Lance Corporal Douglas James Tendron JEANS (WX 4620)
2/28th Battalion Australian Infantry

Date of birth: 4th December 1900
Date of death: 27th July 1942

Killed in action aged 41
Buried at El Alamein War Cemetery Plot AI Row F Grave 17
He was born at Norwood in Surrey on the 4th of December 1900 the eldest son of Douglas Edward Jeans, bank clerk, and Henrietta Josephine (nee Aplin) of 9 Werndee Road, South Norwood. He was christened at St James' Church, Croydon Common on the 3rd of February 1901.

He was educated at St Anselm's Preparatory School in Croydon and at the King's School Canterbury where he was in School House from January 1915 to July 1918. He was awarded a Junior Scholarship in November 1915, a Senior Scholarship in June 1917 and a Stanhope Exhibition in 1918. He became a member of the Debating Society in March 1917.

He played as a forward for the Rugby 1st XV in 1917/18 and the Cantuarian made the following observations on his season:-

"A rather light forward, but does good work in the open and in forward rushes. Is too fond of picking up in the scrum. Is a hardworking all round man. Fair tackle."

He went on to the University of London, Guy’s Hospital Medical School in September 1918 until 1924. He was a Special Constable in 1919 and 1920 and during the General Strike of 1926.

He emigrated to Australia in 1928 where he worked as a farm hand on a wheat farm at Lake Carmony via Lake Biddy in Western Australia.

He was married at Leeds in early 1936 to Evelyn Dorothy (nee Goodenough). He returned to Australia from London with his new bride as the only passengers on board the 4,803 ton cargo ship MV “Stanford” which was carrying a cargo of 6,000 tons of cement and 1,300 tons of coke. At 9.40pm on the evening of the 24th of June 1936 the vessel was caught in a storm and struck African Reef, off the port of Geraldton in Western Australia. "Jim", Evelyn and the crew were rescued by the SS “Koolinda” before the wreck broke up. They went on to have two children, Peter Douglas, born in 1936, and Frances Evelyn Beatrice, born on the 7th of September 1938; they lived at North Beach in Western Australia.

He worked as a hand at Kalamunda Orchard from 1936 to 1939 and then went to work at Miarunging Hill from 1939 to 1940.

On the 3rd of June 1940 he undertook an army medical examination and on the 23rd of June he enlisted at Perth as a Private in the 2/28th Battalion Australian Infantry. He was sent for training at Northam Camp from September 1940 to January 1941.

He sailed from Freemantle on the 3rd of January 1941 arriving at Colombo in Ceylon on the 12th of January. On the 16th of January he sailed for the Middle East and saw service in Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and at the Siege of Tobruk in Libya.

By July 1942 the German and Italian advance had reached El Alamein, only seventy miles from Alexandra. As a result the 2/28th Battalion Australian Infantry was part of a force which was rushed to the Alamein area to hold the northern sector while the British Eighth Army was reinforced in preparation for a new offensive.

The 2/28th Battalion reached the Alamein front on the 10th of July and the 9th Division (of which they were part) attacked a week later. On the 17th of July the 2/32nd and 2/43rd Battalions moved inland, fighting along a ridgeline on the approach to “Ruin Ridge”. The 2/32nd Battalion led the attack advancing as far as the Qattara Track. The 2/43rd battalion then followed towards Ruin Ridge.

Just after midnight on the 27th of July, the 2/28th battalion attacked Ruin Ridge. By 1 am they were on top of the ridge but were subjected to an immediate counter attack with the Germans attacking them from their rear. Three of their company commanders were wounded and many of the vehicles that should have brought forward ammunition were destroyed or damaged. An attempt by British tanks to relieve the battalion was abandoned after 22 vehicles were destroyed. Shortly before 10am enemy tanks began moving in on the Australians from three directions. A Company was completely overrun and the battalion’s commander had little choice but to surrender. The survivors were rounded up and marched towards the rear through the British artillery barrage which resulted in yet more casualties.

The battalion and its support units had suffered casualties of sixty five officers and men with another 500 captured. In all only 92 men remained from the force which had started the attack. The battalion was withdrawn to the rear, rebuilt and arrived back at the front line in September 1942.

His wife was remarried to Clarence Stanley Bishop in 1945.

He is commemorated on the war memorial at Kalamunda, at Brookton, at King's Park, Perth and on Panel 55 of the Australian War Memorial.

He is not currently commemorated on the memorial at the King’s School Canterbury.
School House

Back