Norman Winning

Norman Isaac Winning, (27 May 1906 – 2/3 December 1950) was a British-Australian soldier best known for leading the Salamaua Raid during World War II. He migrated to Java as a young man to work on a plantation. After the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the Australian forces in 1940 and fought against the Japanese in the New Guinea and Bougainville campaigns. After the war, he returned to Java, where he continued to manage one of the plantations. He was murdered there by anti-European rebels in 1950.

Childhood Born at Oban in Argyll on 27 May 1906, Norman Winning was the second child of Isaac Winning, a school teacher, and his wife Eliza Clark (née Greenlees). His father served in the Highland Light Infantry in World War I from 28 May 1915 to 9 August 1916, when he was discharged due to illness. Winning was educated in Troon, Ayrshire, and apprenticed at a shipping company. In 1926, at age 19, he travelled to Batavia, planning to settle in the Dutch East Indies. As a young man, Winning managed an estate owned by the Anglo-Dutch firm Pamanoekan en Tjiasemlanden in Java.

Military service In September 1940, Winning travelled to Sydney to enlist in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). After being accepted on 9 September, he was posted initially to the 1st Cavalry Training Squadron. Winning was widely respected among his men, earning the nickname The Red Steer. The Red Steer is also the name given to the wild brush fires that blaze across the outback, a useful tool against squatters and intruders.

He led the Salamaua Raid, the first offensive land action against the Japanese in World War II, on 29 June 1942, in which at least 100 Japanese soldiers were killed; the raid also captured Japanese equipment and documents. Described as a copybook action for its diligent scouting, meticulous planning and audacious, Winning, then a captain, led multi-pronged attack against a Japanese force 10 times the attackers' strength.

Personal life He married Georgie Nell Morris Taylor, and the couple had no children. His wife remained in New South Wales while he served in the AIF. His wife survived him.

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