Douglas Edward LAW #63999

Indigenous Australian, Duglas LAW, 2nd Light Horse Regiment

Duglas (Douglas) Edward Law was born in Kilkivan, Queensland to Edward Law (1878-1916) and Emmie Jones Dodd (1879-1937) in 1899; he was employed as a stockman when he enlisted in Bundaberg in July 1918.

Law who had expressed a desire to join the Light Horse, trained at 'Rifle Range Camp', Enoggera near Brisbane, before embarking overseas for Egypt on board HMAT Port Darwin in September 1918, with the 5th General Reinforcements.

Law was assigned to the 2nd Light Horse Regiment and joined them in the field where they were encamped near Zgarta, in Northern Lebanon and served with his unit in Jerusalem and surrounding areas until the allied troops were returned to Australia in 1919.

Douglas Law returned to his life in Gayndah and continued to work as a stockman, gaining an exemption to the "Aboriginals Protection Act, 1897" in 1929. Law had eight children by Grace Simpson, and five by Nita Agnes Couchy. In 1941 Law who was working for the Bell family at Camboon Station, volunteered to serve in the Second World War, and was assigned to No 1 Garrison Battalion until discharged at his own request in September 1944. Douglas Law died at Booubyjan Station, Gayndah in 1949, age 50.

Read more ...

• Service record: LAW, Duglas Edward WW1
• Service record: LAW, Douglas Edward WW2
• One of the soldiers featured in SLQ’s HistoryPin Collection
• Queensland’s Indigenous Servicemen [oral history]

The information in this blog post has been researched by State Library staff and volunteers, it is based on available information at this time. If you have more information that you would like to share or further research uncovers new findings, this post will be updated.