VEREENIGING. – Mr Bill Nobile, probably the last World War II veteran who resided in the Vaal,  died from cancer at the age of 97 in his home on Friday June 3.

“For me he was always the soldier, hence his passion for the M.O.T.H organization, and he soldiered on regardless, right to the end,” says his daughter, Ms Romay Brancato.

Bill was born on January 7, 1925, at Kingsdown in the United Kingdom. He was still a schoolboy when the Second World War broke out and experienced the bombing of England in 1940 and 1941. In 1942 he enlisted in the Royal Marines, was accepted and called up. After eight months of being trained as a sailor and soldier, he was put in charge of a landing craft. In late 1942 he experienced the massive build-up of the bombing of France and Germany and also took part in preparation and training for the D Day operations.

Bill was on standby in England on D Day so was not required to go to France. Shortly after D Day he was sent to Chittagong in India from where he took part in the offensive which drove the Japanese from Burma (now Myanmar) in the Far East. In Burma the Marines carried out major landings on the island of Rameree and Chiduba to drive out the Japanese in early January 1943. Thereafter Bill was involved in a small platoon and in section landings behind the Japanese lines to ambush the retreating Japanese army and to blow up strategic roads and bridges. It culminated in a major landing by the Marines at Rangoon to wipe out the starving and demoralised remnants of the once proud 135 000-strong Japanese army. Shortly afterwards the Japanese surrendered and Bill became part of the force occupying Singapore in early September 1945. He spent his time checking the islands near Singapore, of which several had been turned into Prisoner of War (POW) camps. He served as a guard at the war crimes trials of the Japanese accused of brutal treatment of POWs and the civilian population.

After the war Bill trained as a brewer and was recruited by SA Breweries, arriving at the brewery in Pietermaritzburg in March 1949. He was a racing enthusiast in those days and bought a Morgan sports car in which he raced in the 1950 Coronation 100 on the Alexander Park Circuit. He played sport his whole life and at one stage even played hockey for Northern Rhodesia.

While in Pietermaritzburg he met his future wife, Pat Miller. The couple moved to the Vaal Triangle where their four children were born. After being married for 56 years, Pat passed away suddenly in 2006. Bill later married Gloria Edwards, well known in community service circles in Vereeniging. Gloria sadly passed away on January 1, 2021.

“My father had a zest for life and was active and energetic until recently when he became ill. He was kindhearted and enjoyed raising funds for the needy. He loved to garden in his spare time, listen to classical music, and read a good book,” says Romay.

“He was very active in fighting the good cause, and at the ripe old age of 95 even got banned from Facebook for 30 days for speaking up about something he stood for,” remembers Romey affectionately.

Bill is survived by his four children, Shireen Holtak, Romay Brancato, Robert Nobile, and Gina Coetzee, eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

• The Memorial Service will be held on the 28th June at 12 o’clock at The Cedars Community Centre, ST LUKES CHURCH. It is situated inside Avondrus, Eventide Old Age Home in Vereeniging.

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