Associate Member Ross Konowalenko has passed on the sad news of the passing of fellow member Brian Jones on 24/5/2021:
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It is with sadness that I inform you that our fellow 31st Battalion Association member (and RSL Life Member) Brian Jones of Beachmere, Qld, passed away peacefully with his family by his side at 0730hrs this morning in Townsville, after a long and courageous fight with cancer.
Brian was a very active RSL and community member for many years and as you may recall, when in better health he volunteered his time to help others through Legacy. His father’s plaque is on his local Beachmere RSL sub branch memorial and Brian was a very proud ‘sapper’, graduate from the Army Apprentices School and saw ‘local service’ during his time in PNG.
As more information comes to hand and with the permission of his family, I will keep you informed accordingly.
My prayers are with his family and each of you at this time.
Yours in service,
Ross Konowalenko
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Note from Martin O’Sullivan
Brian and I served together both in Papua New Guinea in PNGVR in the 60s and again in 31RQR in the 70s and 80’s. Brian had started as at the Army Apprentice Centre at Balcombe Vic and subsequently served as a Sapper prior to moving back to civilian life and heading for PNG in the early 1960s.
He joined up with PNGVR shortly afterward. Like many of us who had prior service in the Army in Australia, we were issued with new service numbers upon joining PNGVR. It was only later when we were both serving with 31RQR that I discovered that our service numbers were not that far apart meaning that we both joined around the same time.
I arrived back in Australia and took up a position in Townsville in 1971 and Brian was subsequently transferred to Charters Towers. Both of us were then posted to 31RQR Brian as a WO2 and I as a Lt. Brian subsequently applied for and was granted a Commission.
After the damaging Miller report reduced the Battalion to 31 Indep Rifle Coy in 1976 we spent 10 years in various staff postings and postings with other units. With a huge effort on the part of many of us at the time, we managed to boost our numbers back to Battalion level.
By 1986 with the unit back to a Battalion again I was appointed as OC Admin Coy with Brian, who by that time was a Captain as 2IC Admin. We held those positions until we both retired in 1989
Some years later Brian and I met up again when we both retired, he to Beechmere and I to the Sunshine Coast.
In more recent times Brian had courageously battled against Cancer over a period of years. He moved to Townsville after his wife Nancy’s tragic death, to be close to his son Richard, who is serving at Lavarack Barracks.
Brian was a fine soldier, a good practical hand and a great mate. My thoughts and prayers are for him and his family.
Well done mate, RIP.
Martin O’Sullivan