Harry's Father Willy Croll   

Willheim Croll (Willy) was born in Germany and with his mate who later became known as German Harry worked on an English Ship and toured the world. When that ship was going through the Torres Straights of Australia the English crew learned over the radio that England had declared war on Germany and so threw the two Germans overboard. Realising, Australia a colony of England, was also at war with Germany and they wouldn't be very welcome in Australia the two Germans spent the war in the Torres Straights Islands.

German Harry stayed in the Torres Straights and set up home on Deliverance Island where, when he was about 60, his body was found by the local Torres Straight Islanders on the beach. He had bled to death from a shark attack.

Willy moved south to Victoria and set up home in Wonthaggi, married and had six children. Willy became famous as a boxer and Wonthaggi residents would go with him by train to Festival Hall in Melbourne to watch him fight. There are stories about him like the time he was hit on the head in an attempted robbery with a beer bottle. He, the story goes, turned and chased the robbers down and belted hell out of them.

Willy realised there was going to be a world war and set himself up in a push bike shop. He then bought up all the old bicles and repaired them. When the war came the price of bicycles rose dramatically and he made a fortune. Later he ran a shoe repair business which Harry also worked in. Harry learned his trade as a shoe repairer and in leather craft by working for his father in this shop.

Below are letters received from his family back in Germany from 1936 to 1948. From before WWII till after the war. These letters are 60+ years old. In some cases I have scanned them upside down but Adobe reader can rotate them to fix the problem.

The German photos follow