Jack Livingstone — The Gilding Family in Australia

How Jack got his name

The story about how Jack Livingstone Gilding got his name (and how he nearly died in the snow at an early age)

Written by his sister Fay Gale, March 1999

Jack was born at the Yongala manse on New Year’s day 1919. Jasper rang the doctor as soon as Kathy went into labour. They had phones but no cars. The doctor came from Jamestown in his horse drawn buggy. But he did not know if he would there in time, it being a long way by horse over rough tracks and it was her second child. So he gave Dad instructions in case. First get the copper (outside in the back yard where they washed clothes) really boiling and keep stoking it. Get lots of rags, sheets whatever and give them a good boil. Dad’s main memory is cutting wood and keeping the copper boiling while little Joy “helped” The doctor did arrive in the nick of time as a boy arrived. Kathy had decided to call him Jack after her brother who died at Gallipoli in August 1915 – a true Aussie. As you will see from Aunt Marj’s notes she did not know Jack’s name. He was christened John but never called from the day of birth, so of course she did not know a nickname . He already had it by the time she was born.

His (Jack senior) funeral notice in the paper reads

“THE LATE PRIVATE PENGELLEY

Mr. and Mrs. J.Pengelley, of Meningie, has (sic) been officially notified that their son, Private J. Y. Pengelley, was killed in action during August, 1915″

His father John Pengelley the scoundrel was also called Jack always. The inscription he put in his present to his wife for her 21st birthday reads

“Mrs John Pengelley from Jack 1881 On her birthday June 21st with a lovers compliments Crystal Brook South Australia”

The gift was John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Rather prophetic since he let her with 8 children and another on the way. Deirdre took that book from Kathy’s when Kathy was living at Royston Park and Deirdre was living with Wes and Ruth during her wild period. I hope she still has it.

The Livingstone bit now. Jasper and Kath planned to go to the mission field and had applied for Africa. They read everything they could on Africa and joined the Sudan United Mission. But when Jasper went for a medical test he had eczema and they would not take him They were bitterly disappointed and talked about it quite a bit. Which is why the name Livingstone and why Kathy took up being missionary correspondent to get the experience as it were second hand and that is how we came to have Edna as a foster sister.

But Jack Livingstone Gilding nearly did not make it out of Yongala. It is the coldest place in SA and periodically gets quite heavy snow falls. After one such fall overnight Joy woke up excited to see the ground was all white and took her toddler brother outside to play in it. Kathy remembers going out to find Jack almost buried up to his head in snow. It frightened Kathy . But Jasper stoked the kitchen stove until they had warm water to thaw Jack out.

How Jack died

Recollections from his comrades in the second world war and how he died.

The Story of “J” Force - page 120

Edited by Alexander Dandie, (NX 26154 L/Sgt. H.Q. Coy., 2/30 Bn. AIF.)
self published by the editor in Sydney NSW, 1985
ISBN 0 9589113 0 4

“Dappor” Dean in his “Banjo News” No. 6 of March 1957 published a letter, which he had received from the Directorate of Army Records, Albert Park Barracks, Melbourne, dated 29th May 1956:

“In reply to your letter of 19th May it is desired to inform you that five members of the Australian Military Forces lost their lives when a United States Army Air Force plane crashed on Kansan Mountain, Formosa on the 10th September 1945.

The ill fated plane carried twenty passengers, 12 American, 3 Dutch and five Australian soldiers, the latter being:

Yours faithfully

Director of Army Records”

This shows that the typhoon did/not cause the plane to ‘ditch’ as had been thought by a lot, but blown so far off course, that it reached Taiwan.

R.E. (‘Joe’) Horne says that the planes, which were lost, were flying through heavy pouring rain; that the pilots tried to fly above the rain, but were unsuccessful.

The Memorials to the five men are in the Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, Hong Kong, in the North West of the Island, about seven miles from the centre of Victoria, the capital. All are together in Plot 6 Row A Graves from 2 to 6 inclusive, and the Register of the graves shows their ranks, varied from that above to be:-

Johnny Gilmore said:

“Jack Gilding went as far as Okinawa with me, but, as we were being taken to the aerodrome to fly to Manila, somebody called out to Jack from another truck.

Jack jumped down and went over to find out, who it was, found that it was a chap, with whom he had been, when he enlisted. He came back to our truck and asked me, is I would mind, if he went with his old mate, and he would see me in Manila. So I handed him down his belongings – never to see Jack again.

He was one fellow, who deserved to come home, for what he had done for others. He was a slashing guy, and a true friend of mine. He would do anything to help anyone, and took many risks.”

Jimmy Dore also commented:-

“We travelled ex Okinawa to Manila by converted Liberators with 15 Ps.O.W. to a plane and the 5 crew members, who were American. I was very fortunate as Jack Gilding from South Australia was with me. He was the 15th member of the plane in front, and I was first in the next plane. The flight crew introduced themselves to us, and said that there were Mae Wests and parachutes for us, but they said, that they did not think we would need them, so they remained scattered about the plane and we did not receive any instruction for their use. On the flight one of the crew told us that the plane was going down to 500 ft, as it had hit the tail end of a typhoon. We were also told that the plane ahead of us had struck trouble.”

How Jack got his name

How Jack died

Jack Livingstone Gilding

Gilding.com