James Gall

MEN WANTED FOR COASTAL DEFENCE WORK. The headline could be found on newspapers everywhere around Sydney. It was January 1941, when James Gall and a group of workmates first saw the call to action. “What do you reckon, boys?” James didn’t answer, but made his decision quickly, barely considering his father, Frank James Gall who had fought in World War I, left with nothing but wounds and horrors from his time in the service. Nonetheless, after a quick brekky of vegemite on toast, James hopped aboard trains and trams, leaving Watson’s Bay to go to the Victoria Barracks to seek enlistment.

1942 brought with it the first major raid of Darwin during James’ time in the war. Ironically, the year started with a present from James’ sister, Joyce,
Later that year, on February 19th, while laying sandbags along the broken camps, James heard a low droning noise. The gusty wind began blowing around the camp site and sharp screams and yells split the air, cries for attention and warning. “It’s the Japs! The Japs!” People shouted loudly. Chaos soon followed, spurring everyone into a wild frenzy. Noise engulfed the camp as 39 (James’ eyesight was near perfect) planes dropped their explosive cargo before drastically nose diving into the Earth, ripping up grass and land every which way. Previous cares and thoughts abandoned, James made a sprint for the trenches with his mates, hearing the tremendous ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ following them as more bombs were unleashed. Once encased in the safety of the trenches, a look back confirmed the loss of the police office and the wharf, as well as the men and women who resided there. The buildings were blackened by soot and ash, flames burning to the skyline. James knew that that ash also contained the remains of his fellow countrymen and women. With no time to mourn the losses, bullets skidded in the trees right over their heads like a wild dust storm. He imagined the faces of the pilots shooting the bullets, streaming down like a