This article is based on personal documents, military records and a recorded wartime interview provided by Elva Mary Bennett’s son, Russ Morison, together with supporting Australian and Dutch archival sources.
The wartime history of the Bennett–van der Land–Morison family connects Australia, the Netherlands, the Netherlands East Indies, Burma and the Middle East. It is a rare example of a family shaped by service across three Allied forces during the Second World War.
Elva Mary Bennett
Elva Mary Bennett was born on 12 June 1923 in Alberton, South Australia. Before the war, from 1939 to 1942, she worked as a typist, switchboard operator and clerk at the Australian Glass Company in Kilkenny, South Australia.
She enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) on 23 May 1942 and served as a signals and switchboard operator, with postings across South Australia. Her Australian Army service number was SF64956, and she was discharged on 18 August 1944.
In January 1944, during her AWAS service, she married Gerk van der Land, a Dutch merchant seaman.
Dutch service in Australia
After leaving the AWAS, Elva joined the Dutch Women’s Auxiliary Corps (Vrouwenkorps, VK), which was being formed in Australia as part of the Netherlands East Indies forces in exile. In her own recorded interview, Elva explained that she was posted to Camp Columbia, where she combined ordinary communications work with training in preparation for service in the Netherlands East Indies.
She recalled continuing her switchboard duties during this period and learning spoken Dutch, although operational demands meant she missed much of the formal language instruction. She remained with the Dutch Women’s Auxiliary Corps for approximately twelve months before transferring to British service.
Loss at sea: Gerk van der Land
Gerk van der Land was born on 16 August 1917 in Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland, Friesland, the Netherlands. He served as an Able Seaman in the Dutch Merchant Navy.
On the night of 19 June 1944, he was serving aboard the Dutch freighter SS Garoet when the unescorted ship was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean, approximately 600 miles northeast of Mauritius. The attack was carried out by the German submarine U-181. The ship sank within minutes, leaving no time to send a distress signal or launch lifeboats. All crew and gunners were lost.
His death was later formally registered in Rotterdam, a delay typical for maritime war losses where no remains were recovered.
British service: Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma)
After the loss of her first husband, Elva continued her wartime service. In September 1945 she enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma) (WAS(B)), serving under the British Fourteenth Army.
Her service took her through Bombay, Calcutta, Assam, Rangoon, Singapore and Java. She worked primarily in mobile canteens and troop recreation facilities and also made radio broadcasts for Radio Rangoon. Her recorded interview provides a vivid first-hand account of wartime travel, frontline conditions, and the devastation she witnessed in Burma and Java following the Japanese surrender.
She returned to Australia in early 1946 via Western Australia.
Post-war life
In 1947, Elva married David George Morison. As a military dependant, she lived for a period in the Middle East, including Palestine and Egypt, before settling permanently in Australia. She died in 1987.
Elva Mary Bennett’s wartime record is exceptional. She served successively in the Australian, Dutch and British forces, a rare example of Allied women’s service across three national commands during the Second World War.
