden was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his conduct as a prisoner of war, which set an example for his fellow captives.

George Cross Citation

The George Cross was presented to his sister on 9 May 1956 by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir John Northcott. Madden's body was recovered following the armistice that saw an end to the war and was subsequently buried in the

United Nations Memorial Cemetery The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK; ), located at Tanggok in the Nam District,; also seeKorea 1:50,000 Pusan Sheet 7019 III (1947) an City of Busan,As a transliteration from Korean, the city name 부산 () was typically spel ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. 3 RAR's Other Rank's (OR's) canteen, located within their barracks, is officially named the "Madden Club" after Bill Madden.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madden, Horace William 1924 births 1951 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel killed in the Korean War Australian prisoners of war Australian recipients of the George Cross Korean War prisoners of war People from Sydney